Industry
Building an online shop
Digital sales have low start-up costs but many pitfalls around data protection, taxes and international shipping. The turnover thresholds for VAT registration abroad are often overlooked.
Legal form
Sole proprietorship for testing, LLC once revenue is serious (liability for product claims, return risk, investor access).
Capital need
CHF 5,000 – 50,000. Critical: stock and marketing budget for the first 6 months.
Regulation
What you need to know
Revised Data Protection Act
Privacy policy, register of processing activities, cookie banner under the revised Data Protection Act (in force since 09.2023).
Distance selling
Switzerland has no mandatory 14-day right of withdrawal – a voluntary return policy is still recommended as a selling point.
VAT abroad
Selling into the EU: OSS scheme from CHF 10,000 turnover per country. Selling to Germany with stock there (FBA): immediate VAT registration.
Product labelling
Conformity declaration (CE), textile labelling, food declaration depending on the assortment.
Cost blocks
Where the money goes
Shop system
Shopify CHF 30–300/month, WooCommerce from CHF 0 + hosting, Wix eCom from CHF 20/month.
Payment provider
1.5–2.9% per transaction (Stripe, Datatrans, Payrexx).
Shipping & returns
Return rate 5–25% depending on assortment – must be factored into pricing.
VAT & tax
Tax specifics
Sales within Switzerland: 8.1% VAT. Exports abroad: 0% (proof of export required!). From CHF 100,000 worldwide turnover with goods shipped to Switzerland, foreign sellers are also liable for VAT.
Practical tips
What experienced founders do differently
- Start with a niche market – few win a generic fight against international players like Zalando or Amazon.
- Budget a customer acquisition cost of CHF 30–80 – content and SEO lower it over time.
- Use Fulfilment-by-Amazon or Swiss fulfilment services (e.g. Planzer, Rhenus) instead of your own warehouse in the first years.