Chinese online retailers are becoming increasingly popular in Switzerland. Every other person has already made such a purchase in the past year. However, there are clear differences between the language regions.
According to a study published on Tuesday by the comparison portal Comparis, 52% of Swiss made at least one purchase from a Chinese online retailer in 2024. In first place by a clear margin is Temu (47%). AliExpress and Shein accounted for 20% and 16% respectively.
The Chinese platforms were slightly more popular with women than with men. There are clear differences between the language regions. While only just under one in two people in German-speaking Switzerland made purchases from Chinese shops, 58% of respondents in French-speaking Switzerland and 69% in Ticino did so.
The main reason cited by respondents for their purchase was the low price. For 71%, this was the deciding factor. Only 12% stated that the products were not available anywhere else. “Temu, Shein and co entice customers with bargains, special discounts and free products from a certain order value. The huge range of products hardly plays a role for consumers in comparison,” said Comparis expert Michael Kuhn.
Not surprisingly, it was mainly people with a low income who bought from the Chinese shops. Almost 60% of people with a monthly income of less than CHF4,000 ($4,400) did so, compared to just under 50% of those with an income of over CHF8,000.
The majority of shoppers were satisfied with the products offered by Chinese online retailers. For example, 28% of respondents were “very satisfied” and 44% “satisfied” with their order. In contrast, only 6% were dissatisfied.
When asked where respondents had shopped most frequently in the past 12 months, Temu came out on top with 18%. Digitec Galaxus (17%) and Zalando (15%) were close behind. “The Chinese low-cost shops are putting pressure on domestic online portals. However, the frequency of orders has nothing to do with the order value, and higher-value products remain the domain of Swiss providers,” Kuhn said.
A total of 1,017 people in all language regions of Switzerland were surveyed for the study.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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