Shopping is not merely about filling your cart with food and other necessities — where in Switzerland you choose to shop also reveals quite a bit about you.
Generally speaking, Switzerland’s population is divided into two camps: Migros loyalists and Coop loyalists (there are also those who shop elsewhere, but more about that later).
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.
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.”
Having said all that, let’s look closer at the two camps:
Coop
A 2023 consumer survey by Tamedia media group indicated that only 28 percent of respondents swear by (and shop regularly at) Coop, while 41 percent prefer Migros.
That is not surprising, considering that, overall, Coop is more expensive of the two.
Therefore, Coop generally attracts not only people in higher income brackets, but also, according to that Tamedia survey, those “with a university or another higher-education degree.”
While the two often go hand-in-hand — that is, university graduates tend to earn more — this doesn’t mean that you necessarily need a degree if you like to shop at Coop.
What it does mean, however, is that you can afford to spend more money on what you consider to be better products.
Migros
If you find that Coop is overpriced but still want to shop at a Swiss supermarket, you will go to Migros.
While Coop shoppers may look down on Migros (though not quite as much as on Aldi and Lidl), you know that you are getting good quality at a more reasonable price, while not giving up ‘Swissnes’’ altogether.
Aldi and Lidl
If you don’t care much about premium products, ‘made in Switzerland’ labels, or how a supermarket looks, but prioritise savings instead, then you are likely to prefer the two German retailers over the Swiss chains.
You are also more likely to be a foreigner who can’t get used to Swiss prices and is looking for bargains.
You will tell yourself (and others), that Aldi and Lidl (or whichever of the two you prefer) “are just fine” and there is no need to spend more money in fancy Swiss supermarkets.
And that brings us to the following:
Shopping across the border(s)
If you live close enough to one of Switzerland’s borders, it is more than likely that you have shopped in supermarkets in Italy, Germany, or France, where products are much less expensive than in Switzerland.
The general profile of shoppers is similar to Aldi and Lidl’s — people who want to save money.
They are pragmatic and probably don’t care much about frills.
Some of them also say they find products abroad that are not available in Switzerland.
It is probably correct to assume that, generally speaking of course, people who can afford to shop at Coop (and possibly even Migros) won’t make a trek across the border, except if they need a specific product they can’t find locally.
