Retail trade records higher sales in the first half of the year

Despite the financial crisis and record gasoline prices, the Swiss are still in a buying mood. Retailers achieved a 4.6 percent increase in sales to 19.2 billion Swiss francs in the first half of 2008. The year-on-year increase of 837 million Swiss francs came primarily from food products, sales of which rose by 6.1 percent to 11.1 billion Swiss francs. This is shown by a survey of 19 retailers conducted by the market research institute GfK.So-called convenience products such as ready meals, pre-packed sandwiches, ready-made salads and salad dressings (+11.4 percent) are becoming increasingly popular. Bread (+8.8 percent) and dairy products (+6.7 percent) also recorded significantly higher sales.The non-food market achieved an overall increase of 2 percent in the first half of 2008. Sales of detergents, cleaning products, personal care and pet food increased by 3.4 percent. Sales of furniture, household and garden products and stationery rose by 3.5 percent.Euro 08 kept the beer flowing The European Football Championship helped to boost sales of beer, sausages and potato chips: In June, 15 percent more beer flowed down throats than in the same month last year. In addition, 11 percent more sausages and 9 percent more potato chips were eaten.Sales of sporting goods soared by 15 percent in June. Sales of bags and backpacks were 18 percent higher than in June 2007, but TV retailers were left out in the cold: sales of TV and video sets fell by 3 percent in June. Photo cameras even slumped by a quarter. Despite the pre-European soccer championship advertising buzz, only 4 percent more TVs and video sets crossed the counter in the entire first half of the year. Camera retailers had to cope with a drop of 9 percent.