Switzerland

Microspot has changed its image. The Swiss online retail company is now officially presenting itself as a non-food online shopping center. The logo, colors and design have been changed to give the website the look of a shopping center instead of a consumer electronics retailer.

Fashion and lifestyle retailer Breuninger is expanding again. After opening an online store in Austria two years ago, the German company has now launched an online shop in Switzerland.

Zalando is testing same-evening delivery in Switzerland. The new service enables selected customers to receive their orders the same evening. Zalando is running the test with Swiss Post and Notime.

There is another online department store arising in Switzerland. Two months after electronics retailer Brack.ch relaunched as an online department store, competitor Microspot will also switch to being an online platform where customers can shop for things like jewelry, diapers, sports equipment and dog food.

Swiss retailer Brack.ch, which totally relaunched its online shop two months ago, has entered the market of drugstore articles. Customers can now order health products, natural cosmetics and other drugstore products at the Swiss ecommerce platform.

Migros has made it possible for its customers to collect online orders in one of many Migros stores across Switzerland. The supermarket giant has partnered with Swiss Post to make this new service available.

Swiss ecommerce company Brack.ch has ditched its focus on consumer electronics after a total relaunch of its online shop. Brack.ch has now become an online department store that sells a wide range of products, from electronics and household items to DIY and supermarket goods.

How omnichannel-ready is Switzerland? That's what mail-order association VSV tried to find out with the Omnichannel Readiness Index. It shows the DIY & Home Improvement sector in Switzerland scores best on omnichannel maturity. Jewelry retailers and department stores are strong omnichannel players as well.

Swiss online furniture retailer Beliani not only wants to sell its entire range of around 3,000 pieces of furniture, the company also wants to rent them out. With this initiative, Beliani is responding to the upcoming subscription culture, in which more and more people rent stuff instead of buying it.

Migros, the largest supermarket chain of Switzerland, is bringing back the famous Migros wagons, but with a digital twist. In the Bern region, the company is testing Miacar, a new delivery service that resembles the Dutch online grocery startup Picnic that's currently shaking up the German market.

Galaxus, a major online department store form Switzerland, has launched in Germany. Galaxus Deutschland will start as an electronics retailer, but in the next few months, it will become a wide-range online store. In the medium term, Galaxus even wants to be one of the top 5 ecommerce players in Germany.

In Switzerland, online retailers will be competing each other with the highest discounts ealier this year. The last couple of years, big discounts were handed out on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but this year, things are about to change. Several online retailers in Switzerland are now focusing on 11 November: Singles' Day.

The MyToys Group lets Swiss consumers shop online easier, after it has optimized the ordering and shipping process for its customers in Switzerland. A partnership with Swiss Post enables the German retail company to offer its Swiss customers shorter delivery times, a simpler return process and no customs fees.

Swiss Post will get some serious competition in the booming parcel delivery market in Switzerland. DHL, the subsidiary of Deutsch Post, will build a network of 1,000 pick-up points in the Central-European country. The goal is to become the number two in Switzerland, just after Swiss Post.

It's not uncommon for online shoppers in Switzerland to pay a shipping fee for their online order. This year, free shipping is, just like in previous years, still the exception. Less than a fifth of the top-selling online stores in Switzerland send orders without any shipping costs.