The value of the e-commerce market in Poland exceeds the magical barrier of PLN 51 billion PLN, which is almost EUR 12 billion, and 28 million Poles use online shopping in various forms – we read in the report “How to bite e-commerce” in Cushman & Wakefield’s magazine.

Only a few years ago such a result would seem impossible.According to specialists, in the next few years the value of the Polish e-commerce market may reach up to PLN 80 billion. (over EUR 18 billion).

This forecast is related to the share of online sales channel in the entire retail trade in Poland. Compared to other European Union countries, in Poland it is still quite low (4.3%).

That is why there is still a lot to get in Poland for companies from e-commerce sectors, including foreign ones.Shopping can be done not only through the website, smartphone application, but also through social media.

Every day, an average of 21 online stores are created in Poland, and their total number already reaches over 30,000, which is an increase of over 6% year-on-year.  Over the past 12 months alone, the Polish online sales market has grown by 1.8 thousand. new entities. The scale of online shopping is so large that one of the leading courier companies on the “hottest” day of the year supports up to one million packages.

Poland has become an international logistics hub in which orders and returns are processed for the largest European platforms and online stores. It is worth noting that the American mogul Amazon has as many as 6 of its logistics centers in Poland. If we add to this the cost-effective labor market and – compared to the European average – still a relatively small share of the Internet channel in retail trade, there is no doubt that e-commerce in Poland will be rising dynamically. As a result, it will have an increasing impact on the warehouse landscape in our country, as well as an increase in demand for logistic space and an increase in requirements for the technical specifications of buildings, their equipment and automation.

Dynamics of the e-commerce industry in Poland

According to Eurostat, the share of enterprises selling online among all companies except the financial sector (employing 10 or more employees) in 2017 in Poland was only 10%. To get a full picture of the situation, let’s pay more attention to global turnover in online commerce. Currently, they already amount to USD 3 trillion a year (statista.com), and according to eMarketer forecasts in 2021 it will be USD 4.9 trillion.

The following years will bring further development of sales in the omnichannel model, in which the customer is put in the center of attention and has the ability to make a purchase at any time, anywhere and on any device. Therefore, the mobile channel will also develop throughout the entire sales chain.

Sellers will have to adapt to the needs of the consumer, his requirements and adjust the business model in such a way as to transform the implemented improvements into a competitive advantage. This applies not only to sales, but also to return logistics, flexibility and speed of response. For this reason, the warehouse market will also evolve, and the function of warehouses will gradually change.

Source: Cushman & Wakefield