How often have Swiss changed jobs, homes, or cars in the past 10 years? The 2023 Swiss Migration Study by moneyland.ch aims to answer these and other questions. The representative survey reveals which things the population is most ready to change, and which things people are hesitant to change.
The overwhelming majority (93 percent) have changed their smartphone at least once in the past 10 years. Around half (51 percent) of residents have changed their phones at least three times. Other items which an exceptionally large portion of survey participants have changed at least once in the last decade include computers (84 percent), cars (79 percent), and television sets (76 percent), as shown in table 1 below.
A remarkable point is that participants change their phones much more frequently than their mobile plans. While more than half have changed their phones at least three times, only 23 percent – just under one third – have changed their mobile plan. “That is not hugely surprising. For most Swiss, buying a new phone is a source of enjoyment. Changing mobile plans, on the other hand, is just as unpopular as filling out tax returns,” says moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler. “But the unwillingness to migrate is a mistake, because changing mobile plans can save huge amounts of money.”
Low migration in financial services
Swiss unreadiness to migrate is most acute when it comes to financial services. Only 36 percent have changed their asset manager or their go-to bank in the past decade. Swiss are also creatures of habit when it comes to getting loans or using bank accounts (both 37 percent).
The survey results show that more residents are willing to migrate to a new family doctor (57 percent) than to change their bank or other financial services provider. “Migrating between banks is still unpopular in Switzerland,” observes moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz. “From a financial viewpoint, most people would benefit from changing service providers, as fees and charges vary broadly between banks.”
But the current turbulence surrounding Credit Suisse and the Swiss banking system may affect that. “It is likely that some customers will stop and ask themselves whether they really want to remain loyal to their current bank,” says Manz.
Table 1: Readiness to migrate in Switzerland
|
How often have you changed the
following in the past ten years?
|
At least once |
At least three times |
At least five times |
| Smartphone |
93% |
51% |
15% |
| Computer |
84% |
24% |
8% |
| Car |
79% |
23% |
8% |
| Television set |
76% |
19% |
6% |
| Bed |
72% |
18% |
6% |
| Mobile plan |
70% |
23% |
6% |
| Hairstyle |
67% |
39% |
19% |
| Job |
66% |
27% |
9% |
| Internet plan |
65% |
21% |
6% |
| Home |
62% |
23% |
8% |
| Bicycle |
61% |
19% |
7% |
| Hobby |
59% |
31% |
13% |
| Style of clothing |
58% |
33% |
15% |
| TV plan |
58% |
19% |
6% |
| Family doctor |
57% |
15% |
5% |
| Health insurance |
54% |
21% |
8% |
| Credit card issuer |
53% |
18% |
6% |
| Car insurance |
52% |
18% |
6% |
| Legal insurance |
43% |
14% |
6% |
| Stock broker |
38% |
18% |
7% |
| Mortgage |
38% |
17% |
6% |
| Personal loan provider |
37% |
19% |
7% |
| Pillar 3a solution |
37% |
15% |
6% |
| Savings account |
37% |
14% |
6% |
| Private account |
37% |
14% |
5% |
| Asset manager |
36% |
20% |
9% |
| Main bank |
36% |
13% |
5% |
| Life insurance |
34% |
17% |
6% |
In addition to showing which sectors are most prone to migration, it also reveals the things which Swiss change exceptionally often. 19 percent of participants say that they have changed their hairstyle at least five times over the past decade. Hairstyles are followed by phones and clothing styles (each 15 percent), and hobbies (13 percent).
Hardly anyone changes health insurance often
What about health insurance, where climbing premiums offer a strong incentive to change insurers? More than half of survey participants say that they have changed their insurer at least once in the past ten years. But that does not mean that Swiss readily migrate: Just 8 percent have changed their health insurance provider at least five times over the past decade (every two years, on average).
In many cases, the same health insurance companies remain among the most affordable options for several years at a time. Because of that, changing insurers every year is not always an urgent need, from a financial perspective,” explains Manz. But he is clear on one point: “Many residents could save large amounts of money by changing health insurance providers. That has been clearly shown by moneyland.ch’s annual studies.”
French-speaking Swiss are more likely to migrate
Residents of French-speaking Switzerland change their health insurance providers much more often than German-speaking Swiss. “That is likely because health insurance premiums are higher, on average, in French-speaking Switzerland than in German-speaking cantons,” clarifies Manz.
More generally, the survey shows that Swiss in the Romandie tend to change more willingly than other residents. For example, 67 percent of survey participants in French-speaking regions say that they have changed their hobby at least once in the last ten years, compared to 55 percent in German-speaking Switzerland.
Older residents rarely migrate
A look at different age groups shows that older residents are less likely to make major changes. For example, just 39 percent of adults in this age group have changed their home at least once in the past ten years (table 2). On the other hand, 79 percent of residents between the ages of 26 and 49 years old have moved homes at least once, and 11 percent have moved more than five times. Of residents between 18 and 25 years old, 69 percent have changed homes in the past decade.
Young people also show above-average readiness to change their style of clothing and their hairstyles. One-fourth have changed their style of clothing at least five times in the last ten years, compared to 18 percent of adults aged 26 to 49, and just 7 percent of adults aged 50 to 74.
Adults in the middle age group are most likely to change financial services. For example, 49 percent of participants aged 26 to 49 have changed private accounts at least once, compared to 21 percent in the oldest age group, and 43 percent of young adults.
Table 2: Readiness to migrate by age group
How often have you changed the
following in the past ten years? |
18-25 |
26-49 |
50-74 |
| At least once |
At least once |
At least once |
| Smartphone |
95% |
93% |
92% |
| Computer |
85% |
85% |
84% |
| Car |
69% |
81% |
79% |
| Television set |
73% |
79% |
72% |
| Bed |
89% |
79% |
58% |
| Mobile plan |
81% |
75% |
60% |
| Hairstyle |
86% |
76% |
49% |
| Job |
77% |
77% |
46% |
| Internet plan |
73% |
75% |
50% |
| Home |
69% |
79% |
39% |
Women change their hairstyle, men change their bank account
Women are much more likely to change their hairstyle than men, and do this more often. Nearly one-fourth of women (24 percent) say that they have changed their hairstyle at least five times in the past ten years, compared to just 14 percent of men.
Men, for their part, are somewhat more ready to make changes in areas where migrating is generally unpopular. This is especially true for financial services. For example, 41 percent of men have changed their savings account and pillar 3a solution at least once in the past decade, compared to a much lower 33 percent of women.
Methodology
The 2023 Swiss Migration Study is based on a representative survey carried out by market research institute Ipsos on behalf of moneyland.ch in March, 2023. A total of 1538 participants from French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland were asked how often they have changed items on a list.
Participants could also select the option that they do not use a service (a TV plan, for example) or an item (a car, for example). They also had the option of abstaining. The figures shown in the results are based on the participants who use the service or item in question and did not abstain.
Example: 1538 people are asked how often they change their smartphone. 10 of them say that they do not use smartphones. Another 16 abstain from answering the question. 1406 people say that they have changed their phone at least once. 1406 out of 1512 people (after deducting those who abstained or do not use a phone) is 93 percent.
Figures shown may differ slightly from each other due to rounding.
More on this topic:
Get the detailed tables here (German PDF)
