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The penultimate day of the year: The Glattzentrum in Wallisellen ZH invites you to a post-Christmas sale.
Anarchy does not explode in the shopping center with the highest turnover in Switzerland. But one cannot speak of a huge void: the parking spaces are full. Bargain hunter lines up on the escalator.
The scenery looks like a normal shopping day. Only the queues in front of some closed shops and restaurants are reminiscent of Covid-19 and, of course, the masks. They even got to the “sale” sign.
The inspection at the Glattzentrum confirms what the evaluation of cell phone, shopping and traffic data shows: the Swiss are much more on the go in the second Corona wave than in the spring, regardless of age. Many seem to dispense with what is explicitly forbidden. Everything else is done.
“Mobility has been relatively constant since the beginning of November,” says Peter Moser, deputy director of the Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich. The most populous canton in the country has commissioned the Intervista research institute to monitor the mobility behavior of the population during the pandemic. For this, the data of 2,561 mobile phone users between 15 and 79 years old are evaluated. Objective: to find out how well people adhere to the principle of social distancing.
At the end of October, the Federal Council took the first measures in the fight against the second wave: events with more than 50 people were banned, as well as sports and cultural leisure activities with more than 15 people, employers were encouraged to switch to the home office if possible. Restaurants, bars and clubs had to close at 11 pm
Much more on the road than in spring
As a result, the average distance traveled per day per person in Switzerland stabilized at 30 to 35 kilometers, around ten kilometers less than before Corona, but also significantly more than during the close of spring. At that time, sometimes only 15 to 20 kilometers were traveled per day.
Especially in their spare time, the population is apparently no longer willing to limit itself entirely. Far fewer people are left without trips or visits to friends and family than in spring.
And buying behavior has changed only minimally compared to the relatively relaxed summer and fall months. “Mobility events like the Lädele have not dried up,” says Moser.
This is also confirmed by figures from finance professor Martin Brown. He teaches at the University of St. Gallen and uses card transactions to monitor consumer behavior: “In the last four weeks of the year, the volume of card payments was up to 12 percent higher than in the same period of the year. last year”.
However, this increase must be put into perspective. “Thanks to Corona, there was a massive shift from cash payments to card payments.” Overall, the fixed retail holiday business was weaker than the previous year.
And yet: stores have not been orphaned in recent weeks and months. “Particularly in rural areas, stationary retail held up surprisingly well in the Corona year,” Brown said. The grocery trade was even better than in previous years, especially at the expense of the catering trade. “On the other hand, non-grocery stores in city centers suffered greatly.”
What does the gastronomic blockade bring?
It is difficult to estimate how much the closure of the restaurant, cultural, sports and leisure facilities on December 22 influenced the mobility behavior of the population.
Peter Moser from the Zurich Statistical Office explains: “The measures coincided with the start of the holiday season. Of course, these always reduce the mobility of the passengers. That makes it difficult to assess. “Holiday leisure traffic was at the level of previous weekends.
Moser emphasizes that Corona’s new measures had little direct effect on physical activity behavior at the end of October. “There are complex interactions between the mobility behavior of the population, the epidemiological situation and the measures taken by the authorities.” The latter would primarily ensure that existing movement trends become clear.
Meanwhile, finance professor Brown noted an interesting and completely gratifying effect: “Compared to 2019, this year’s holiday shopping was better distributed on different days of the week.”
In the past, Saturdays in December were by far the most frequently visited days. This year this effect was much less pronounced. “In particular, after the Federal Council decreed a curfew beginning at 7 pm on Friday, December 11, and the closing of stores on Sundays and holidays, there was a positive effect on distribution,” Brown said.
It came as a surprise to him: “To be honest, I was hoping that these measures would lead to even greater concentration.”
However, this fear did not come true. “The Federal Council very well anticipated the signaling effect of the measures on the behavior of the population, or it was simply lucky.”
