Fashion and eCommerce in Swiss: 4,2 million e-shoppers (90% of online users)

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A research promoted by the Observatory NetComm Suisse and carried by ContactLab highlights the strong propensity of Swiss consumers for the online channel with a particolar focus on clothing

Fashion leads online purchases in Swiss

 4.2 million Swiss users declared they had purchased online at least once in 2014.
The data regards regular users, who bought fashion items to a greater extent of + 16.3% over the previous year

Annual expenditure of around 2,000 CHF per person among online shoppers in Switzerland

Six in ten buy from abroad when they don’t find a product in Swiss online stores

Here is the link to the general figures

Lugano, April 23rd, 2015 – “Clothing and fashion items” are the categories most appealing to Swiss online shoppers. NetComm Suisse, the Swiss association of e-commerce operators and digital communication, in occasion of the event “eCommerce meets Fashion in the Ticino Fashion Valley”, has brought to light the best practices and common data focused on fashion in the e-commerce sector.

"The main category of products bought by Swiss online e-shoppers in 2014 is linked to clothing and accessories, with an increase of 16.3% over the previous year, as declared by the e-shoppers themselves. - commented Alessandro Marrarosa President NetComm Suisse e-Commerce Association - 52% of Swiss online shoppers made ​​at least one purchase online in fashion products, investing an average amount of 463 CHF per year, as we noted in the research, particularly focusing on fashion".

The Swiss Internet Users & E-Commerce Research 2014, (extract available at http://e-commerceconference.ch/download-research/) is the first edition of the extensive  research commissioned by NetComm Suisse and realized by ContactLab, which digs deeper into the digital behaviour of internet users living in Switzerland.

This trend is even more relevant in many European countries, where the e-shoppers who declared they have purchased at least one fashion item online in the last year (according to a recent ContactLab research) is: 45% in Italy, 58% in Spain, 66% in France, 74% in Germany, 81% in UK.

Fig.1 - Online shoppers per product category last 12 months

The panel refers to "regular" internet users, connected to the net at least once a week from any device, Swiss and aged 16-65, composing 88% of the population of this age, which amounts to 4.8 millions. Among these, 90% made a purchase online in 2014 (4.2 millions).

Fig.2 - Online activities last 12 months/month/7 days - Swiss internet users 

"The fashion industry is clearly a driving force for the development of eCommerce in Switzerland - says Carlo Terreni, General Director NetComm Suisse e-Commerce Association – this is why we decided to dedicate today's event “eCommerce meets Fashion in the Ticino Fashion Valley” to the analysis of this specific segment by offering a direct comparison with some of the most significant best practices in this market. Considering the channels preferred by Swiss fashion e-shoppers, basing on the frequency, the choice goes to brands also having a physical store, referred to as channels used by 41% of users who bought fashion online; following is the manufacturer's website, chosen by 32% of online shoppers, and the websites specialized by type of service or product (23%). Only the fourth place we find the multibrand e-commerce portals, which gained a 14% preference in the choice, tied with the websites related to private sales."

“In a rapidly growing digital world the most popular ecommerce category in Europe is fashion. The challenge for fashion brands is to meet the requirements and expectations of digital consumers, starting from existing clients and watching out for emerging consumer trends and segments – Arianna Galante, Director of Agency Dept of ContactLab and Managing Director of ContactLab France, says.

In terms of digital communication this entails personalizing the conversation with an increasingly human touch, stengthening the bond between brand, product and customer via storytelling and tips and tricks, leveraging the aspirational power of fashion. In this new context without frontiers brands should really think glocal, defining a strong global brand identity and guidelines but adapting to local markets and consumers. E-commerce and boutiques should be fully aligned for a completely seamless shopping experience, as consumers respond to brands, not to channels.

Our research on Internet users and their relationships with fashion brands provides great insight on the market – Galante says, improving our understanding of purchasing behavior, ultimately to define integrated strategies between retail and ecommerce, both in terms of communication and sales. Thanks to our solid experience and to our strong specialization in fashion, luxury and retail – Arianna concludes - brands can count on our full support in defining, building and implementing their global digital direct marketing strategy.”

Coherently with the rest of Europe, the channels for seeking information  before the act of purchase, show in the first place the manufacturer's website (referred to as the main source of information for fashion products by 43% of e-shoppers), followed immediately by the newsletter, indicated by almost one over four online fashion e-shoppers as their favorite channel, (23%) and lastly the traditional word-of-mouth (16%).

Focusing on the newsletter, it is clearly a powerful tool to drive sales; so it is natural to take a closer look to the opinions and dynamics it has with Swiss users, since they consider it as the most effective among all techniques related to creating a digital contact with a brand among all means available today (emails, social pages, chatting platforms and push notifications).
More than eight out of ten Swiss internet users (85%) remember having activated a newsletter service. The choice of topics reflects the trend of e-commerce: 46% of Swiss users is registered to at least one newsletter related to fashion, clothing and accessories, and the percentage is growing among the online fashion e-shoppers: among them, 65% receive at least one feed concerning these products. The trust gained by brands sending emails is very high, in fact 66% of the subscribers feel very or fairly confident in stating that the content of the newsletter is credible and reliable. Nearly one out of four of these users is also available to provide more information about themselves in order to receive personalized messages (22%).

 Fig.3 - Information channels for online fashion - Swiss shoppers (42%)

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Netcomm Suisse
NetComm Suisse is the first and only Swiss association of e-commerce, founded in 2012 with the aim to promote the services and support the interests of the most important companies in the sector. NetComm Suisse contributes to the knowledge and diffusion of electronic commerce, its services and its technologies, creating initiatives aimed at consumers and operators. Among the objectives of the association there is that of eliminating the barriers that limit the development of the sector, and implementing communication projects for the logistic supply chain and distribution, and promoting digital culture towards businesses and customers. The association also undertakes activities in regulation and lobbying working with national and international institutions, in order to create clear standards and regulations; prerequisite for growth in the sector.

ContactLab S.p.A.
ContactLab is a market leader in digital direct marketing since 1998 with its own PaaS (Platform as a Service) for email, sms and push notifications campaigns. The company, founded by Massimo Fubini, provides comprehensive integrated digital marketing services solutions and strategies to enable its 1000 and more clients to meet and exceed their business objectives through sophisticated and personalized CRM programs, delivering relevant contents to their customers and prospects. Over the years, the company has expanded its offering by including added value services to its leading technological platform for outbound messaging, enabling the uptake of digital marketing as a user-centric strategic tool for business growth.

ContactLab has also created and developed NewsletterMonitor, a freeware internet application for competitive benchmarking of over 6 million emails sent by more than 17,000 brands over the last 7 years.

Uploaded on 23/04/2015

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