Essentials of e-commerce: setting up your online store for the Swiss market
Essentials of e-commerce: setting up your online store for the Swiss market
- Multilingualism: Offer your site in Swiss German, French, and Italian. Use hreflang tags (
fr-CH,de-CH) for SEO. - Regulations: Comply with the Swiss Data Protection Act (DPA) and register your company with the commercial register. Display all legal information on your site.
- Adapted payments: Integrate TWINT, credit cards, bank transfers, and invoice payments to cater to local preferences.
- Logistics and VAT: Collaborate with reliable carriers like Swiss Post and apply Swiss VAT rates (8.1%, 2.6%, 3.8%).
- : Adapt to local formats (CHF 1'234.56, dates DD.MM.YYYY) and offer smooth mobile navigation.
- Pre-launch tests: Check payments, logistics, and mobile performance to ensure a functional site.
Quick comparison of key obligations
| Aspect | Switzerland (DPA) | European Union (GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum fines | CHF 250,000 (individuals), CHF 50,000 (companies) | Up to 4% of annual turnover |
| Data Protection Officer | Recommended, but not mandatory | Mandatory in certain cases |
| Notifications | Simpler information required | Detailed information mandatory |
In Switzerland, attention to local details is essential to gain consumer trust. Adhere to local standards, offer suitable payment solutions, and optimize logistics to succeed in this unique market.
Swiss legal and commercial requirements
Company registration and legal structures
Launching an online store in Switzerland involves complying with specific formalities and choosing an appropriate legal structure. A Swiss resident must be the owner or a member of the company's board of directors.
The most common legal structures are:
- AG (Public Limited Company): Ideal for large-scale projects.
- GmbH (Limited Liability Company): Recommended for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Two crucial steps not to overlook: registration in the commercial register and verification in the trademark register with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. These steps ensure uniqueness and enhance the credibility of your company. Additionally, your e-commerce site must display clear information about the operator and the products offered, in accordance with legal obligations.
These initial steps lay the foundation for ensuring full compliance, especially in terms of data protection, which we will address in the following section.
Compliance with Swiss data protection
Since September 1, 2023, the new Federal Act on Data Protection (DPA) governs the processing of personal data in Switzerland. This legislation applies to all organizations handling data of Swiss citizens, whether based in Switzerland or abroad. The goal? Facilitate data exchanges with the European Union while protecting Swiss citizens against privacy violations.
If your company is already GDPR compliant, you will have few modifications to make to comply with the DPA. However, some differences deserve your attention:
| Aspect | Swiss DPA | European GDPR |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum fines | CHF 250,000 for individuals, CHF 50,000 for companies | Up to 4% of annual turnover |
| Data Protection Officer | Recommended but not mandatory | Mandatory in certain cases |
| Notifications in policies | Less information required | Detailed information mandatory |
Key obligations include:
- Systematically inform individuals when collecting their data.
- Maintain a record of processing activities.
- Implement technical and organizational measures to secure data.
For foreign companies processing large volumes of Swiss citizens' data, it is mandatory to appoint a representative in Switzerland. In case of a security breach, you must promptly notify the Federal Data Protection and Transparency Officer.
Lastly, take a proactive approach by integrating data protection from the design stage of your products. Ensure your privacy policy complies with the DPA and implement a cookie consent banner to obtain user consent before collecting cookies.
Tax and VAT requirements
Complying with tax obligations is another essential pillar for operating in Switzerland.
Since 2019, every Swiss e-commerce company must register for VAT. Starting January 1, 2025, this obligation will extend to all platforms and merchants, with VAT rates set as follows:
- Standard rate: 8.1% (which will decrease to 7.7% by 2030).
- Reduced rate: 2.6%, applicable to certain goods and services.
- Special rate: 3.8%, reserved for hosting services.
Marketplace operators must also register for Swiss VAT if they facilitate the supply of low-value consignments exceeding CHF 100,000 per year.
By January 2025, merchants and platforms must:
- Register or deregister with tax authorities.
- Update their systems to meet new import, billing, and VAT declaration requirements.
Registered merchants can deregister for sales made through marketplaces after December 31, 2024. However, the platform will have to assume VAT responsibilities while sharing VAT debt responsibilities with the merchant.
Multilingual features and regional specifics
Multilingual configuration and content translation
To meet Swiss linguistic needs, it is essential to offer your site in French and Swiss German. In a , it is preferable to structure your site based on languages rather than geographical areas. For example, opt for subdirectories like /fr/ and /de/.
Regarding content in German, it is important to distinguish between Swiss Standard German and Standard German. Swiss Standard German is ideal for communicating with customers, while Standard German may suffice for elements like product descriptions or technical documentation. If you target multiple German-speaking countries (Switzerland, Germany, Austria), an economical approach is to first translate into Standard German, then adapt the text for Switzerland.
The hreflang tags play a key role in this strategy. They allow search engines to present the linguistic version suitable for the user's location. For Switzerland, use hreflang="fr-CH" and hreflang="de-CH" for maximum precision.
The impact of translation on performance is significant: translating your pages and ads can increase your conversions by 20%. Additionally, 75% of online buyers prefer information in their native language, and 9 out of 10 internet users will prefer a website in their own language if this option is available.
These adjustments naturally fit into broader technical considerations, such as data formats and measurement units, addressed in the following sections.
