The Swiss move more
The research institute GfK inquired and found in a study that around seven percent more portable electronic devices were sold in 2020 than before. In all of Europe, sales even rose to around 22 percent!
The reason for this is seen primarily in the restrictions caused by the corona pandemic. If people used to go to the fitness center and were able to monitor their fitness there, they now had to act more on their own. If you wanted to stay fit, you train alone and therefore had to monitor your vital functions and your own fitness values. Overall, the lockdown resulted in a trend towards more movement. According to surveys, the Swiss went for walks more often last spring, with more than a third of those surveyed confirming this. Around a quarter more did more sport than before. The joy of exercise was diminished a little by the autumn, but in November the Swiss became more athletic again. They still go for walks more often than they did before the pandemic and do significantly more exercise.
Strong growth in portable electronic devices
It is noticeable that not only electronic portable devices have been sold much more frequently, but that the sale of other devices for health care has also risen sharply. Thus, on the one hand, the so-called wearables, which include the well-known fitness trackers, have been sold much more frequently. On the other hand, blood pressure monitors, among other things, went over the (virtual) counter more often. Sales of these devices increased by around 12 percent from January to October 2020 compared to the previous year. For many Swiss, it is now part of a healthy life to regularly check your own values and thus to know in which area they are individually within the norm.
Home trainers and other fitness equipment, which meanwhile have delivery times of a few weeks to months, were also sold much more strongly. Here, too, demand rose sharply due to the corona, as the fitness centers were closed or should not be used for reasons of infection protection.
Healthier Swiss due to the pandemic?
According to studies, not only the Swiss, but also other Europeans have been doing more sport since the restrictions caused by the pandemic exist. However, at the beginning of the corona crisis, many Swiss people told GfK that they were living much healthier than they did a year ago and that physical and mental fitness was of crucial importance to them. Over a five-year period, Europeans' fitness and sports activities have generally increased significantly. According to the survey, it is now around 38 percent of Europeans who are regularly active in sports. Around 60 percent of those surveyed do sports at least once a week. Compared to the last survey in 2015, both values have increased by four percent.
Conclusion: The Swiss live healthier and monitor themselves better
The Swiss have not only been living healthier than a few years ago since the corona pandemic, surveys have clearly shown this. But now they have mainly adjusted to fitness in their own four walls as well as in the home environment. More home trainers are being sold that are intended to at least partially replace equipment in the gym. In addition, significantly more fitness trackers and other wearables were sold in 2020, and the sale of devices for health monitoring and prevention increased significantly.
