Some people don’t care where they shop, while others swear by one supermarket – or online retailer – over others. Where do Swiss consumers stand on this issue?
When it comes to ‘shopping loyalty’, Switzerland’s consumers are anything but neutral.
As a recent survey carried out by Moneyland consumer platform revealed, the country’s largest retail chain, Migros, outperforms its competitors to earn the top spot in the ranking, with 7.5 points out of 10.
Its main rival, Coop, is in the third place, having earned 7.2 points – the same number as Decathlon and Denner.
Second place went to online commerce site, Digitec Galaxus (7.4 points).
The other retailers in the top-10 are:
- Ikea (7.1 points)
- Landi (7.1 points)
- Lidl (7,0 points)
- Interdiscount (6.8 points)
- Dosenbach (6.8 points)
Now let’s go back to the two Swiss supermarket giants – Migros and Coop.
The two have been competing on prices and assortment for years.
Generally speaking, Switzerland’s population is divided into two camps: Migros loyalists and Coop loyalists.
The two chains have been the mainstay of Switzerland’s retail landscape for years, competing with each other in terms of prices and overall quality of their products.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Switzerland’s supermarkets
They do share some common characteristics, however, especially when compared with German discounters Aldi and Lidl: research carried out several years ago (which still holds true today) shows that “Migros and Coop are not known for offering low prices, they are known for offering premium products.” according to Nicolas Inglard, director of Imadeo research company.
“And premium products represent a quarter, even a third of the turnover of supermarkets in Switzerland. They are very strong in this segment, which is very important for Swiss consumers, who don’t mind paying more for high-quality products.”
READ MORE: What your choice of Swiss supermarket says about you
And they share another thing in common as well: they both have well-established loyalty schemes – Cumulus for Migros and Supercard for Coop – with other supermarkets either having an ad hoc system, a credit card-based system, or no loyalty scheme at all.
