Behind the scenes
Galaxus survey: 1 in 2 people washes their dishes with germ-ridden sponges
by Jana Pense
Half of Europe’s shoppers make secret purchases
27.8.2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
Shame and fear of conflict is driving 50 per cent of people in Europe towards stealth shopping. By concealing their purchases, these shoppers are often leaving their partners in the dark. Italy’s home to the highest number of secret shoppers, France the lowest. In Switzerland and Germany, people are mostly coy about buying sex toys.
«No man should have a secret from his own wife. She invariably finds it out.» Those are the words of Irish author Oscar Wilde, taken from his 1895 comedy An Ideal Husband. And 130 years on, we still aren’t following his advice. According to a representative survey conducted by market researcher YouGov on behalf of online retailer Galaxus, 50 per cent of adults in Europe have made a secret purchase within the last 12 months. Respondents cited shame and a desire to keep the peace at home as reasons for their sneaky shopping habits. A total of 2,651 across Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and France took part in the survey.
There’s a noticeable difference between countries when it comes to stealth shopping. Italy and Austria are home to a considerable number of secret shoppers. Meanwhile, in France and Switzerland, people are less coy about their purchases. Stealth shopping is least common in France, followed by Switzerland. Germany ranks somewhere in the middle.
Young people are most likely to indulge in secret shopping, with six out of ten under-30s reporting they’d done so within the last year. The likelihood of a customer concealing their purchases declines with age. There’s very little difference between the sexes when it comes to stealth shopping.
Most of the time, Europe’s stealth shoppers are trying to conceal their purchases from a romantic partner. In fact, six out of ten people report doing so. Parents are the second most likely group to be kept in the dark about shopping habits.
Italy’s the outlier in this regard. While Italian couples are less likely to keep purchases a secret from each other, many report to duping their parents on their shopping habits. This could be down to the fact that the average Italian doesn’t move out of their parents’ home until they’re 30 (article in German). Across the rest of the EU, the average age for flying the nest is 26. In Germany, it’s 24. As you’d expect, it tends to be young people who hide purchases from their parents.
Many people associate stealth shopping with buying adult products. In fact, one third of survey respondents said they’d rather keep their sex toy or lubricant purchases private. Other items considered most embarrassing to purchase include fast food and sweets (ranked second) and clothes and shoes (ranked third). People also tend to keep quiet about buying genital hygiene products and medications.
France defies this trend, with shoppers there reporting less shame when it comes to adult products. What customers in the land of gourmands are less proud about is buying fast food and sweets. In Italy, it’s a different story; very few people there are embarrassed about treating themselves to chocolate bars and burgers. When it comes to adult products, the most secretive customers come from Switzerland, narrowly followed by Germany.
Europe’s propensity for secret shopping naturally gives online retailers the edge. Six out of ten respondents said they sometimes prefer ordering things online because it’s more anonymous than shopping in a brick-and-mortar store. The same number of people reported that they valued neutral packaging that wouldn’t reveal what they’d purchased.
In spite of how much more open-minded society has become since Oscar Wilde’s time, we still have our little vices and things we’re ashamed about. Whether it’s a secret chocolate bar, a discreetly ordered sex toy or a pair of sneakers hurriedly hidden away in the wardrobe, all reveal that occasional desire we have to be accountable to ourselves and ourselves alone. Is that good for our relationships? Well, that might just be the biggest mystery of all.
Have you done any secret shopping recently? Which of your partner’s purchases would you be unhappy about? Do you appreciate Galaxus’s neutral packaging when buying something on the sly? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
Alex Hämmerli
Senior Public Relations Manager
Alex.Haemmerli@digitecgalaxus.chAt Digitec and Galaxus, I’m in charge of communication with journalists and bloggers. Good stories are my passion – I am always up to date.
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