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COST OF LIVING

How the cost of living will change in Switzerland in 2022

2022 is here. Here's what's set to get cheaper and more expensive this year.

Published: 3 January 2022 13:17 CET
Swiss franc coins in a pile
Swiss franc coins. Photo: Pixabay

The following changes will impact the cost of living in Switzerland, whether for better or for worse. 

For an assessment of different types of changes taking place in the new year, check out our following guides. 

Everything that changes in Switzerland in 2022

Everything that changes in Switzerland in January 2022

Swiss inheritance law: What will change in 2022

Our daily bread (and cakes and pastries etc etc) to get pricier

A hike in grain prices will see baked goods become more expensive in Switzerland in 2022. 

Baked goods will rise by around 15 percent on average, with bakeries, bakery chains and larger supermarkets all expected to raise prices. 

Swiss news outlet 20 Minutes put together a summary of how things will look in 2022. 

Croissants will cost CHF1.70 on average, while cream slices (Cremeschnitte) will cost CHF4.80. 

The Swiss Association of Bakers and Confectioners (SBC) told Switzerland’s Sonntagzeitung newspaper that it had issued a recommendation to raise prices between five and 15 percent. 

Furniture

An increase in wood prices will see furniture costs climb in 2022, while delays are also forecast – particularly for people who order custom furniture. 

One consequence of the Covid pandemic has been an increase in renovations and home carpentry, which has led to a shortage of timber. 

Swedish furniture chain Ikea said it expected increases in the cost of many different furniture items, although it was difficult to say how much prices would increase by in Switzerland or elsewhere as a consequence. 

Inflation

In October 2021, Switzerland’s inflation rate rose by 0.3 percent to 1.2 percent, notes the Federal Statistical Office. This is the highest figure since August 2018 and the equal highest monthly increase at any time over the past decade.

Inflation in 2022 is expected to average 1.1 percent across the whole year. While this is high by Swiss standards, it is much lower than most other countries. 

How to protect your savings against inflation in Switzerland

First class at second class prices

Switzerland’s SBB has announced a range of new first class upgrades at a fraction of the normal cost. Some first class upgrades are actually cheaper than a point-to-point ticket. 

“The primary goal is to make better use of trains that are under-utilised,” said Thomas Ammann, spokesman for the public transport industry organisation Alliance Swisspass.

As the promotion is designed to prevent trains from being under-utilised, it tends to work on a spontaneous basis – i.e. you may not be able to upgrade your travel for the next year. 

The ‘spur of the moment’ promotion “allows you to travel in 1st class on one route or for one day” the SBB said. 

More information is available at the following link. 

Train travel: How you can save on first class upgrades in Switzerland

No discrimination by online stores abroad

Good news for people who like to purchase goods on the Internet: from January 1st, Swiss customers will no longer be denied access to foreign online shopping platforms.

Currently, anyone in Switzerland who tries to access the “.de” or “.fr” version of a merchant site, is automatically redirected to a Swiss sales portal where the merchandise is more expensive. But from January 1st, the law will ban geo-blocking on the internet in this area, a rule in force in the EU since 2018.

No more subsidies for gluten free kids

From January 2022, Switzerland will remove a subsidy payment made to children who cannot eat gluten.

The payments are made to families with children who have celiac disease, which means they cannot consume foods with gluten such as pasta and bread.

The government has come under fire for the removal, with critics saying it places undue pressure on poorer families with children.

READ MORE: Switzerland under fire for cutting payments for gluten free children

Postage costs

Sending letters will get a tad more expensive in Switzerland as of 2022, with Swiss Post increasing prices by up to ten cents per letter. The last time prices were increased was in 2004, 18 years ago.

Prices for sending A-Mail letters will increase by ten cents per letter, while B-Mail will go up by five cents.

Prices for sending packages will remain the same, Swiss Post has promised.

Swiss Post say the increases are necessary due to the decline in the amount of post being sent in Switzerland, which is roughly half of that being sent when prices were last increased just under 20 years ago.

READ MORE: Swiss Post to increase mail prices for first time in 18 years

Postboxes to cost 120 CHF

Swiss Post are also increasing the cost of Post Office boxes. 

Anyone who wants a PO box will now need to pay 120CHF per year. 

This is a significant increase as the boxes are currently free. 

Electricity prices

The cost of electricity will increase slightly for households in 2022, according the Federal Electricity Commission ElCom.

