Executive Summary

The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has fundamentally revised its price statistics and implemented them as of 2026. The updated basket of goods for the National Consumer Price Index (CPI) now captures new products such as plant-based milk, e-scooters, and electricity from charging stations. Additionally, new real estate statistics on changes of ownership (from December 2026) and a price index for multi-family houses (from end of 2027) are being introduced. The digitalization of data collection is being advanced through electronic data and automated website surveys.

Persons

  • Federal Statistical Office (FSO) – Swiss authority

Topics

  • Price statistics and inflation
  • Consumer Price Index (CPI)
  • Real estate market and transactions
  • Digitalization of data collection
  • International statistical standards (COICOP 2018)

Clarus Lead

The FSO is modernizing its price statistics for the first time since 2020 with a comprehensive revision. These indices are central to Swiss economic and monetary policy as well as to the indexation of wages, pensions, and contracts in the hundreds of billions range. The adjustment is being made through updated baskets of goods, new data sources, and digitalized collection methods to better reflect economic reality.

Detailed Summary

The revision affects three central price indices: the National Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Producer and Import Price Index (PPI/IPI), and the Construction Price Index (BAP). The new CPI basket is based on the international COICOP 2018 nomenclature and for the first time comprises 13 instead of 12 main groups. Newly included products reflect changing consumption patterns: plant-based milk, e-scooters, charging station electricity, motorhomes, funeral services, and long-term care. The transport and communication groups have been fundamentally revised to reflect digitalization trends.

Data collection is being systematically modernized. The FSO is expanding the use of scanner data from retail chains and electronic data from property management companies. Internet-based price surveys are already automated on approximately 60 websites. In the construction sector, the e-BAP project will in future enable price recording via administrative software, thereby reducing the burden on companies. For pharmaceutical products and organic chemicals, customs administration data is also being integrated.

Two new statistical offerings are emerging in the real estate sector: From December 2026, the FSO will publish land register data on annual changes of ownership (2017–2025), broken down by canton, object type, and transaction type. From the end of 2027, a new price index for multi-family houses will follow, combining transaction prices from land registers with structural and location variables from the building and housing register. This data is intended to improve the sample coverage of the existing residential real estate price index and inform the economy, government, and real estate industry.

Key Messages

  • Five-yearly revision: Price statistics are comprehensively updated every five years to reflect market developments and consumption patterns.
  • New baskets of goods: CPI now covers 13 product groups instead of 12; new products such as plant-based milk, e-scooters, and long-term care are included.
  • Advancing digitalization: Automated website surveys, scanner data, and administrative data sources reduce survey effort and improve data quality.
  • Expanding real estate statistics: New statistics on changes of ownership (2026) and multi-family house price index (2027) close information gaps.
  • International comparability: COICOP 2018 nomenclature enables standardized comparisons with other countries.

Critical Questions

  1. Data Quality & Validity: How is the representativeness of scanner data and website price surveys verified, particularly for smaller providers or regional markets that may be underrepresented?

  2. Conflicts of Interest & Independence: To what extent can data providers (retail chains, property management companies) influence data selection, and what quality control mechanisms protect the FSO's independence?

  3. Causality & Alternative Scenarios: How is it ensured that changes in the indices actually reflect market developments and are not caused by methodological revisions or basket of goods changes?

  4. Feasibility & Transition Risks: How are users (employers, insurance companies, public administration) supported in switching to new indices, and what transition periods apply to the indexation of existing contracts?

  5. Real Estate Data Coverage: Do land register data cover all transaction types (e.g., gifts, inheritance cases), or are there blind spots in market representation?

  6. Digitalization Risks: Can technical failures or changes in website structures impair automated data collection, and how is continuity ensured?

Bibliography

Primary Source: Updated basket of consumer prices, new real estate statistics and more digitalization – https://www.news.admin.ch/de/newnsb/Y-JXC27cLMlD

Verification Status: ✓ 13 February 2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-checking: 13 February 2026