Shopping tourism exceeds pre-coronavirus crisis levels

The representative long-term study shows significant changes in consumer behaviour and this year's orientation especially focuses on the introduction of the new duty-free limit. The study's authors, Thomas Rudolph, Nora Kralle, and Tim-Florian Gerlach, investigated which retailers abroad are most popular with customers in Switzerland and where they prefer to shop.

For 25 years, the research team led by Professor Thomas Rudolph at the Institute for Retail Management at the University of St.Gallen (HSG) has investigated shopping tourism in Switzerland. For the current study, over 3,000 consumers were surveyed in all language regions of Switzerland.

Swiss shoppers significantly overestimate the price advantages abroad

A key finding: According to the analysis, Swiss shoppers estimate goods in Switzerland to be around 66 % more expensive than in neighbouring countries. However, the actual price difference in the five product groups examined is only 40 % on average, which corresponds to an overestimation of 26 percentage points. Prices in the food, sporting goods, and home furnishings product groups are massively overestimated. Further results at a glance:

• Motives: The main motives for shopping abroad are, in descending order, first, lower prices; second, products that are not available in Switzerland; and third, greater selection.
• Cities: Constance remains the most popular shopping destination for German-speaking Swiss. French- and Italian-speaking Swiss prefer to travel to Pontarlier and Como.
• Delivery methods: 77 % of orders placed abroad are delivered directly to Switzerland, with the rest being picked up abroad by friends or at a post office box.
• Popular retailers abroad: Although orders from the most popular online retailer, Amazon, have increased and Amazon Prime has also grown, Temu has achieved by far the strongest growth.
• Barriers: In brick-and-mortar stores, crowded trains, high customer traffic, and complex customs clearance are the biggest obstacles to shopping tourism.
• VAT refunds: With the reduction of the duty-free limit from CHF 300 to CHF 150, fewer shopping tourists are eligible for VAT refunds. At the same time, the use of tax-free forms has increased.

Furthermore, it can be observed that:

Widespread: 72 % of the total population in Switzerland travel abroad to shop an average of 5.1 times per year, covering a distance of around 118 kilometers and spending an average of CHF 230 per purchase in brick-and-mortar stores abroad (CHF 188 for online purchases).

Slight increase in shopping tourism: Purchases of furniture, food, sporting goods, textiles, and drugstore items abroad will total CHF 9.2 billion in 2025. Compared to 2022, this represents an increase of around 10 %. This means that in 2025, cross-border shopping will return to the level seen in 2017, when it stood at just under CHF 9.1 billion. Measured against the total turnover of the Swiss retail trade, this CHF 9.2 billion corresponds to around 9 % of all consumer spending. Online cross-border trade accounts for around CHF 1.6 billion of the CHF 9.2 billion (stationary and online) and, like stationary cross-border trade, has grown by around 10 %.

Food is being purchased abroad much more frequently: The 10 % increase in cross-border trade is almost exclusively due to more stationary food purchases in neighbouring countries. These food purchases have increased by around CHF 800 million to CHF 4.0 billion. The loss of sales for Swiss retailers due to both stationary and online cross-border trade amounts to CHF 1.8 billion for furnishings/furniture, CHF 1.4 billion for clothing, CHF 1.15 billion for drugstore items, and CHF 730 million for sporting goods.

The reduction in the duty-free limit has slowed down EKT growth: Consumers have noticed the reduction in the duty-free limit from CHF 300 to CHF 150, as well as the introduction of VAT on online purchases on foreign marketplaces such as Temu or Shein and see this as making purchases abroad more expensive. As a result, although there was still slight growth in clothing and sporting goods, EKT weakened slightly for furniture and drugstore items.

Growth in EKT for food: There was massive growth in EKT for food because VAT refunds in this product group have not been important from a consumer perspective to date and the purchase amount is lower than in other product groups. The reduction in the duty-free limit therefore had little impact on this product group.

Inflation: Consumers have also noticed the higher inflation abroad and recognize that prices in Switzerland are converging more closely with those in neighbouring countries. Nevertheless, there was an increase in the EKT. The authors attribute this increase in the EKT primarily to increased savings efforts. Many households in Switzerland are paying more for energy and health insurance and are unsettled by the global political situation and high US tariffs. This historically poor consumer sentiment is boosting EKT despite higher prices for goods in neighbouring countries.

The complete study “Shopping Tourism Switzerland 2025” (in German) is available free of charge in the institute's online shop.