PMR expert’s view: Amazon Prime entered the Polish market. Allegro in a worrying situation?

Wpis dostępny jest także w języku: polski

Amazon has officially entered the Polish market in March 2021, but only the launch of Amazon Prime can be considered a real entry, which is able to “stir up”  the Polish e-commerce market. Can the position of Allegro and other leading players be threatened as a result?

The launch of amazon.pl in March 2021, except for promotions e.g. for Kindle e-readers, did not have much resonance on the Polish market. The number of real users of the website, according to Gemius data, did not exceed 3 million. For comparison, the number of real users of Allegro oscillates around 20 million, which gives it the first position among Polish e-commerce sites.

Wider offer for the same price

There is no doubt that in order to take Allegro’s share of the e-commerce pie, and in general to thrive in Poland’s challenging online sales market, one must be bold and decisive. The main advantage of Amazon Prime over Allegro Smart program (modeled on the package of the American giant introduced earlier in other countries) is the lack of a minimum order amount (in Allegro it is PLN 40 with the package delivery option) and a wider offer – in addition to free deliveries the package also includes a VOD library. The price of Amazon Prime is the same as Allegro Smart and amounts to PLN 49 per year.

Customer loyalty as Allegro’s key advantage?

A PMR consumer survey conducted in July 2021 shows that only 15% of online shoppers (who have made an online purchase in the last six months) buy on Amazon, compared to 37% for AliExpress and 88% for Allegro. Nearly half of shoppers on Amazon have made only one purchase in the last six months. The key question is whether, if the breadth of offerings on Amazon and Allegro are similar and prices are not significantly different, Polish shoppers will be willing to switch the platform they use. Will people who have Allegro Smart package be willing to buy a similar package on Amazon.

According to PMR research, the percentage of Allegro shoppers aged 55+ does not differ significantly from the percentage for the entire population. Such consumers are characterised by much higher loyalty than younger people. They are also unlikely to be tempted by Amazon’s VOD offer. On Amazon, the age structure of shoppers is already shifting towards the younger age group. Younger customers will certainly be more likely to take advantage of Amazon Prime, at least on a trial basis. Let’s not forget that Allegro also takes a lot of steps to loyalise its customers. These include the Allegro Smart program, recently expanded to include a family version, or the Allegro Recommend program. Allegro has also lowered the minimum order amount for free delivery by courier in Allegro Smart, and recently introduced deferred payments.

Polish e-commerce market will exceed PLN 110bn

According to PMR data, in 2020 the Polish online retail market was worth nearly PLN 89bn, after spectacular growth fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 it will grow by another over 20% and exceed PLN 110bn. Sales on trading platforms account for about half of the market value. Apart from Allegro, online stores have a strong position, including those from the omnichannel model, i.e. connected to stationary stores. The largest e-shops are euro.com.pl, zalando.pl, mediaexpert.pl, ikea.pl, oponeo.pl – each of them has revenues of nearly PLN 1bn or more.

More information in the PMR report “Online retail market in Poland 2021. E-commerce market analysis and development forecasts for 2021-2026″.

 

About the author

Agnieszka Skonieczna

Retail Business Unit Director

Analyst with over 13 years of experience. She heads the Retail department at PMR. Areas of specialisation: grocery retail, DIY and home furnishing markets.