A typical household will pay 21.2 cents per kilowatt hour (ct./kWh) next year, which corresponds to an increase of 0.7 ct / kWh, or 3 percent.

The new cost consists of the tariffs for the use of the network, the tariffs for energy, the charges payable to public authorities, and the surcharge levied on the grid.

READ MORE: How can you save on your household energy bills in Switzerland?

Fuel prices: More expensive petrol

Despite Switzerland’s rejection of a referendum to curb CO2 emissions, petrol prices still look set to climb in 2022. 

Currently, everyone who fills their tank pays 1.5 cents per litre for climate protection initiatives. This is set to increase to five cents per litre at the end of 2021 due to the expiration of a subsidy for motorists. 

As at late December, this looks set to come into effect at the start of 2022. While the right-wing Swiss people’s party have indicated an opposition to the measure, it has won more widespread favour among the Swiss government. 

Unless a change is passed soon, Swiss residents can expect to pay a little more at the pump in 2022. 

READ MORE: Where in Switzerland can you find the cheapest fuel?

Basel to put in place minimum wage

In June 2021, Basel City voted via referendum to put in place a minimum wage. While unions wanted a standard of CHF23 – which would equal Geneva’s standard as the highest in the world – voters accepted a government counter proposal of CHF21. 

The standard is expected to be implemented in early 2022, although an exact date is as yet unclear. 

Five Swiss cantons now have a minimum standard, although Basel City is the first German speaking canton to have such a rule in place. 

Reader question: Which Swiss canton has the highest minimum wage?

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For members

SHOPPING

REVEALED : Are ‘discount’ supermarkets in Switzerland really cheaper?

Lidl, Aldi and Denner claim their prices beat those of large Swiss retailers. But is this really the case?

Published: 18 April 2024 11:40 CEST
REVEALED : Are ‘discount’ supermarkets in Switzerland really cheaper?

Common consumer goods (except one) are typically more expensive in Switzerland than in neighbour countries — sometimes by much.

This includes food.

READ ALSO: Why Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe

That is especially the case of largest Swiss chains, Migros and Coop, while Denner, Lidl, and Aldi say their food prices are significantly lower.

To find out whether this claim is actually true, journalists from RTS public broadcaster’s consumer programme went shopping in each of these supermarkets. 

They purchased the same 30 products in each of the five supermarkets on the same day, to ensure that the price comparison is as accurate as possible.

Not what you’d expect

In each of the stores, the investigators purchased only the lowest priced items from the supermarkets’ budget lines.

It turned out that most money was spent at Denner, widely considered to be one of the lowest-priced supermarkets.

The total for the 30 items came to 181.67 francs — more than was spent at the country’s more expensive stores, Migros and Coop, where identical basket of goods cost 170.37 and 167.82 francs, respectively.

(That, in itself, is surprising as well, because Migros typically has lower prices than Coop).

As for the other two supermarkets, these purchases cost 166.59 francs at Aldi and 162.05 at Lidl.

So the difference in price between Migros and Coop versus Aldi and Lidl is minimal. But what is even more surprising is that the cost of groceries at ‘cheap’ Denner is actually highest of the lot, by between 11 and nearly 20 francs.

Migros and Coop performed quite well in the comparison survey because most of the items purchased in those stores came from their budget lines, M-Budget and Prix-Garantie, respectively, both of which were introduced to compete with Aldi and Lidl.

But how important is price? Patrick Krauskopf, a professor of anti-trust law, told RTS: “German, French, English, Spanish and American consumers pay a lot of attention to price. In Switzerland, consumers place more emphasis on quality of service. Price is almost secondary.

“Distributors have realised this and have stopped competing fiercely on price.”

Big versus small

While this particular analysis focused on supermarket chains, another survey, conducted at the end of 2023, looked at prices in small grocery shops. 

Common logic has it that it is cheaper to shop in supermarkets than a local corner store, because big retailers purchase products in large quantities, which means lower prices for consumers.

However, prices in some local shops were found to be “up to 30 percent cheaper than Migros and Coop.” 

The reason is that in order to cut costs, small grocers may buy their products from the most cost-effective suppliers, a tactic which includes importing some items.

Another reason for lower prices is that unlike major supermarkets, which ‘pretty up’ their stores for better presentation of products, these small retailers are ‘no-frill’ shops. This means little money is invested in décor, so there are no extra costs to pass on to consumers.

 READ ALSO: Why it might be cheaper to avoid the big supermarkets in Switzerland
 

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