Empty Shop Windows Hurt Attractiveness Of Swiss Cities

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) As online shopping expands at breakneck speed, falling sales are forcing bricks and mortar Swiss retailers to close their doors, particularly in town centres. To bring deserted shop windows back to life, locals and municipalities are taking action. This content was published on March 30, 2026 - 11:00 6 minutes Charles Reinmann, RTS

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In January, Guillaume“Toto” Morand announced the closure of his funeral home in Geneva after 28 years in business. A month later, his children's shoe store Neverland in Lausanne began liquidating its stock. From ten shops across Switzerland, the business now operates just eight.

“Like many clothing and fashion shops, we've reached a situation where sales are falling sharply because of online retail, and we can no longer pay our wages,” the Vaud-based entrepreneur told the Basik programme on Monday. The causes cited for the proliferation of empty shop windows are varied: the boom in e-commerce, rising rents and bills, weak purchasing power, parking problems, the impact of the strong franc, cross-border shopping, security concerns and construction work.

But for Morand, the main culprit is the surge in online sales, driven by giants such as Zalando, Shein and Temu – and above all their free returns policies. His solution?“Let the consumer pay for free returns with a tax of CHF5 or CHF10 $6.32 or $12.65), which would go into a climate fund. That would immediately stop the excesses of people who buy five or six pairs to make sure they have the right colour for their Instagram photos, and who send them back 90% of the time.” In Switzerland, almost one in five non-food purchases is now made online. This proportion is expected to double between 2019 and 2025.

Subletting premises to young entrepreneurs

Morand benefits from a moderate rent thanks to a lease signed in 1993. He plans to keep the keys to his Lausanne premises and sublet them to two young entrepreneurs looking to enter the retail business.“Preferably in fashion, because we're the sector most affected. Many of these empty shop windows are transformed into restaurants, bars, grocery shops, tattoo parlours or barber shops.”

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