Swiss Supermarket Promotion Calendar: When Aktionen Actually Drop in 2026

If you still do your main shop on Tuesday morning, you are arriving 48 hours early. Migros and Denner switched from Tuesday to Thursday on 5 February 2026, which puts them level with Coop, Aldi Suisse, and Lidl, all of which already ran some or all of their weekly cycle from Thursday. Re-checked on 25 September 2026, the Thursday anchor is unchanged.

The cycle has now changed two years in a row, so bookmark this page and check it at the start of each year. Each retailer drops new offers on a set day, weekend deals overlap, and a seasonal cycle decides when meat is half-price, when chocolate hits 50% off, and when the wine Aktionen go deepest.

Sources checked regularly. Verified against Migros corporate communications (26 January 2026 announcement), Coop, Aldi Suisse, Lidl, and Denner official Aktion pages. Re-checked in July 2026: Denner's live flyer ran 23.07.–29.07.2026 (Thursday to Wednesday) and aldi-suisse.ch showed its two rounds, so the Thursday anchor still holds. The start days of all seven chains were checked again on 25 September 2026 on migros.ch, denner.ch, aldi-suisse.ch, lidl.ch, aligro.ch and ottos.ch. Current offers are in the Rappn app, updated daily.

Rappn is an independent grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer.

Swiss supermarket Aktionen in 2026: which chain starts its offers on which day?

Every large Swiss supermarket now anchors its promotion week on Thursday. Coop went to a Thursday-to-Wednesday cycle in late January 2025, Migros and Denner moved the Aktion start from Tuesday to Thursday on 5 February 2026, and Aldi Suisse and Lidl already ran Thursday-anchored cycles. The anchor was re-checked in July 2026: Denner's live flyer ran 23.07. to 29.07.2026, Thursday to Wednesday. Aldi Suisse and Lidl add a second wave on Monday, so a second visit early in the week picks up the parallel list. Aligro's weekly flyer runs Monday to Saturday, and Otto's starts its weekly hits on Tuesday. At Migros, Coop and Denner, Wednesday is the last day of the Thursday week: the new one opens the next morning.

The big change: Thursday is the new Tuesday

For decades, Swiss Aktion week ran Tuesday to Monday. Then it changed in two steps. Coop shifted to a Thursday-to-Wednesday cycle in late January 2025. Migros and its subsidiary Denner followed on 5 February 2026: their weekly Aktionen now run Thursday to Wednesday, and the Migros-Magazin and the Coopzeitung are delivered on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

The reason is shopping behaviour. Both Coop and Migros now confirm that the bulk of weekly grocery shopping happens between Thursday and Saturday, so promotions are timed to land when foot traffic is highest. Migros's Wochenend-Knaller keep their Thursday-to-Sunday window; the switch did not change that. Denner expanded its Wochenend-Knaller to four days, Thursday to Sunday. Because Lidl and Aldi already had Thursday-anchored cycles, the switch puts everyone on roughly the same rhythm.

Wednesday is now the last and thinnest day of the promotion week at Migros, Coop and Denner. Thursday morning is when the new cycle's best deals are most available, before the weekend rush picks them clean.

The weekly cycle at a glance, retailer by retailer

Lidl runs two waves: the LIDL AKTUELL week from Thursday to Wednesday, plus a Monday wave whose items run until Wednesday or Saturday, and its Super Weekend runs Thursday to Saturday (lidl.ch, checked 25 September 2026). Aldi Suisse also starts twice a week, on Monday and on Thursday; its Aktionen carry no end date and run while stocks last, and only the Superdeal is dated, Thursday to Wednesday (aldi-suisse.ch, checked 25 September 2026). The "Monday to Wednesday" and "Thursday to Sunday" labels on the Aldi site only show how long a wave is on display before the next one starts. Aligro's weekly flyer runs Monday to Saturday, and Otto's starts its weekly hits on Tuesday with no end date (aligro.ch and ottos.ch, checked 25 September 2026).

Migros and Coop now run on the same beat, so a single Thursday-morning shop catches the headline Aktionen of both flyers. Our weekly basket comparison shows what that looks like in practice.

