Switzerland

The Swiss company TeleRetail has developed a delivery robot that is designed to cover long distances up to about 80 kilometers. The robot, which is still a prototype, could be used for suburban and rural deliveries.

Google has launched Google Marketing Solutions for Startups, a new centralized platform for startup companies of all sizes which gets them in touch with Google's marketing experts. Via this platform, the search company wants to help startups in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to find new customers and grow their sales online.

Consumers in Switzerland are shopping more and more products from foreign ecommerce websites. Last year, the total value of online purchases Swiss consumers made abroad was worth 1.3 billion Swiss Francs, which corresponds to 1.22 billion euros. That's an increase of 18 percent compared to last year.

Last year, the top 5 of online stores in Switzerland has generated more revenue than the five largest Swiss shopping centers. And all this with a fraction of the space being used and with a fraction of the staff costs.

French sporting goods retailer Decathlon have launched a dedicated ecommerce website in Switzerland. Just a few days before Christmas, consumers in Switzerland can now order cheap sports clothing and accessories online.

Some leading online stores in Switzerland have collapsed under a rush of customers who visited their websites during Black Friday last week. Microspot, Manro, Interdiscount and Melectronics were among the online stores that couldn't handle the many visitors looking for hot deals.

Ecommerce in Switzerland has increased by 21 percent last year. And during the last twelve months, the Swiss spent 11.2 billion Swiss Francs, or 10.46 billion euros, to buy products and services online. The average spending per person was 2.241 euros.

Swiss online furniture retailer Beliani has further expanded its business across Europe. The ecommerce company has opened an online store in Spain, where it has run a pilot project since the beginning of 2015. Beliani is now active in 14 European countries.

Swiss supermarket chain Volg will further expand its online trade in 2017. The retailer already lets customers in selected villages order their groceries online and the concept has proven to be successful. Soon, more customers in Switzerland can order their goods on a larger scale.

Swiss Post will experiment with self-driving robots delivering goods over the last mile. The Swiss postal company will use models from robot manufacturer Starship Technologies. Last month, this company enabled two retailers in the UK and two companies in Germany to experiment with the robots.

LeShop, the online supermarket of Swiss retailer Migros, has announced its sales increased by 4.6 percent during the first half of this year. The online supermarket saw its sales increase to 93.6million Swiss francs, which is worth about 85.9 million euros.

Several European ecommerce companies have started trial delivery using the self-driving robots of Starship Technologies. Online food delivery services Just Eat and Pronto will be using the robots in London, while German retail chain Metro and logistics company Hermes will use the robots in Dusseldorf, Bern and another undisclosed German city.

Paymill, the German payment provider that filed for preliminary insolvency two months ago, has been acquired by Swiss payment service provider Klik & Pay. It seems like Paymill, which is seen as the German answer to US payment service Stripe, has been saved by the Swiss company and can now live on.

In many countries, Amazon is the first stop for online shopping. In Switzerland, there is still no corresponding counterpart. A recent survey shows that three quarters of retailers think that a strong Swiss B2C online marketplace would be good for the country, so Amazon can't gain more market share.

Swiss consulting company Carpathia examined and compared the shipping and return conditions of the 100 biggest online stores in Switzerland. The results show that Swiss online merchants show some serious shortcoming, especially with regards to customer service.