About the report:
Analysis of the development of the e-commerce market in Poland between 2020 and 2022 - key trends and factors influencing the industry. In the publication, we provide an overview of the most up-to-date market data on e-commerce in Poland. Based on a survey, we identify the attitudes of Polish e-commerce entrepreneurs, analyse their moods, experiences and challenges they faced during and after the pandemic. The report concludes with perspectives and challenges for the further development of e-commerce in Poland.
Key conclusions:
- In today’s complex e-commerce environment, companies are not relying on a single sales channel; rather, many are successfully implementing multi-channel strategies. Companies’ own online platforms give them full control over the purchasing process and the customer relationship, but external e-commerce platforms offer a wider reach and greater visibility. Traditional sales formats add credibility to companies’ and brands’ image. In addition, integrating online and offline environments is becoming the norm, providing customers with a consistent and complementary shopping experience.
- The outlook for the e-commerce sector’s development is optimistic. The sector is growing steadily and, despite the slowdown after the pandemic, its growth is powered by modern technologies and consumers’ adaptive shopping habits. Poles’ growing trust in online shopping — linked to convenience, the wide range of products and the ability to compare prices easily — is encouraging companies to continually invest in improving customer service and delivery processes. The sector’s development is being fostered by digitisation, supported by regulations and political initiatives.
- The e-commerce sector in Poland faces a variety of challenges, which often result from its rapid development. One of the main problems is increased competition, which is prompting companies to keep introducing innovations to attract customers. Adapting to advancing technology requires companies to constantly invest in order to meet the changing standards of online shopping. This kind of progress could also lead to the emergence of new business models that may put pressure on less competitive players. Legal regulations and political decisions, which — although they often support the sector’s development — may lead to additional obligations and costs, add to the changing landscape.
- The vast majority of respondents to the survey (66.7 per cent) said that their total sales volume had increased under the impact of the pandemic, a fifth said it had not changed. Even more, almost 75 per cent, admit that their sales on e-commerce platforms increased during the same period.
- Among the biggest barriers to entry on online platforms, respondents include the fees associated with being on marketplaces - this was the answer given by more than half of those surveyed. This is followed by logistics and the difficulties associated with this in a marketplace environment (36.2%). Marketplace platforms are also perceived as a space where competition between sellers is activated (27.6%), which may be due to the presence of multiple players offering analogous products and the possibility to compare these products with each other.