Regionalisation of e-commerce: how does this phenomenon affect sales and where are most e-businesses in Poland?

It would seem that where an online shop is set up does not matter at all - after all, consumers will buy online anyway. However, the matter is not so obvious. As it turns out, some regions reign supreme in the number of e-commerce platforms, others just the opposite. What is the reason for this? What webshop choose? Do good logistics matter?

Mazovia gathers the most e-traders

For years, Mazovia has been in first place in terms of the number of sales sites, gathering as much as 22.1% of all online shops. In second place is Małopolska with 12.8% of companies, and in third place is Silesia with 12.5% of e-commerce businesses. It is in these parts of Poland that e-commerce is booming, with the largest number of new platforms. Other provinces are also achieving significant results. These include: Greater Poland with 8.9% and Lower Silesia with 7.2%. The least webshops currently occurs in the Opolskie Voivodeship - only 1.4%. The Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodeship - 1.5% and the Podlaskie voivodeship - 1.7%* also have a low score.

Where does regionalisation come from?

As far as the e-commerce industry is concerned, the geographical location of a sales page is not the most important issue. The main focus should be on reaching a specific target group with your product. Simply setting up webshop will not generate much income. Even when we have high quality goods that are in demand. The customer must find out that the platform exists and become interested in our offer. Then there is a good chance that they will make a purchase. An important ingredient for success, therefore, will be finding a niche and a well-developed marketing strategy - this will not only attract potentially interested consumers, but also build long-term relationships with buyers. So why are online sales concentrated only in three provinces? It turns out that logistics, access to distributors, greater availability of e-commerce specialists or better communication with other parts of the country are also of great importance. All these aspects contribute significantly to faster delivery, which is extremely important for customers in making their final purchasing decision. Nobody wants to wait several days for their order. In addition, Internet users are concerned about problems with delivery, such as packages getting lost.

Parcel machines and regionalisation

Poles love using the innovative devices for sending and receiving parcels themselves, the popular Paczkomats. No wonder: the machines are ready for use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and their availability is constantly increasing. We are well aware of the importance of efficient logistics in the running of a webshop . It significantly influences sales performance and customer loyalty. Already more than 74% of large sales platforms and 44% of medium and smaller e-businesses offer their buyers the option of ordering a parcel to an InPost Parcel Machine. There is no better proof that the devices perfectly fulfil their function and are gaining increasing recognition. For this reason, new ones are constantly being built. A large accumulation of them can, of course, be found in the Mazovia, Lesser Poland and Silesia regions, i.e. where the e-commerce industry is booming. We are meeting the needs of e-entrepreneurs who want to develop their business and offer their customers the fastest, safe and cheapest delivery by means of self-service Parcel Machines. Of course, more and more of them are appearing all over Poland! Not only in large metropolitan areas, but also in smaller towns and villages, so that everyone can discover the advantages of this incredibly convenient and cost-effective form of shipping.

Which online shop - the most popular categories of goods

In order to start online sales If you are a marketer, you are considering what to offer consumers in order to generate a satisfactory income. As a first step, it is worth doing a thorough market research and finding out about your potential target group. In Poland, the most popular product categories are items for the home and garden, clothing and health and beauty products. However, it is important to bear in mind that these sectors are also the most competitive. Products should, therefore, stand out for some special characteristics and contribute to enhancing the consumer's well-being. Home furnishing items prevail in popularity in almost every province - only in Lubelskie and Łódzkie have they given way to fashion. Online shops selling cosmetics are also doing well, although in Podlasie we find more platforms selling gifts and accessories than beauty products. Which online shop to choose and what to offer in it? Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question. Regionalisation and thorough market research will certainly help to find your niche. When setting up a sales platform, it is also worth paying attention to the availability of professional logistics solutions.

* Shoper report on online shops in Poland, Multi Challenges Report 2018. https://www.shoper.pl/static/raporty/raport-shoper-2018.pdf