New opportunities! Another 100 billion market is emerging in Europe

This year, the scale of the European e-commerce market has continued to expand. Among them, Western Europe is still the largest e-commerce market in Europe, accounting for more than 60% of the market share, but the growth rate of e-commerce in Central and Eastern Europe should not be underestimated. It has become a new growth point with unlimited business opportunities and potential.

Data shows that the scale of the Central and Eastern European e-commerce market reached 104 billion euros (about 789.4 billion yuan) in 2023, an increase of 29% compared with the previous year. It is expected that by 2024, this figure will grow steadily to 122 billion euros (about 926 billion yuan). Among them, Poland performed outstandingly.

Located in Central Europe, the Polish market has become increasingly popular in recent years and continues to attract attention. Both Polish local e-commerce platforms and Chinese cross-border e-commerce have reported good news.

The increase is considerable and the Polish market has great potential

As an emerging e-commerce hotspot, Poland has broad prospects and is gradually attracting more and more sellers to explore the market.

The Polish e-commerce market is experiencing explosive growth, and e-commerce data performance is still impressive. This year, the size of the Polish e-commerce market has reached 140 billion zlotys (about 249.2 billion yuan), and will continue to grow at an annual rate of 8% in the next four years. It may reach 192 billion zlotys (about 341.8 billion yuan) in 2028 .

Poland is located in central Europe, with convenient transportation and superior geographical location. It is an important hub connecting Asia and Western European countries. The online shopping penetration rate is relatively high, with 77% of consumers having online shopping experience.

The inherent advantages and the expansion of the market have gradually attracted many foreign companies to invest and build factories, and more and more cross-border e-commerce platforms have also turned their attention to this blue ocean market.

For example, Compal, LG Chem, Volkswagen and other Fortune 500 companies have invested heavily in building factories in Poland, which not only brought capital and technology to the local area, but also created more employment opportunities and promoted the positive development of the local economy.

In addition, according to the latest data released in January, the Polish e-commerce market continued to grow. In November, the total sales of Polish e-commerce increased by 2.8% compared with the same period last year, and the number of orders increased by 6.7%. In November, both domestic and cross-border e-commerce sales in Poland increased, among which domestic sales increased by 2.2%; cross-border sales performed outstandingly, with a year-on-year increase of 5.3%, accounting for 18% of total sales.

Local e-commerce is making great efforts, and the Polish market is stable and improving

There are many local e-commerce platforms in Poland. The expansion of the e-commerce market is of course inseparable from the contribution of local e-commerce platforms. Only a few of them are listed below.

1. Allegro

As the largest and most popular e-commerce platform in Poland, Allegro plays a pivotal role in Poland. It is even known as the "Polish version of eBay" and the "Polish national platform".

Allegro occupies almost 60% of the market share in Poland, with a brand awareness rate of 98%. Allegro has also been ranked among the top two most popular retail brands in Poland for three consecutive years.

2. Ceneo

‌

Ceneo is the second largest e-commerce platform in Poland and the largest price comparison platform in Poland. It helps consumers compare prices from different online retailers and find the best deals for their purchases.

The Ceneo platform brings together product information from a large number of online stores, covering multiple fields such as electronics, home decoration, fashion clothing, health and beauty, children's toys, sports equipment, etc.

3. OLX

OLX is the largest online advertising platform in Poland. Since its establishment in 2006, OLX has grown into a global online marketplace with operations in more than 40 countries around the world.

As a marketplace, OLX provides a place to buy and sell services and goods, covering categories such as electronics, fashion, furniture, household items, cars, etc.

OLX allows users to post advertisements for a variety of goods and services, and approximately 40% of Polish people shop online through OLX.

4. RTV Euro AGD

RTV Euro AGD is one of the leading retailers of electronics and home appliances in Poland. It has its own online website, where consumers can browse and purchase products through RTV Euro AGD's online website or related e-commerce platforms.

The retail model that combines online and offline shopping also brings consumers more choices and better shopping experience.

5. MediaMarkt

MediaMarkt is one of the major retailers of electronics and home appliances in Poland, with a wide selection of electronics and home appliances to meet the needs of consumers. It is also one of the leading companies in the retail of consumer electronics in the European market.

6. pepper.pl

Pepper.pl is the largest discount website in Poland, founded in July 2014. With tens of millions of visitors per month, Pepper.pl is very popular locally.

The most popular product categories on Pepper.pl are technology electronics, toys, and clothing, shoes and hats.

Polish consumers are increasingly interested in online shopping, with 62% of users searching or purchasing products online, with fashion being the most popular category.

As local e-commerce platforms prospered, they also attracted a number of Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms, including AliExpress and Temu.

The market prospects are good, and e-commerce platforms are competing to layout

In recent years, trade between China and Poland has been increasing. In 2023, the bilateral trade volume reached 42 billion U.S. dollars (about 306.6 billion yuan), and China continued to be Poland's second largest source of imports.

Many well-known Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms have also successively entered the Polish market and sought new developments in the international market, including AliExpress and Temu.

As early as 2018, AliExpress, a cross-border e-commerce platform under Alibaba, saw the development potential of Poland and established overseas warehouses and self-pickup cabinets in Poland.

With its rich product categories and price advantages, AliExpress has successfully become one of the most popular cross-border e-commerce platforms in Poland, and has been ranked as the largest cross-border e-commerce platform in Poland for many years.

Temu launched its Polish site in October this year , marking a further expansion of its business in Europe. Temu adopts a semi-hosted model, which also provides sellers with more flexible delivery and return policies.

It supports cross-border shipments between Poland and six other countries, including Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and the Czech Republic. It currently does not support cross-border shipments to countries such as Belgium, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Netherlands.

As the fastest growing e-commerce market in Central and Eastern Europe, Poland's e-commerce market will continue to grow in the next few years. Although Poland is slightly inferior to Europe in terms of start-up time and market size, the Polish e-commerce platform market is growing at an annual rate of 22.6%, far exceeding European countries such as the UK.

In addition, the policies are favorable. The Polish government has introduced a series of policies, such as lowering import tariffs, which also provides a more favorable environment for the development of cross-border sellers.

Europe

Polish Market