The Swiss retail sector is dominated by two major distributors: Migros and Coop.

Two cooperatives, Migros (CHF 27.7 billion turnover and 102,851 employees in 2016) and Coop (CHF 28.3 billion and 85,000 employees in 2016) together occupy around 70% of the Swiss retail market. However, foreign chains such as Lidl and Aldi have made inroads over the last decade, weakening the grip of this duopoly somewhat. The two newcomers now occupy 2.8% of the market. Another major Swiss retailer is Manor (turnover of CHF 2.64 billion and 10,200 employees). 

In recent years, online shopping has grown in popularity although turnover remains modest compared with that of the retail market overall. In 2016 the two leading providers, LeShop (Migros) and Coop@home, had a turnover of CHF 182 million and CHF 129 million, respectively. 

Other retail sectors are more international and open to competition. In the furniture market, there is the Swedish firm IKEA, while Spanish clothing company Zara has several outlets, as does the German multimedia retailer Mediamarkt.