When comes to e-commerce in Poland, for the majority of businesses the Internet remains a medium of communication, though the importance of online shopping for business has seen some developments. Business owners remain strongly convinced that buying online in Poland for business is just a matter of time.
E-commerce in Poland: survey results
According to research conducted by IAB, 58% of respondents still don’t use the Internet to sell their products online, regardless of the size the company and types of products sold. The majority of companies selling online in Poland operate in the automotive industry, as well as telecommunication and real estate. When comes to finance and insurance, construction, education and art, less than 30% of respondents sell online.
E-commerce in Poland: solutions
Interestingly, an online shop isn’t always the preferred way of selling online for Polish businesses. The majority of online sellers prefer specialised selling platforms, or even simple ordering forms, amounting to 47% of respondents selling online. This is hardly a surprise, as the majority of companies selling online in Poland employ fewer than 10 employees, thus building up an e-commerce platform from scratch sounds like an unnecessary if not an impossible task. Some respondents pointed out that they’re selling via email as well as using more complex social media solutions.
E-commerce remains largely just a secondary sales channel for the majority of Polish businesses. Only 23% of businesses selling online indicated that e-commerce is their main form of trading.
E-commerce in Poland: barriers to growth
The good news is that 46% of businesses predict their online sales are going to go up. However, there are several barriers to this growth. First, Poland still needs to develop secure payment systems to support e-commerce. One of the issues here is that Poland still has a low percentage of credit card usage, when compared to countries leading in e-commerce. Further, there are no uniformed standards between financial institutions and payment processing companies.
When comes to communicating with customers, Polish businesses rely mostly on email (92%), web forms, online profiles and social media. Mobile apps are used only by about 10% of respondents.
This article is just a short excerpt of a comprehensive and detailed report on the impact of the Internet on Polish economy published by IAB Polska. If you’re interested in knowing more about e-commerce in Poland, get in touch.
Marta Stelmaszak
Marta Stelmaszak is a Polish English online communication specialist. Marta is passionate about helping businesses succeed in Poland online and she uses her language skills in Polish and English combined with a thorough understanding of economics and business to boost your business in Poland.
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