These sustainability potentials are in the Swiss online trade

With the Online Retailer Survey 2020, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts examined sustainability in Swiss e-commerce from the perspective of providers for the first time on behalf of Swiss Post. The authors of the study surveyed 227 companies on the environmental and social aspects of the value chain of their online stores.

Online stores rate the majority of their product ranges as sustainable 

According to their own information, most of the online stores surveyed offer sustainably manufactured products. According to the survey, an average of 52% of all products found on Swiss online stores are produced in a resource-conserving manner. Online retailers pay even more attention to social aspects. 77% of all items in the online stores are produced under fair working conditions. "Our study shows that sustainability aspects are an important factor in Swiss online retail," says Thomas Wozniak, head of the study and lecturer at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Surprisingly, however, providers rarely highlight sustainable products: Only just 14 percent of all online stores surveyed label sustainable items accordingly. Only eleven percent of retailers offer a search filter for sustainably produced items. According to Wozniak, companies already seem to be aware of this deficit. Around half of all organizations surveyed would like to better inform their customers about the sustainability of their products.

Only a third manage without plastic 

In addition to the product, the packaging also contributes to the sustainability balance of online stores. Swiss online retailers state that 56% of their shipping packaging is made from recycled material. When it comes to filling material, 48 percent use recycled material. Only a third use no plastic in their packaging. "The size of the packaging is also a critical point," says Thomas Wozniak. A majority of 72% of all online retailers use shipping packaging that is tailored to the size of the products. "This can help to make efficient use of transport capacities and save material," says the head of the study. Alternatively, online retailers could send the items directly in their original packaging. 49 percent of online stores already do this. The role of packaging is becoming increasingly important. Eight out of ten of the online stores surveyed assume that consumer demand for sustainable packaging will increase over the next two years.

Shipping: Sustainable to your destination? 

In terms of sustainability, shipping products is a particular challenge for online retailers. "Innovative ideas are needed to find solutions for getting products from the warehouse to the customer in a sustainable way," says Wozniak. There is certainly potential for optimization in local online stores. Only 15 percent of the companies surveyed offer locally adapted, environmentally friendly logistics solutions. These could be, for example, bicycle delivery services in combination with the train or transportation by e-cargo bike. Customers also only have the option of choosing climate-neutral shipping at no extra charge in 15 percent of all online stores. "It is therefore not surprising that only very few online stores actively inform customers about sustainable shipping options," says Wozniak. On the other hand, providers are very willing to improve logistics in this regard. 75% of them are open to sustainable transport solutions - especially on the so-called last mile, i.e. the final stage of the supply chain where the postman or postwoman delivers the parcel to the customer's home.

Customer perspective: sustainable shipping solutions are gaining in importance

In addition, Swiss Post and the HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich have compiled the Swiss e-commerce mood barometer. Compared to the previous year, the proportion of Swiss customers who shop online at least once a week has risen by over 13%. In particular, people in the over-55 age category have made significantly more purchases in online stores than in 2019 (+25%). The proportion of those who use Twint as a payment option has risen from 17% to 29%. Sustainability aspects were also examined in this study: It was particularly important to customers that the box size is customized when shipping goods (75 percent) and that reusable packaging is used (73 percent). Consumers in Switzerland prefer to be informed about the origin of products (79%) rather than the manufacturing conditions (65%).