At the request of the Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers, a company study was conducted on the e-commerce market in Poland. In-depth interviews were conducted in August 2021. The survey participants are companies with extensive experience in various platforms and foreign markets, as well as companies that are just starting their activities in the e-commerce sector. In addition to sellers, experts who provide solutions from the e-commerce industry participated in the survey.

This study is the second e-commerce market study conducted by ZPP. The first report on the Polish e-commerce market, published in March this year, focused on the quantitative analysis of the market situation and development opportunities for small and medium-sized companies using e-commerce tools. This time, the main aim of the study was to identify the reasons why Polish companies are afraid of using e-commerce and international expansion, and ways that can alleviate these fears, and thus unlock the potential of Polish companies.

The most important conclusion that can be drawn from the study is the fact that companies planning to enter e-commerce exchange the same concerns as companies planning foreign expansion – lack of knowledge, limited funds, high costs of market places, legal and tax issues, and logistic barriers. .

First, traders often fear that they will not be able to cope with the demands of international trade. Sellers are put off by the long and detailed rules of the platforms. In fact, regulatory provisions often result from the provisions of EU law. In practice, it turns out that some of the sellers’ concerns stem from ignorance of their obligations.

Second, frequent regulatory changes are one of the biggest problems identified by companies. Legal, tax and financial issues are also one of the most important motivators motivating sellers to hire external companies to help trade on foreign markets. Any support from the platforms will be seen as a significant benefit. Moreover, the respondents were concerned about difficulties in verifying the identity, status of partners as well as the credibility of documents. These concerns are especially heightened when trading with partners outside the EU.

Third, companies perceive logistics as a barrier to their development and eagerly use support in this regard. According to the respondents, the possibility of using the services of platforms related to logistics and order processing, especially on foreign markets, is a very important convenience. At the same time, entrepreneurs see threats in the overly pro-consumer policy of platforms – they find handling international returns particularly problematic and costly. Support in this area may also help alleviate companies’ fears of international expansion.

Ultimately, retailers should also take care to protect their products from counterfeit products. For an entrepreneur, detecting counterfeit products can be complicated and time-consuming, so systems that minimize the chances of counterfeit products being introduced to the platform are useful.      

Source: https://zpp.net.pl/badanie-polskiego-rynku-e-commerce-potencjal-ekspansji-polskich-firm/

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.