The GfK Market Monitor for Swiss retail stands at 1.7 percent as of the end of March 2024 compared to the same quarter last year. Food/Near-food achieves a growth of 4.2 percent. Conversely, Non-food shows a decline of 2.6 percent.
As of the end of March 2024, most non-food markets are below the result of the same quarter last year. Swiss retail is also influenced by cautious purchasing behaviour and below-average consumer sentiment in the first quarter of 2024. According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), inflation in March 2024 stands at plus 1.0 percent.
There are also Non-food markets showing positive growth: DIY leads in cumulative growth as of the end of March 2024. This is partly due to the low base from the previous year, and partly because mild weather conditions allowed the gardening season to start in the first quarter, leading to increased demand for all gardening-related items.
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Home electronics show a decrease compared to the previous year. After high demand for consumer electronics in the last three years, market saturation is now evident. Despite this, certain product categories, such as hairstyling devices, electric toothbrushes, fryers, and digital cameras were in higher demand than the previous year and show growth as of the end of March.
Online shopping remains consistently popular, with cumulative growth reaching around 2 percent as of the end of March 2024.
Economic Forecast: The Economic Forecast Expert Group expects a sport-event-adjusted GDP growth rate of 1.1 percent for Switzerland in 2024, followed by 1.7 percent in 2025.
Unemployment Rate: An average unemployment rate of 2.3 percent is expected for 2024; for 2025, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) expects an average unemployment rate of 2.5 percent.
Yearly Inflation: The Federal Statistical Office expects a yearly inflation rate of 1.5 percent for 2024. An inflation rate of 1.1 percent is expected for 2025.
More information:
GFK
www.gfk.com