Online shop in Switzerland: TWINT, invoice and the matter of the Post

Anyone building an online shop for the Swiss market cannot rely on international templates. Three topics decide whether the basket becomes an order.

Payment methods: TWINT is part of it

TWINT is broadly established in Switzerland. If it is missing, orders are abandoned – especially for smaller amounts and younger customer groups. Add card via Datatrans or Saferpay, PostFinance and, depending on the target group, purchase on invoice. The latter is more effort but noticeably raises the completion rate.

Shipping: price and date belong on the product page

The most common cause of basket abandonment is shipping costs that only appear at the end. Anyone who shows price and delivery time early loses fewer orders. For bulky goods an honest figure pays off rather than a flat rate that is not right.

Price indication and law

In Switzerland prices must be shown including VAT. For deliveries from abroad, customs and import tax are added – that belongs transparently on the page, otherwise there is trouble after delivery. The price indication ordinance also demands clear information on discounts and comparison prices.

What brings the most

Which system for which shop

For ranges of up to a few hundred items and close integration with the website, WooCommerce is a solid choice: full control, many extensions, manageable costs. For fast-growing shops with many orders and little in-house technology, Shopify is more convenient, but fees run per sale.

For very large ranges connected to inventory management we build custom solutions – we run shops with over 200,000 items where the catalogue comes automatically from the supplier's system.

Legal points that are often missing

What really lifts revenue

In our experience, in this order: good product images, honest availability information, short ordering process, visible contact option, reviews. Discount promotions come further down than most people believe.