The Swiss business blog carpathia.ch reports that, according to data from GfK’s online sales monitor in cooperation with Swiss Post and the Association of Swiss Mail Order Companies (VSV), Swiss online retail in March 2020 was 38.3 percent up on the same month in 2019, not least because of the corona-related closures of stationary retail outlets in mid-March. While fashion was 7.2 percent down, leisure/hobby/toys more than doubled its sales (+107.6 percent), similar to sports/sports equipment with a plus of 82.8 percent. The monthly online sales report monitors 113 participants, who in turn represent sales of CHF 1.1 billion for the first three months of the current year. As far as stationary retail (overall) is concerned, Credit Suisse expects non-food sales in 2020 to be significantly lower than last year, even if all segments of retail are allowed to reopen on May 11. The Swiss bank expects a decline of around 20 percent for the entire year. The forecast at the beginning of the year and pre-corona was a mere -0.2 percent.
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