Swiss regional formatting standards
Adhering to Swiss formatting conventions is crucial to establish the credibility of your site. An important peculiarity concerns decimal separators: in Switzerland, a comma is used for numbers, except for Swiss franc amounts where a period is required. Dates follow the format DD.MM.YYYY, used throughout the country.
| Format Type | Swiss German-speaking (de-CH) | Swiss French-speaking (fr-CH) |
|---|---|---|
| Currency | CHF 1'234.56 | CHF 1'234.56 |
| Number | 1'234,56 | 1'234,56 |
| Date | DD.MM.YYYY | DD.MM.YYYY |
A concrete example illustrates this point: a nopCommerce user in Switzerland found that their site displayed "CHF 1000.00" instead of the expected format "CHF 1'000.00". The error stemmed from an incorrect configuration of thousands and decimal separators, which did not adhere to Swiss standards.
In Switzerland, the apostrophe or space are acceptable as thousands separators, but the apostrophe is more commonly used, especially for Swiss franc amounts in commerce.
In addition to numerical and date formats, Swiss standards also apply to measurement units.
Measurement units and local conventions
Switzerland exclusively uses the metric system for all commercial measurements. This means your product descriptions should mention centimeters, meters, and kilograms. This uniformity simplifies comparisons and avoids misunderstandings with other measurement systems.
For temperatures, Celsius degrees are the norm. Whether you sell electronics, clothing, or food, all thermal specifications should be in Celsius.
Shipping dimensions also require special attention, especially in a mountainous country like Switzerland. Local carriers, such as Swiss Post, calculate rates using the metric system. Ensure your shipping cost calculators include dimensions in centimeters and weight in kilograms for accurate billing.
"Localization means offering foreign customers a local shopping experience. In other words, just as if they were entering a regional shop and shopping locally. If the localization is perfectly implemented, the customer will not even notice that the place of purchase is a foreign web shop." - Christian Kautzsch, Post CH
This quote highlights the importance of a seamless local experience. Your Swiss customers should feel as if they are browsing a local site. This involves strict adherence to measurement and formatting conventions they use daily.
Lastly, adaptation is not limited to measurement units. For example, address fields must follow the Swiss postal format with a four-digit postal code before the city name. Phone numbers should follow the international format +41, without the initial zero of the regional code. These details enhance the impression of a truly local site.
How to create an eCommerce site with WordPress 2025
Payment methods for Swiss customers
In Switzerland, consumers primarily seek safe and reliable payment solutions. Offering options tailored to their needs can significantly improve your conversion rates. Currently, 52% of online transactions in the country are made via credit and debit cards, while bank transfers account for 46%. However, mobile payments are rapidly gaining ground, reshaping consumer habits.
TWINT and mobile payments
TWINT is the most widely used mobile payment solution in Switzerland, with over 5 million users and 386 million annual transactions. This app allows for secure payments by directly linking a bank account or card, all through a simple QR code scan. More than 40 Swiss banks have integrated TWINT, facilitating its adoption.
To integrate TWINT into your online store, you can go through a payment service provider or use specific plugins for popular e-commerce platforms. For example, Anna Stando, founder of BabyMiles, integrated TWINT into her Shopify store using the TFTW GmbH plugin. She describes the process as quick, affordable, and effective, with TWINT transaction fees set at 1.3%.
"According to my friends: they prefer using TWINT over credit cards because it debits your account directly... And it's really quick and easy. And apparently everyone has it. So you should have it too." - Anna Stando, Entrepreneur
TWINT is particularly popular among 16-34 year-olds, a key demographic for e-commerce. In addition to meeting user expectations, its competitive transaction fees (often lower than credit cards, which typically reach 2%) make it a wise choice for merchants.
Credit card payment gateways
Credit card payments remain essential, especially for their high level of security. Payment gateways ensure protected transactions, and several reliable solutions are available in Switzerland.
- Saferpay offers an ideal solution for online stores and applications, with a monthly subscription of CHF 19.90, transaction fees starting from CHF 0.17, and no connection fees.
- Worldline, a market leader in Switzerland, processes over 43 billion transactions per year and charges 1.7% + CHF 0.19 per transaction for its E-Payments service.
Stephan Widmer, co-CEO of Beliani Group, highlights the efficiency of Saferpay: thanks to this solution, their online store accepts secure local and international payments in 17 countries. Criteria to consider when choosing a gateway include PCI DSS compliance, fraud protection, and smooth integrations with your e-commerce platform. 3-D Secure is also essential to reassure Swiss customers, who have high expectations regarding security.
Swiss Post invoice and alternative methods
Invoice payment remains a common practice, especially among older consumers and in the B2B sector. This method allows customers to inspect product quality before payment, catering to a deeply rooted preference in Swiss culture.
Swiss Post offers billing solutions that easily integrate into the local payment ecosystem. Customers can pay by bank transfer, through their online banking, or directly at the post office counter. Additionally, PostFinance offers services tailored to the Swiss market, further enhancing available options.
Moreover, digital wallets are gaining popularity. They are estimated to represent 24% of e-commerce transactions by the end of 2023. This trend reflects a growing preference for cashless payments, encouraged by solutions like TWINT.
To maximize your online sales, at a minimum, offer credit/debit cards, bank transfers, TWINT, and invoice payments. These options cover the needs of 89% of Swiss consumers who already shop online. With an estimated market value of over $15 billion by 2025, this strategy will position