Retail trade Swiss consumer spending up slightly in October

In October, consumer spending in Switzerland recorded a slight increase compared to the previous year, although the recovery remains limited to specific areas of consumption.

Consumer spending in Switzerland showed a positive trend in October 2024. According to the Swiss Post subsidiary Postfinance, calendar-adjusted expenditure was 0.5% above the previous year's level, which corresponds to the growth rate of the previous month.

Compared to the previous months, in which consumption fell by 0.1 percent in August and by as much as 2.4 percent in July, the current increase shows an improvement in consumer sentiment. Nevertheless, a certain degree of caution remains, as the recovery in the consumption indicator is fragile and is only based on certain areas.

Restrained spending in everyday life and wellness

The sub-indicator for "Everyday life & household" shows that spending on everyday goods remains below the previous year's level. This trend is particularly evident for books, newspapers and pet articles. Spending on "Beauty & Wellness" is also subdued, although there has been a slight increase in beauty and health treatments compared to the previous month.

Leisure activities and travel

Spending on leisure activities remains high, particularly in restaurants, which underpins the "fun & leisure" sub-indicator. In contrast, spending on sporting activities has fallen slightly. The Swiss population continues to travel a lot, which is reflected in a slight increase in restaurant visits worldwide, while total expenditure on travel has fallen slightly.

Postfinance analyzes anonymized payment transactions from 2.5 million customers every month. The consumption indicator calculated from this shows consumer spending adjusted for sales day and public holiday effects in a year-on-year comparison and seasonally adjusted compared to the previous month for the sub-indicators "Everyday life & household", "Beauty & wellness", "Fun and leisure" and "Travel".

SDA