Temu in Switzerland: 4 Tips on How to Stay Competitive as an SME

For the seventh time, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), for the first time together with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), conducted the annual online retailer survey. The comprehensive study provides important insights into trends and challenges in e-commerce and is therefore essential reading for interested online retailers.

Anyone who wants to study the online retailer survey 2024 in detail can download it here.

This year, 624 online shops from Switzerland, Austria and other countries were surveyed on various topics - for example, which payment methods they offer, which sales channels they serve or which payment provider they rely on. In the latter question, Payrexx performed very well and, with 18 percent of the mentions, continues to be one of the most popular payment service providers among Swiss SMEs and online retailers.

Asian marketplaces increase the pressure

The probably most important part of the survey is the so-called “worry barometer in e-commerce”, in which merchants talk about their biggest challenges. As in 2023, this year too the current market situation is the main concern: competition is steadily increasing and price pressure continues to rise.

The worry barometer of this year's online retailer survey shows: The current market situation, including the increasing competition, is causing particular difficulties for Swiss online retailers.

A decisive event was the removal of industrial tariffs on 1 January 2024: Previously, duties were levied on certain imported goods to protect domestic producers from foreign competition. Now, however, Asian platforms such as Temu or Shein can import their goods into Switzerland without additional costs - and can thus offer them even more cheaply.

So how can you as a merchant assert yourself against the increasing competitive pressure from Asia? The online retailer survey 2025 also provides important inputs and strategies, which we summarise below for you.

1. Promise quality - and deliver it!

In the pictures, the product looked great, but shortly after arriving at home comes the disappointment: the goods are cheaply made, smaller than promised or look completely different from the pictures. You can use exactly these negative experiences to your advantage. Even 78 percent of the merchants surveyed try to differentiate themselves through the quality of their products. You should communicate this accordingly in the product description.

The following points speak for the quality of your goods or service:

2. Be reachable by email, phone or live chat

One major drawback of the Asian giant marketplaces is their impersonal nature. Customers are quickly brushed off, receive AI-generated mass emails and often struggle with support for hours. At the same time, more and more people have a desire for a positive shopping experience. 62 percent of the online retailers surveyed stated that they distinguish themselves through top customer service.

This is how you can improve customer service:

The online retailer survey 2024 lists a variety of possible USPs (Unique Selling Propositions) through which Swiss SMEs can stand out.

3. Deliver quickly and accept returns

A major disadvantage of the Asian competition is its geographical distance: anyone who orders from Temu and Co. often has to wait weeks for their products. You, on the other hand, can benefit from short transport and sales routes. 44 percent of all participants in the online retailer survey 2024 stated that they assert themselves against foreign platforms through fast delivery. With 39 percent of the mentions, a generous returns policy also seems important.

To differentiate yourself in these points, the following steps could help:

4. Offer a large selection of payment methods

The ordering process at Temu and Co. involves a few hurdles. On the one hand, buyers have to provide a lot of data - including address and phone number - and on the other hand, the selection of payment methods is very limited. In addition to credit and debit cards, only a choice of TWINT, PayPal, Google Pay or Klarna for purchase on invoice remains.

All of these are also included in your Payrexx account, as well as much more. Together with Payrexx, this is how you optimise the payment process for your customers:

Together with Payrexx, you can make the payment process for your customers as fast and easy as possible. So that they will continue to prefer shopping in your online shop in the future rather than with one of the major Asian retailers.