Secondhand Champions: These Cantons are Driving the Circular Economy Forward
20.02.2026 | from Ricardo AG
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Image rights: Ricardo AG
20.02.2026, In 2025, around 68% of all listings and 70% of the successfully sold items on the online marketplace Ricardo were secondhand. In a recent analysis, Ricardo reveals in which cantons the exchange of used items is particularly vigorous. While a large proportion of the total secondhand volume originates from populous cantons like Zurich and Bern, smaller cantons such as Schwyz and Appenzell Ausserrhoden are the most active drivers of the Swiss circular economy on a per capita basis.
For a recent analysis, the online marketplace Ricardo compared the secondhand listings in 2025 against the population size of the Swiss cantons*. This investigation reveals that particularly large and populous cantons shape the majority of the secondhand volume on Ricardo: Approximately 23% of all secondhand listings in 2025 came from users in the canton of Zurich, about 12% from Bern, and 10% from Aargau. Combined, these three cantons contributed around 45% to Ricardo's entire secondhand offering. A look at the most popular categories for supply and demand paints a clear picture across Switzerland: Unused items in the categories 'Home & Living,' 'Clothing & Accessories,' and 'Collectibles & Curiosities' were most frequently given a second life via Ricardo last year.
Per Capita: Secondhand Champion Canton Schwyz
As Ricardo's current analysis shows, while the large Swiss cantons drive the major bulk on Ricardo, it is the smaller cantons that take on the role of secondhand champions in terms of per capita dynamics. Leading the pack is Schwyz, where approximately 1.5 used items per inhabitant were listed on Ricardo in 2025. In this central Swiss canton, used items in the categories 'Home & Living' were most frequently listed, closely followed by 'Collectibles & Curiosities.' In terms of per capita activity, the cantons Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Solothurn follow in second and third place (each around 1.4 listed secondhand offers). The cantons Geneva, with about 0.3 listed secondhand offers, Vaud (0.5), and Valais (0.6), bring up the rear and fall significantly below the Swiss average of around 1.1 offered secondhand items per inhabitant. Ricardo's current findings make it clear that activity on the online marketplace is not necessarily a matter of cantonal size and that Swiss regions greatly differ in their usage and sustainability behaviours.
Secondhand Champions 2025 (absolute): Percentage of Total Volume
Zurich: 23%
Bern: 12%
Aargau: 10%
St. Gallen: 7%
Lucerne: 6%
Secondhand Champions 2025 (per capita): Number of listed secondhand offerings
Schwyz: 1.5
Appenzell Ausserrhoden: 1.4
Solothurn: 1.4
Aargau: 1.3
Zug: 1.3
* Basis: The analysis covers secondhand listings on Ricardo from 01.01.2025 to 31.12.2025,
relative to the population size of the Swiss cantons (Federal Statistical Office, 27.08.2025). For more
information or detailed cantonal data, please contact:
Media Contact:
Ricardo AG
Mojca Fuks, Senior Corporate Communications Manager
mojca.fuks@swissmarketplace.group
+41 76 220 59 89
Editor's note: Image rights belong to the respective publisher. Image rights: Ricardo AG
Conclusion of this article: « Secondhand Champions: These Cantons are Driving the Circular Economy Forward »
Ricardo AG
Founded in 1999 under the name auktion24.ch as a classic auction platform in Baar (ZG), ricardo.ch AG has been continuously expanded in recent years.
Today, the online marketplace boasts its own platform for vehicles and vehicle accessories at auto.ricardo.ch and a dedicated section for new items from established Swiss companies in the shops on ricardo.ch. Access to all offers operates through a single member login.
With approximately 600,000 ongoing listings (auctions, fixed-price offers, and classified ads), an additional 2.5 million shop articles, and over 1.7 million members, ricardo.ch is the largest Swiss online marketplace. Currently, ricardo.ch employs around 110 staff in Switzerland and is headquartered in Zug.
For more information about ricardo.ch, please visit ricardo.ch à About Us
Note: The "About Us" text is taken from public sources or from the company profile on HELP.ch.
Source: Ricardo AG, Press release
Original article published on: Secondhand Champions: Diese Kantone treiben die Kreislaufwirtschaft an