Representative Survey in Switzerland (September 2025)

We surveyed more than 2,100 people in Switzerland about their online shopping behavior when buying from distant foreign suppliers. Unsurprisingly, price has a huge impact on purchasing decisions. Around half of respondents said they are willing to buy children’s toys, clothing, shoes, and accessories from a low-cost online shop in Asia or America if the price is attractive. For electronic devices, the figure is about 35%.

This is despite the much higher level of trust in Swiss retailers. 89% of respondents have a high or fairly high level of trust in Swiss online shops. Only 25% feel the same about online retailers from distant foreign countries.

The study also indicates that consumers generally insufficiently know about potential health risks when purchasing toys, clothing, shoes, and accessories from online shops based in distant foreign countries. Moreover, the perceived benefit tends to take centre stage, while financial and legal risks are often overlooked.

In addition, Swiss consumers are not sufficiently alert to signs that an online shop is based abroad. Only 16% of respondents said they always check the legal notice (“impressum”) of an unfamiliar online store, while about one-third rely on the website’s appearance or domain.

This study has been carried out in collaboration with Spielwarenverband Schweiz (SVS), Handel Schweiz, SWISS RETAIL FEDERATION (SRF), and SENS eRecycling.

Click here for detailed results

For further questions and access to the figures contact Angela Bearth, angela.bearth@hfpartners.ch.