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Swiss coffee prices drop for the first time ever

The cost of a cup of coffee in Switzerland has dropped for the first time - although not everyone in the country is set to benefit.

Published: 3 December 2019 12:55 CET
Swiss coffee prices drop for the first time ever
Photo: Depositphotos

The cost of living in Switzerland is a major topic on The Local, with everything from rent to international schools among the most expensive anywhere in Europe. 

But it’s not all bad news – with new figures revealing the average price of a cup of coffee is on the decrease across Switzerland. 

Figures produced by Cafetiersuisse – a Swiss industry association for caterers specialising in the field of coffee – have shown the average cost of a cup of coffee in 2019 was CHF4.22 – three cents cheaper than 2018 figures. 

The study compared prices of Switzerland’s favourite coffee – the Café Crème – and found that, somehow, it had gotten cheaper. 

Read: New maps reveal where in Switzerland the rental prices are highest

There is a major caveat however, for Italian and French-speaking Swiss – the price decrease was only measured in German-speaking Switzerland. 

This is the 32nd year Cafetiersuisse has measured coffee prices in Switzerland. The study took into account 650 cafes, bakeries and bistros across the German-speaking part of the country. 

Image: Depositphotos

Not all price cuts are created equal

Coffee is cheaper on average, but it’s not uniform. Competition in urban areas has brought average prices down – while prices in rural parts of Switzerland have remained the same. 

Cafetiersuisse says the major reason for the decrease is the lower cost of coffee beans, which is lower than it has been for the previous 14 years. 

Have your say: Our readers on how to save money raising children in Switzerland

More price cuts on the horizon?

So will the good times continue to roll? Unfortunately for coffee lovers, it’s unlikely we will see a Café Crème under CHF4 anytime soon. 

Aside from raw materials, another major factor in coffee costs is wages in the hospitality sector. With the industry still needing to negotiate the minimum wage for next year, there’s a chance prices could go up again. 

Read: What you need to know about the minimum wage in Switzerland 

 

 

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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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