Retail trade Retail trade recovers somewhat from the dip of 2023

SDA

31.1.2025 - 09:37

The Swiss retail sector recovered somewhat in 2024 from the dip in 2023. (symbolic image)
The Swiss retail sector recovered somewhat in 2024 from the dip in 2023. (symbolic image)
Keystone

Last year, the Swiss retail sector recovered somewhat from the dip of 2023. Turnover increased only slightly, although retailers sold significantly more goods.

Keystone-SDA

Overall, the turnover of Swiss retailers rose by 0.2%, according to provisional figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Friday. Lower prices had a negative impact on revenue. This is because real sales, i.e. excluding inflation, climbed by 1.1%.

In the previous year, 2023, stores and online stores had suffered the biggest slump in sales since the turn of the millennium. Only price increases saved the balance sheet to some extent back then.

Now it's the other way around. Retailers increased sales volumes, but felt the impact of price cuts on their tills.

Fuel had a particularly strong impact on the result, with sales falling by 5 percent. One reason for this is that petrol, diesel and heating oil have become cheaper than a year ago. On the other hand, sales of fuels fell by 2.9 percent.

More sales of food and beverages

Excluding fuels, retail sales would have risen by 0.6%, according to the FSO statistics.

Retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco increased by 0.6%. This is significantly less than the increase in the previous year (+1.8%).

Retail sales of non-food products (excluding petrol stations) rose by just 0.2%. Developments varied from sector to sector. Retail sales of information and communication technology devices such as computers and cell phones increased by a whopping 5.2%, although sales actually shot up by 11.6%.

By contrast, sellers of household appliances, textiles, DIY and furnishing supplies earned 2.5% less and thus experienced the third year of crisis in a row. Retailers of publishing products, sports equipment and toys lost 1.2 percent. Sales of clothing and shoes fell by 1.1 percent, although sales remained stable.

Final spurt in December

In December alone, however, sales rose by 1.1% in nominal terms compared to the same month last year (adjusted for sales and holiday effects). Excluding price reductions (in real terms), sales even rose by 2.6%. December was the strongest month since August.