Swiss associations can set up their own online shop for merchandise, event tickets and course registrations without programming knowledge. Mini-webshops or one-page shops hosted by a Payment Service Provider (PSP) are suitable for this. They accept payments via TWINT, credit card, PostFinance and Apple Pay. Set-up takes less than an hour, and costs start at zero francs in fixed costs plus transaction fees of around 1.3–2.5 % per sale.

This guide compares the three most common sales channels for associations, shows three concrete use cases (fan shop, ticket shop, course registration) and explains step by step how to set up your association shop.

1. Why having your own association shop makes sense

Many associations sell shirts via WhatsApp message, concert tickets via bank transfer and course places by handshake at training. It works – until it no longer works: orders get lost, payments are missing, the treasurer loses track. A simple online shop solves three problems at once: it displays the offer, takes the order and collects the payment – all in one step.

A mini-webshop (also one-page shop) is a single website with a few products that is directly connected to a payment solution. In contrast to a full e-commerce shop (e.g. WooCommerce, Shopify), a mini-webshop needs no own domain, no hosting and no technical maintenance. It is ideal for associations that sell 3–20 products.

2. Three use cases: How associations use their online shop

2.1 Sports club fan shop: shirts, caps and water bottles

A football or floorball association offers club merchandise to its members and fans: shirts (EUR 65–85), caps (EUR 25), water bottles (EUR 15) and hoodies (EUR 55). In the mini-webshop, the buyer selects product, size and colour, enters their address and pays immediately. The association receives the order including payment and ships the product or offers collection at the next home game.

2.2 Cultural association ticket shop: concert, theatre, reading

A brass band association sells tickets for its annual concert (EUR 25 adults, EUR 15 children). Instead of selling the tickets for cash at the entrance, it sets up an online ticket shop. The buyer selects the category, pays via TWINT or credit card and receives a confirmation email that serves as the ticket. At the entrance, the confirmation is scanned by smartphone or printout or checked manually. Advantage: The association knows the number of visitors in advance and can plan catering better.

2.3 Course association: yoga subscription, cooking course, training camp

A yoga association offers a 10-session pass for EUR 180 and individual lessons for EUR 22. A cooking association sells individual course places (EUR 75 per evening). In the mini-webshop, the product page also serves as a registration form: name, e-mail, desired course and date. Payment is made directly upon registration – the association saves itself the follow-up. For recurring offers, subscription models with automatic monthly debit are suitable.

3. Three sales channels in comparison

Not every association needs its own web shop. Depending on the offer, target group and technical know-how, three approaches are possible.

Tip: For most associations, the mini-webshop is the sweet spot: little effort, professional payment processing, sufficient functions. A full web shop only pays off once the association maintains an extensive range and regularly adds new products.

4. Step by step: set up association shop

4.1 Define products

Define which products your association wants to sell online. Keep the list short – 5–10 products are enough to start. For each product you need: name, price in EUR, description (1–2 sentences), a photo and, where applicable, variants (size, colour). For tickets: event date, category, available quantity. For courses: date, time, course leader, participant limit.

4.2 Set up shop

Register with a PSP that offers mini-webshops – for example Payrexx Pages, MyCOMMERCE or a comparable Swiss tool. Upload your association logo, choose the colours and add the products with photo, description and price. Activate the payment methods: TWINT, credit and debit card (Visa, Mastercard), PostFinance Pay. Test the shop with a test payment (small amount, then cancel).

4.3 Sell and promote

Share the shop link by e-mail with the members, post it on social media and print it as a QR code on flyers. For pre-orders (e.g. shirts before the start of the season), set an order window with start and end date. For tickets, communicate clearly: «Secure online tickets – limited places». For courses, send the link directly with the course confirmation.

4.4 Combination on-site + online

Many associations sell online AND at the match or event. It works like this: The online shop accepts pre-orders (payment immediately). At the event itself, the pre-ordered products are ready for collection. In addition, you collect walk-in customers via Tap to Pay, card terminal or QR code at the stand. The revenue from both channels flows into the same PSP Dashboard.

5. Costs at a glance: What does an association shop cost?

The following table shows the costs for a typical association shop with 10 products and 50 orders per month at an average price of EUR 40.

Result: The Mini-webshop is for most associations the most cost-efficient solution when the time required for set-up and maintenance is taken into account. The pure transaction costs are slightly lower with the own web shop, but the infrastructure and maintenance costs do not offset this at low volumes.

6. Checklist: set up association shop

• Products defined: name, price (EUR), description, photo, variants (size, colour)

• PSP account opened and verified (statutes, IBAN, board identification)

• Mini-webshop created: logo, colours, products uploaded

• Payment methods activated: TWINT, credit card, PostFinance

• Form fields set up (name, address, size – depending on product)

• Test order carried out and confirmation e-mail checked

• Shop link shared: e-mail to members, social media, QR code for print

• Process for collection at the event defined (print order list or tick off digitally)

• Refund process clarified (e.g. in the event of event cancellation)

• Export orders regularly (CSV) for accounting and order processing

With «Pages», Payrexx offers a mini-webshop that can be set up without programming knowledge and combines merch, tickets and course places with integrated payment (TWINT, credit card, PostFinance, Apple Pay).

Form fields for name, address and individual details (e.g. T-shirt size or course date) can be configured per product. The orders flow into a central Dashboard with export function. The Free subscription has no monthly fixed costs – the association only pays transaction fees per sale.