Online Retailer Survey 2025: The Rapid Adoption of AI Technology in Swiss E-Commerce (Handelsverband.swiss / NIQ)

Summary

• The eighth annual survey covered 643 online shop operators, of whom 581 (91 percent) are Swiss.p.10
• 82 percent operate in B2C, 49 percent in B2B and nine percent in D2C.p.10
• 83 percent of surveyed online retailers already use AI to create and translate texts, and 88 percent save a lot of time thanks to AI.p.3
• Temu doubled its estimated Swiss turnover from CHF 350 million in 2023 to CHF 700 million in 2024, behind Amazon with 910 million and Ricardo with 800 million Swiss francs.p.10
• The three largest Asian e-shops in Switzerland, including Shein with 250 million Swiss francs, reach approximately 1.4 billion Swiss francs.p.10
• The online shop remains the most important sales channel with a total sales relevance of 89 per cent.p.17
• Digital marketplaces account for 38 percent of sales relevance, and there are already more than 40 marketplaces.p.19

Key insights

1. Two-thirds of online shops use AI to generate product descriptions, and nearly half use it to create product images.p.3
2. One in four online retailers is planning or testing a chatbot.p.3
3. Social commerce stagnated in 2025 with a sales relevance of just 30 percent.p.19
4. 55 percent of online shop operators have only one to four employees.p.15
5. 12 percent of the online shops surveyed generate more than 25 million Swiss francs or euros in sales.p.15
6. 13 percent of respondents shipped more than 100,000 parcels in 2024.p.16
7. Native apps reach 12 percent relevance, with 28 percent of large retailers relying on their own apps versus six percent of small shops.p.20