Holy shopping spree

You don’t treat yourself to anything else: a phrase that doesn’t sound very convincing in this country. Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest per capita income in the world. Here you will treat yourself abundantly, especially at Christmas time.

However, the forecasts for the winter months in 2022 did not sound very encouraging. In the third quarter, consumer confidence fell sharply in the face of a faltering global economy, galloping inflation, rising energy costs and health insurance premiums.

“To save! To save! To save!” “But what consumers say in surveys may not match reality. At least at real and virtual checkouts, there’s currently no sign of supposedly bad mood. Especially the Christmas business, which has traditionally brought retailers the biggest sales of the year, gives them hope like they haven’t in a long time.”

Consumer-friendly Switzerland

This year, Swiss people have been extraordinarily willing to spend. This is demonstrated by a recent study by the auditing and consulting firm EY in Switzerland. Mr. and Mrs. Schweizer, according to their own statements, plan to spend an average of 343 francs on Christmas gifts.

This increases the record value achieved in the previous year (from CHF 334 in 2021) by three percent. It is noteworthy that this increase is mainly due to the men surveyed: on average, they are willing to spend 375 francs more on gifts than in the previous year – there it was 351 francs. Women, on the other hand, intend to spend CHF 309 less than they mentioned a CHF 320 Christmas budget in 2021.

This surprises even the social and business psychologist Christian Fichter (51): “Anyone who looks at consumer behavior through traditional economic models will scratch their head and not understand it.” But as irrational as the buying spree is, there are positive aspects that encourage consumption.

Fichter: “The labor market is good and wallets are full. This is still the most important thing when making purchasing decisions. Second, our consumer needs remain in place despite the crisis climate, and Christmas is already sacred to us. »

Switzerland still has savings

In fact, Swiss households’ savings rate hit a record high in the 2020 pandemic year, according to surveys by the Center for Economic Research (KOF) at ETH Zurich. Although it has fallen again since then, it is still above pre-crisis level in the last quarter: savings now replaced by goods.

Dagmar Jenni (53), director of the Swiss Retail Federation (53), the umbrella organization for large and medium-sized retail companies, observes: “For the first time since the pandemic, we are able to go shopping again at Christmas and we are happy. Take advantage of our savings.” Stable trade rose 4.5 percent at the end of November and expects very good numbers again for December, according to Jenni.

Switzerland’s largest virtual store, which sold two billion francs in 2021, is also in the mood for shopping. Seraina Cadonau, spokesperson for Digitec-Galaxus: “Our customers are in the mood for Christmas shopping and are more willing to spend than last year.” For the month of December, the online retailer expects to ship an average of more than 50,000 packages per day.

The importance of the Christmas trade is illustrated by the fact that many retailers generate twice the turnover in the four weeks before Christmas than in a regular month.

Lighted sweaters and game consoles

According to Cadonau, Lego kits, game consoles from Sony and Nintendo, mobile phones and headphones from Apple, and hair dryers and vacuum cleaners from Dyson are in particular demand. Christmas sweaters, Santa socks or reindeer pajamas with lots of clips are in huge demand right now, Cadonau says: “Sales for LED sweaters are in the high triple-digit range these weeks.”

The Christmas holiday contrasts with the upcoming energy shortage, which is a global issue. This has led to the continued operation of products designed to help save electricity, including energy meters, shower heads, and candles. By mid-December, only more efficient showers were up 1000 percent compared to the same month last year.

But: After the big holiday party, a hangover threatens. According to KOF, GDP is likely to increase by one percent in the first half of 2023. Although consumption will increase by 1.4 percent next year, it will be much lower than the year ended with an increase of around 4 percent. Retailers are likely to feel this too.