Over the past decade, the number of physical retail stores in Switzerland has grown, even as online retail has seen an even more significant surge.

According to a report by the financial information service Crif released on Wednesday, from 2014 to 2023, more brick-and-mortar stores opened in Switzerland than closed. Specifically, 5,349 new stores were established during this period, marking an increase of about 17%. This contrasts with the earlier period from 2009 to 2018, when over 31,000 stores closed.

The most significant growth occurred in sectors such as food retail, perfumeries, beverage retail, and flower and plant stores. On the other hand, stores selling consumer electronics, computers, and software saw the most closures. Additionally, there was a decline in the number of bakeries, butchers, and clothing stores.

While the years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019 saw more store closures than openings, the trend reversed in 2017, 2018, and consistently from 2020 to 2023, leading to a positive net increase in store openings.

Online Stores See Explosive Growth

Despite the growth in physical stores, online retail experienced the highest growth rates, with around 42% net growth over the past ten years. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, in particular, spurred a significant increase in online store openings.

However, in terms of total numbers, online stores still lag behind physical stores. In 2023, approximately 800 online stores were established, compared to nearly 4,000 new brick-and-mortar stores.

Crif’s survey included all retail businesses and online stores registered in the commercial register that were either created or closed during the review period. Photo by Coolcaesar, Wikimedia commons.