Within the week: when to actually go to the store

The day an Aktion starts is not always the best day to shop. Day by day, it works out like this.

Thursday morning (8:00–11:00) is when fresh-Aktion stock is fullest. Meat, fish, fruit, and Aktion-priced ready meals are on the shelves in volume, and the 30% and 50% labels are already up. It is the window for high-demand items like Pouletbrust, salmon fillets, or Käse-Aktionen.

Late afternoon (17:30–19:30) is a good window for last-hour discount stickers, though timing can vary by store. Coop and Migros put stickers on meat, bread, and prepared foods in the late afternoon, and the deepest reductions typically land closer to closing. A flyer Aktion and a sticker compound: a chicken at -30% Aktion plus a -50% expiry sticker sometimes lands at just over a third of normal shelf price.

Saturday morning is the worst time to shop for limited-quantity Aktionen but the best time for browsing the weekend deals. The high-volume Wochenend-Knaller selections at Migros and Denner run Thursday to Sunday, so Saturday catches them mid-cycle. Expect crowds.

On Sunday Swiss supermarkets are closed. The exceptions are train station Migros and Coop branches (Migros at HB Zürich, Lausanne, Genève, Bern, plus around 50 stations), Denner-on-station, Migrolino, and a few border-town Coop Pronto outlets. Prices at station branches are higher, so treat them as emergency-only.

Monday and Tuesday are the quieter days at Migros, Coop and Denner, whose Thursday week is still running until Wednesday. Elsewhere it is different: Aldi, Lidl and Aligro start new waves on Monday, and Otto's starts its weekly hits on Tuesday. Good for non-Aktion staples and for avoiding crowds.

Wednesday is the last day of the Migros, Coop and Denner week and of Lidl's LIDL AKTUELL week. Remaining Aktion stock is thin, and the new cycle opens the next morning.

The seasonal calendar that drives the deepest deals

The weekly cycle sets the floor. The genuinely big discounts come from the seasonal cycle, when retailers go beyond their standard 30% Aktion and into structural clearance.

January: post-holiday inventory reset

In the first week of January, Christmas chocolate and confectionery go to 50% to 70% off. Lebkuchen, Adventskalender remnants, and seasonal alcohol clear out fast, and wine and bubbly Aktionen follow as retailers rebuild their assortment for the year. For sweets and seasonal goods, this is the deepest discounting window of the calendar.

February: weekly cycle recalibration + Valentine's

Watch for cycle changes at the turn of the year: Coop switched in late January 2025, Migros and Denner on 5 February 2026. Valentine's drives a chocolate-and-flowers Aktion peak in the week before 14 February. After Valentine's, fish and seafood Aktionen take over for Lent.

March–April: spring fresh and Easter

Swiss asparagus arrives in mid-April, and the green and white Spargel season runs April to June. Strawberries from Spain are heavily promoted from March, with Swiss greenhouse strawberries from April and field-grown from late May or early June. Easter chocolate (lamb, eggs, bunnies) drops steeply the day after Easter Monday: typically 50% off, clearing out within 48 hours.

May–July: peak Swiss-grown produce

Swiss strawberries, asparagus, peas, courgettes, salad greens, and early stone fruit reach promotional volume because the Swiss harvest is at its peak. Grilling-season Aktionen on meat and sausages run from May into August.

August: end-of-summer ice cream and BBQ clear

Ice cream is the August signal: family packs go on 30% to 50% Aktionen while retailers clear cold-chain inventory before the autumn assortment lands. BBQ accessories, mineral water multipacks, and outdoor goods follow the same pattern.

September: back-to-school and harvest

Apples, pears, plums, grapes, and squash arrive at Aktion volumes. Stationery, lunch boxes, and back-to-school bundles peak in the first two weeks. The September Migros and Coop assortment refresh is one of the year's bigger flyer drops.

October: pumpkin and the early winter restock

Halloween is a smaller deal in Switzerland than in the US, but pumpkin and squash Aktionen are heavy. The first Christmas stock arrives in late October, and that is when the previous year's seasonal leftovers get cleared.

