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.

More from Bitesize News

Heat to stay for now

The heatwave alert has been extended until Thursday, with temperatures set to climb as high as 37 degrees in some areas.
Growing anger over World Cup red card

The Swiss team's manager, Murat Yakin has called Breel Embolo's red card 'unacceptable', as anger builds over the refereeing of Switzerland's World Cup quarter-final loss to Argentina.
Fire damages trees in the Jardin Anglais

A fire tore through part of Geneva's Jardin Anglais on Saturday morning, gutting several trees and damaging a lakeside building used by the Mouettes ferry service.
Cows sweltering in the heat

The heat is now hitting the country's dairy herds, with cows producing less milk as they burn extra energy to stay cool.
Lake Geneva nudists fight for their lake section

A hidden stretch of Lake Geneva shoreline has become the focus of a long-running battle over public nudity.
Holiday makers seek more than the sun

Nearly half of Swiss holidaymakers are choosing to learn a new skill on their summer break rather than simply lie on a beach.