In Poland, with online commerce still in its infancy, the annual turnover of this industry has already reached one billion zlotys. Most e-shops are recording profits, so remote trading is profitable. It is hardly surprising, though – in Poland, every third person who has access to the Internet already shops online. The Polish online retail market also has great growth potential – so many entrepreneurs can still find a place for themselves in it.
Profitable globally and in Poland
As shown by a study conducted by Jupiter Research in Europe and the USA, companies in the e-commerce sector are recording huge profits. This fact is directly related to the very dynamic development of these markets. In 2004, in the USA, 61 percent of Internet users took advantage of the opportunity to make purchases online, and in Western Europe, this percentage was 49 percent at that time.
The value of the online sales market in the USA was estimated at 66 billion dollars and in Europe at 38 billion euros. Despite already high saturation, Western markets are still developing. According to Jupiter Research forecasts, by 2009 the American market is expected to grow by 71 percent compared to 2004, reaching a level of 159 million users, and the European market by 62 percent – to 138 million Internet users. The value of e-commerce spending in the case of the USA will double to 130 billion dollars, and in Western Europe it will triple to 116.5 billion euros. In Poland, money is also being made on e-shops – but this is just the beginning of the online shopping fever, and thus also of profits for e-shop owners. According to analysts, Polish entrepreneurs who want to grow should invest in online commerce now, as it is the only form of trade that is developing at such a pace. There are over 700 online stores operating in Poland, three-quarters of them are profitable, and their annual turnover already exceeds one billion zlotys.
The article comes from the magazine “e-Fakty” 4/2005.