Amazon enters Poland

Wpis dostępny jest także w języku: polski

Amazon has confirmed rumours that it plans to enter the Polish market. The global giant has not set an exact date for the Polish launch, but has launched a registration option for Polish entrepreneurs wishing to sell on the platform.

Every now and then, the Polish Internet is buzzing with information about the planned entry of global e-commerce leader Amazon into the country. However, this time the giant confirmed these reports on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, informing about the planned launch of the Polish version of the website.

The launch of the Polish version of the site coincides with the introduction of a full retail offer for consumers in Poland and the possibility for Polish businesses to sell goods through the platform. Until now, Poles had to use German site to buy on Amazon platform.

Although the official launch date of website amazon.pl is not yet known, entrepreneurs who want to sell their goods through the platform have been able to register their accounts on the site since Tuesday.

Amazon global reach available for Polish entrepreneurs

It is not to be expected that entrepreneurs selling on Polish platforms and targeting Polish consumers will switch to Amazon in large numbers. Instead, it will provide an opportunity to reach Amazon’s 300 million customers worldwide, in more than 200 countries. According to the company, 1.7 million small and medium-sized businesses sell through Amazon globally.

Amazon faces a fight for a bigger piece of the pie

According to PMR data, nearly PLN 40bn of online sales, i.e. over half of the market, is generated by trading platforms. The undisputed leader of the segment is Allegro, whose share in the segment reaches over 80%. What is more, other marketplace concepts are growing in popularity, including the platform launched in 2017 by Empik, or Zalando’s affiliate programme a year later.

Undoubtedly, the appearance of a new platform on the Polish market will have an invigorating effect on the domestic market. However, we should not expect a revolution or that within the next few years Amazon will be the main player on the Polish e-commerce market. It should be remembered that there is a domestic shopping platform – Allegro, which is the main choice of consumers in the country. At the same time, many brands and companies have their own online shops that enjoy popularity and customer loyalty.

However, Amazon’s entry into Poland is expected to improve the online shopping experience of Poles. On the one hand, the competition resulting from a new player on the market will encourage existing players to do more to retain existing customers. On the other hand, it will improve the quality of shopping on the Amazon platform.

About the author

Karolina Szałas

Retail Market Analyst

Analyst with over three years of experience in retail market. Areas of specialization: clothing and footwear market, cosmetics market and e-commerce.