Pandemic has permanently changed the shopping habits of Poles

In 2021, online sales accounted for 7.4-11.4 percent of total retail sales per month and were on average 1 pp higher than in 2020. The pandemic permanently changed the shopping habits of Poles, before it only 5.6 percent of retail sales was done online, as Polish Properties informed in its latest publication.

“What's more, online sales in 2021 were not as strongly associated with temporary restrictions as in 2020, when it soared during the closures of shopping centers. Online sales accounted for the largest share of total sales in November when the shopping centers were operational. Therefore, e-commerce today is a competition for traditional trade, especially for shopping centers,” Dorota Lachowska, Head of Market Research at Polish Properties, said.

Currently, the most frequently purchased items on the Internet are clothing and footwear. In April 2021, almost half (47 percent) of transactions in these goods were made online, and in other months their share in total sales ranged 19-44 percent. So far, the increase in the number of internet transactions does not apply to food, the online sale of which is marginal and does not exceed 1 percent even in a pandemic. At the same time, the average turnover of shopping centers has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels, which is the result of both an increase in retail sales (by 8.1 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year) and the polarization of the retail real estate sector.

(WBJ)