Tablets are so yesterday. Diapers is what we shop online now

Online shopping in Switzerland has become increasingly popular in recent years. Whilst consumers spent a good 5 billion francs shopping online in 2011, it’s estimated that this year will see this figure rise to 15 billion. Internet sales now account for around one seventh of total retail sales.

It’s not just the volume of online sales that’s changed but also the type of products consumers tend to purchase. This is what an analysis of the best-selling product groups at digitec and Galaxus since 2014 has revealed:

The winners

The biggest winner of recent years has been the USB cable. The USB-C standard cable is particularly in demand, followed by Apple’s lightning cable. «There’s a great need to charge our mobile devices, no matter the time or place,» says Nicola Travaglini, the man in charge of the USB cable range at Digitec Galaxus. «That’s why we generally have several cables at home, one at work, at school, at our best friend’s house and so on. Frankly, who can make do with just one charging cable?» What’s more, cables don’t last forever. «It’s another factor that drives sales,» says Nicola.

Headphone sales have also increased at an above-average rate: in 2020, they were the second best-selling product group at Digitec Galaxus. This year, they’re currently in fourth place. «Headphones are popular Christmas gifts, so they’re likely to climb up another rank or two,» says Claudio Widmer, who’s responsible for the headphone range at Digitec Galaxus. According to Claudio, sales are being driven by technical innovations in recent years. These include active noise cancelling and more powerful batteries, which have made it possible to listen to music wirelessly. «Headphones have also become fashion accessories,» says Claudio. A development that’s owed to Apple.

More recently, the top 10 digitec products were joined by items that aren’t typical of the shop’s tech range. In 2020, Lego sets made the list. And this year, diapers climbed to 9th place. This development is another sign of the times: online department store Galaxus is currently growing faster than the electronics and IT specialist digitec. More about that below.

The losers

Time also squeezed several product groups out of the best-selling top 10. Take the tablet, for example. In 2014, it held 6th place. One year later it climbed down a notch to 7th place. Today, many people regard it as a boomer gadget. Notebooks and hard drives dropped out of the list years ago.

Smartphones have also undergone a spectacular decline. The long-standing best-sellers slid down to 6th place in 2020. This year, they lost another two places and now hold 8th place. However, this is not down to a collapse of smartphone sales. On the contrary, 2020 saw sales 17 per cent higher than in previous years. It’s just that other product groups have grown even more.

The evergreens

Ink cartridges and toner represent classic office consumables in the ranking. While ink has gained importance in the pandemic, toner cartridges have slid down the ranks. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as most homes are set up with an inkjet rather than a laser printer.

Alongside USB cables, the top 10 also include two other types of cables. Namely, video cables and network cables. Both products have also received a pandemic-fuelled boost.

Remove electronics from the equation for a different picture

The chart above shows how electronics and office supplies continue to dominate online retail in Switzerland. However, remove these two sectors and the picture is completely different:

The winners

Diapers have become one of the best-selling products of the Internet in recent years. This year alone, Galaxus saw a sales growth of over 70 per cent. «Nobody enjoys lugging diapers home,» portfolio manager Viktor Wiesinger says. «Mail delivery is so much more convenient.» He goes on to explain that the cheaper monthly boxes are also only available online and not from your local brick-and-mortar store.

Parlour games also took a giant leap forward, making it to number two of the Galaxus sales charts. Board and card games were already making a comeback in pre-pandemic times. In the wake of coronavirus, this trend has intensified. Probably because we’re spending more time in close circles instead of in restaurants, bars, cinemas or gyms. The same applies to the current arts and crafts boom.

As working remotely from home is now commonplace, sales of coffee machines and their accessories have also increased sharply. The same goes for cleaning utensils and cleaning products.

The losers

Lego, longtime sales champion at Galaxus, has plummeted to 5th place. This is most likely due to the fact that Christmas sales are not yet included in the numbers. In November and December, Lego building sets are usually the most sought-after product type at Galaxus.

Hopefully, face masks and disinfectant will prove to be one-year wonders in the list. And it’s probably safe to say that we’ll never see sat navs in the top 10 again.

The evergreens

Alongside Lego sets, the evergreens are light bulbs and vacuum cleaner accessories. Similarly to ink and toner cartridges, this is probably due to the fact that these are consumables. Having said that, this did not save brush heads and shaving accessories from losing their spots in the top ten.

Does your shopping cart reflect Switzerland’s top ten? Which product types are likely to make the list of best-sellers in the next few years? Join the discussion in the comments field!

Visuals: made with Flourish.