Cross border shopping booms

Friday, 26 September 2025 06:30

Cross border shopping is booming – which is clearly at the expense of domestic retailers.

A new University of St. Gallen study shows Swiss consumers will splash out a record CHF 9.3bn in 2025 — that’s up 10% since 2022.

The main reason is cost - more than half of shoppers say they’re hunting for bargains across the border.

On average, people are making five trips a year, each time spending about 230 francs.

Food tops the list, with over 4 billion spent over the borders, followed by furniture and clothes.

Border cantons like Jura and Geneva are the most active, with over 40% of needs met in foreign shops – money not being spent with Swiss retailers.

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