Online shopping: older generation and foreigners catching up
According to an analysis of shopping behavior by Comparis, it is primarily older people and people with foreign passports who are particularly active when shopping online. More German-speaking Swiss than French-speaking Swiss also shop online.
The Corona pandemic has given online shopping a powerful boost: Online trade in Switzerland is expected to have grown to 15 billion francs in 2021, according to Handelsverband.swiss. In 2020, online shopping sales in Switzerland still amounted to CHF 13.1 billion, as surveyed at the time by the GfK market research institute. Digitec Galaxus alone increased its sales by 16 percent year-on-year to 2.1 billion francs in 2021.
"Strong demand for everyday goods".
Online shoppers have also changed significantly from the beginning of 2019 to the end of 2021. This is shown by the analysis of the online comparison portal Comparis in cooperation with the credit agency CRIF. Thus, the age structure was shaken by the pandemic: The proportion of 55- to 65-year-olds shopping online grew from 14.1 before the pandemic to 15.1 percent at the end of 2021, while the proportion of pensioners (aged 65 and over) buying over the Internet rose from 13.3 to 14.1 percent in the same period. Among younger people, only those aged 30 to 40 increased by 0.9 percentage points to 21.3 percent.
By contrast, the share of online shopping among young adults aged 20 to 24 fell relatively (-0.9 percentage points). In other words, the older generations have contributed disproportionately to market growth in the pandemic. The reason for this shift probably lies in the increased demand for everyday goods, as Michael Kuhn from Comparis explains. The online retailer Digitec Galaxus in particular has recorded the strongest sales growth in the supermarket, do it + garden, home, baby and toy sectors.
German-speaking Swiss and foreigners provided a boost
The strong growth in online shopping was largely driven by foreigners and people in German-speaking Switzerland. Accordingly, the share of the other language regions and of people with a Swiss passport fell overall. Before the pandemic, significantly fewer foreigners shopped online than their share of the total population (25 percent); namely, only 21 percent. In the second half of 2021, the share rose to 23 percent. Especially in the first lockdown (March 16 to April 26, 2020), the share of older people shopping online increased: 14.4 percent of the shoppers in this period fell on retired people, and that of the 55 to 65 age group was 14.9 percent, an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the second half of 2019.
The German-speaking population of Switzerland made strong gains: at the end of 2021, their share of all online purchases was around 79 percent - significantly higher than their share of the total population (74 percent).
Women responsible for boom in online shopping
The proportion of women shopping online was already significantly higher than the proportion of men before the pandemic (55.1 percent versus 44.5 percent). In the online shopping boom during the first lockdown in spring, it climbed again to 56.1 percent. This means that women are significantly overrepresented among those placing orders, as the proportion of women in the total population is 50.4 percent, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
"Due to the closure of all non-essential stores, the fear of infection and generally due to the mobility restrictions, many goods of daily use, such as groceries, were bought on the Internet instead of in the store. This task has been taken over by women in the majority," says Comparis expert Michael Kuhn.
Second lockdown: foreigners with significant gain
In the second lockdown (January 11 to March 1, 2021), older generations again drove online shopping growth. However, the effect was smaller than in the first lockdown. The share of over-65s and 55- to 60-year-olds increased again by 0.5 and 0.3 percentage points, respectively. The group of 20- to 24-year-olds lost a proportionate 0.2 percentage points.
The gain of foreigners in the online shopping market during the second lockdown was significantly more pronounced than during the first lockdown. Their share grew from 22 to 23 percent. The Swiss lost 1.1 percentage points accordingly, from 78 to 76.9 percent.
Retirees continue to have potential in online shopping
"As more and more older people and people with foreign passports store online, rifts are closing here between the breakdown in the population and shopping by mouse click," observes Kuhn. Because more and more of those over 65 shopped on screen compared to 2019, their share of 14.1 percent is already much closer to their potential of 18.8 percent share of the total population.
At the other end of the spectrum are the 40- to 55-year-olds. They were the most overrepresented in relation to the age pyramid in Switzerland at the end of 2021. They accounted for 28.7 percent of all online shoppers in the second half of 2021. Yet they account for only 21.4 percent of the population.
Source: Comparis
