Retailers urge policy relief for bricks-and-mortar shops as online sales boom

The non-food sector, including clothing and footwear, furniture and homewares, DIY, and leisure and toys, continues to struggle on the high street. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Swiss retail sales rose slightly in the first half of 2026. But while online retail continued to grow, parts of the non-food bricks-and-mortar sector saw a decline in turnover.

Online retail continued to grow strongly in the first six months of 2026, just as clothing, furniture and other non-food shops again struggled with falling turnover. The retail sector is thus calling for policy interventions, including more flexible shop-opening hours in the evenings and at weekends.

Nominal retail turnover rose by 1.2% in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, the Swiss Retail Federation said on Thursday following an analysis of debit- and credit-card transactions. Online retail grew by 3%. Bricks-and-mortar retail, on the other hand, grew by just 1%.

The growth in bricks-and-mortar retail was driven primarily by the food sector, where turnover rose by 3.8%. This sector benefited from ongoing population growth and rising demand for basic necessities.

In the non-food bricks-and-mortar retail sector, however, the crisis persists, resulting in a 3.3% decline in turnover. The sectors particularly affected were clothing and footwear, furniture and homewares, DIY, and leisure and toys.

This trend shows that online and high-street retail are increasingly diverging, the retail federation said. While digital sales continue to gain market share, pressure on traditional retail outlets is mounting.

The Swiss Retail Federation, which represents 2,300 retailers excluding large-scale distributors, is calling for better framework conditions for the high street. These include more flexible shop-opening hours, simpler licensing procedures and improved access and parking facilities. Furthermore, the federation opposes additional regulatory and financial burdens on the retail sector in the form of higher sales tax rates or additional payroll taxes.

Translated from German/reviewed by an English Department journalist

How we produce news in English