November: the Black Friday convergence

Black Friday now matters in Swiss supermarkets. Coop runs a multi-day Black Friday window starting around 28 November, with discounts across food, household, and seasonal goods. Migros runs Migros-wide promotions, including a recurring 30% off all toys, typically on the day or the weekend of Black Friday. Aldi, Lidl, and Denner take part selectively. Singles' Day (11 November) has grown into a smaller Black Friday warm-up, especially for Lidl.

December: Adventskalender and the Christmas peak

Coop runs an in-store and online Advent calendar with daily Aktionen throughout December. Christmas baking ingredients, fondue, raclette cheese (Aktion volume in mid-December), Champagne, Prosecco, and panettone all peak in the second and third weeks of December. Between Christmas and New Year, leftover Christmas stock gets cleared.

Stop scrolling through 7 flyers every Thursday.
Rappn aggregates this week's Aktionen across Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Aligro, and Otto's into one feed that you can filter by category.

Annual flyer drops and special events to watch

A few dates anchor the year on top of the rolling weekly cycle.

Coop Adventskalender (December): A daily promotional reveal across stores and the Coop app. One or two offers in the daily lineup are genuine standouts.

Migros Cumulus Days: Recurring 4× and 6× points multiplier days, typically 4 to 6 times per year. Stocking up on one is effectively 4% to 6% extra in points value on top of any Aktion price. See our Cumulus vs Supercard breakdown.

Coop Supercard 5-fach-Punkte days: The Supercard equivalent, recurring through the year as well. Worth combining with Aktion prices on bulk pantry items.

Aldi and Lidl seasonal Themenwochen: Both discounters run themed weeks (Italian, French, Mexican, Asian, organic, BBQ) in which a category gets deeper-than-usual promotions and special-import products. Each themed wave starts on a Monday or a Thursday; at Lidl it runs until Wednesday or Saturday depending on the item, at Aldi while stocks last.

Denner Wein-Aktionen: Monthly 50%-off windows on selected wines, typically tied to a vintage or producer focus.

How to read the flyer fine print

The Aktion price is what you pay during the promotion period. The "statt" (was) price is what the retailer claims the regular price is, and the percentage discount is calculated from that. Since the federal pricing rules were loosened in 2025, retailers can run Aktionen for longer and have more flexibility over what counts as the regular price, provided that price was charged for at least 30 consecutive days. So a percentage like "-48%" can sometimes overstate the real discount versus the genuinely lowest price you might find on the same item across the year. The fix is to track actual prices, not stickered percentages.

The "X für Y" bundle (3 for 2, 4 for 3) is usually a strong deal on shelf-stable goods like pasta, tinned tomatoes, and canned fish, and across a whole basket it adds up.

The "20% on the second item" promotion is weaker than it looks: the average per-unit discount is 10%, not 20%. The "1+1 gratis" structure is the strongest of the bundle Aktionen, equal to 50% off per unit.

Loyalty multiplier days (Cumulus 4×/6×, Supercard 5×) stack on top of Aktion prices. A 30% Aktion on chicken combined with a 6× Cumulus day gives an effective 30% off plus 6% in points value. The points are credit for later, not a lower shelf price, so the two figures do not add up to a genuine 36% off.

A typical week, planned

If you have a free hour on Thursday morning and another on Saturday, this routine captures most of the value.

Wednesday evening: Open Rappn or browse the Migros-Magazin and the Denner flyer delivered that day (the Coopzeitung follows on Thursday). Pick 5 to 10 items worth chasing.

Thursday 9:00: First store run, for fresh and meat Aktionen. Go to Migros or Coop for the weekly headlines, and add a discounter (Lidl/Aldi) for the parallel Thursday cycle. Most fresh Aktion stock is still on the shelves in the morning.

Friday or Saturday late afternoon: Second short run for sticker-discounted bread, meat, and ready meals approaching expiry. This is also the best Wochenend-Knaller window at Migros and Denner.

Monday morning (optional): Aldi's and Lidl's Monday waves and Aligro's new weekly flyer add a smaller list. Useful if you live near one and have time.

That cadence catches both major Aktion windows and most of the late-hour discounts. Anything beyond it brings diminishing returns.