Youtube coughed this up the other day, a perky young American couple who decide to do some price comparisons at the Migros in Interlaken. They seem to be from Utah currently living in Germany, with some kind of PX access, or something. Have not researched their other posts.
Executive summary - more expensive than Germany, sometimes "double." But that means something that they think should costs 2, costs 4. Get back to me when you're talking real money, like 25 is 50.
There's a reason why Swiss cross the German border to do grocery shopping on Saturdays.
Yes, many items in Switz are more expensive, but don't let that stop you. I've lived in Switz and made meals there, and if you compare prices and don't eat out too often, it's not bad.
The main "sticker shock" is meat, at least compared to France (German prices are lower overall). For the rest it is not that bad!
Shopped at the "CO OP" while I stayed in Interlaken. Prices are not extraordinarily expensive as people or videos may seem it to be. From what I had seen bread and pasta can be found to be similar in price back here in the US. Other things such as lunch meats and cheeses and chocolates were pretty affordable, as well as sodas and waters were fairly priced. Main things I noticed that were pricey as an American were the powerades, fresh meat, and any types of pastries(Dunkin donuts boxes specifically). Hope this helps!
I'm also curious about fresh produce, both quality and prices. Can anyone add information on that? Also, we will be staying in Wengen for 5 nights at an Air BnB and so intend to cook, rather than go out. Where would you recommend shopping for groceries? Thank you
There is a Coop store at the top of the hill as you exit the train at Wengen. I don't remember prices, but they seemed to have everything we needed at the time.
Fruit and veg quality in Coop and in Migros is excellent, as good as you get in France, Germany or Italy. The variety is good at a small Coop like in Lauterbrunnen, Wengen or Mürren. Down in Interlaken at the huge Coop (next to Interlaken Ost station) and the huge Migros (next to Interlaken West station) the variety and quantity is vast.
Take your own bags with you.
My experience is that food in restaurants is expensive in Switzerland; food in supermarkets is not.
you might also check into salads and sandwiches at Starbucks, they could have normal prices. That was the case in Japan when I just couldn't stand to eat another piece of tempura.
Prices are meaningless without come kind of income yard stick (GDP per capita):
United States: $63,543.58
United Kingdom: $40,284.64
Germany: $45,723.64
Switzerland: $86,601.56
Ireland: $83,812.80
The only visitors to come and visit me here in Switzerland and don't complain about the prices are the Irish, they have the income and they are used to paying high prices.
While Migros is a relatively cheap chain, there are other that people on a budget tend to visit such as Denner (https://www.denner.ch/de/) for example.
And as others have pointed out people cross the border for shopping and it is worth keeping in mind that because Switzerland is not in the EU, people can claim the VAT back on some of their purchase when shopping over the border.
Our July 2022 trips to Migros left us with the impression that they were cheaper than Publix of Florida is for the majority of items we bought. Exception- soda but then it’s the real sugar stuff there and not HFCS.
Was in Wengen and Lucerne last month and didn't find the prices obscene (I'm american, in an expensive east coast city). The Co op is pretty reasonable. I did find non alcoholic beverages at restaurants absurdly priced - like 5 CHF for a small (33ml) bottle of water or coke. Beer is cheap. Restaurant prices seemed steep (22 - 32 CHF for a burger) but in the US you have to add 25% for tax and tip, so the prices wound up being similar or if not cheaper to NYC/Boston. I will say though that Switzerland was more expensive for groceries than Italy and France, but it was still reasonable.
Pepsi for some reason was 5 CHF vs 1.50 CHF for a coke!
In Switzerland, our salaries are double or triple the amount of what one earns in Germany. This explains why the products here are more expensive.
