Large supermarkets dominant in Switzerland

According to a Nielsen consumer survey, the Swiss visit supermarkets or hyper markets 17 times per month on average and are willing to travel relatively long distances in order to do so. Total retail sales amount to EUR 50 billion annually. The retail trade of food is highly concentrated in Switzerland. Migros alone accounts for EUR 14.4 billion, which puts it in 20th place on the list of the largest European food retail chains, while Coop occupies the 30th position. Regarding the penetration of modern store types, Switzerland is in the rear of the Western European list, with 179 modern stores of larger than 400 square meter size for each one million people. Specialised stores, like butchers are losing their popularity with only 4 visits per month by the average consumer. Large supermarkets (1,000 – 2,5000 square meters) accounted for 30 per cent of FMCG sales in 2006. This channel is also dominant in Belgium, Sweden and Ireland. The primary consideration for the Swiss in choosing a store to visit is to be able to find everything they need easily and quickly, preferably in the same store. Hygiene and cleanness of the store is also a major consideration. A good price/value ratio is taken for granted nowadays. The effect of promotions on consumer loyalty regarding stores is moderate in Switzerland. 13 per cent of consumers say that they are willing to replace their normally visited store with another one if a good bargain is offered there. This puts them in the middle of the European field. 46 per cent of Swiss prefer to visit the stores they are accustomed to and look for promotions there. Hungarians are also quite loyal to their stores with 44 per cent. Promotions have a stronger influence on the Swiss regarding brands than regarding the choice of store to visit. Only 13 per cent say that “promotions rarely influence my choice of brands”. Slovakians, Polish and Finnish are more loyal to brands with 40 per cent sticking to favourites. 13 per cent of Swiss consumers are aware of the prices of regularly purchased products. As the CHF has been weakening for some time, the Swiss have stopped travelling to neighbouring countries for shopping. Since Aldi has entered the Swiss market, its low prices are beginning to influence consumer habits and even foreign shoppers have begun to appear.