VZCZCXRO5218
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHWR #1117/01 1350808
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 150808Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4225
INFO RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW 1695
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 001117 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/ERA, EEB/CIP 
EUR/NCE FOR DKOSTELANCIK, BPUTNEY 
USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/EUR/JBURGESS, JKIMBALL, MWILSON 
TREASURY FOR MGAERTNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS ECON EINT EINV PL
SUBJECT: Polish On-line Consumers: Promising Growing Market 
 
REF:  Warsaw 00735 
 
WARSAW 00001117  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  With high speed internet access becoming ever more common in 
Poland, the proportion of those with access making purchases 
increasing, and buyers overwhelmingly reporting positive online 
experiences, it comes as no surprise that the Polish consumer online 
market is doing well.  U.S. companies should find plenty of 
opportunity in this segment of the e-commerce market as it matures 
and is able to support increasing numbers of niche market players. 
End Summary. 
 
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SETTING THE STAGE 
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¶2.  As mentioned ref, by the end of 2006, 37% of Poles had access to 
an internet connection.  Of those with internet access, almost 25% 
made a purchase online, an increase from 17% in 2005.  Meanwhile, 
Polish salaries grew 4.8% in 2006 and unemployment dropped 2.7% from 
17.6% to 14.9% - providing an increase in disposable income that 
should further improve online market prospects.  Buyers purchased 4 
billion zloty ($1.4 billion) worth of goods and services in 2006, 
supporting more than 800 internet stores and representing 2% of the 
retail market.  Online purchases should see continued robust growth 
over the next few years, with estimates reaching 16 billion zloty 
($5.4 billion) - or 5% of the retail market - by 2010. 
 
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SHOW ME THE GOODS 
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¶3.  Polish consumers can now buy almost anything online.  A review 
of newspaper articles and online research indicates that the most 
popular categories are books, with 14.2% of online consumers 
indicating they made such a purchase; followed by clothing, 12.4%; 
cell phones and accessories, 9.0%; computer equipment and 
accessories, 8.9%; radios/televisions 8.7%; music, 7.8%; and 
cosmetics, 7.8%.  In those categories, popular items included 
children's books, cell phones, laptop computers, computer and 
console games, GPS equipment, DVD movies, MP3 music and players, and 
perfume.  Other purchases included digital cameras and flat screen 
LCD televisions.  Some interesting items in other categories 
included furnishings and appliances, such as fridges, washers, 
sinks, and fittings, which are common purchases in Poland because 
new houses and apartments typically are purchased unfinished.  When 
it comes to other interests, purchases include air guns and 
automotive tires. 
 
¶4.  Given the above, the most common items sold online appear to be 
those favored by the segment of Polish society that is mobile, 
urban, and independent.  However, an interesting finding about 
Polish online purchasing habits is that some well known brand names 
are not as popular online as they are in brick and mortar stores. 
Amongst electronics, Apple's IPod accounts for only 3% of the MP3 
players purchased; among fridges, Indesit and Siemens brands are not 
widely purchased; nor are LG, AEG, and Miele washers,or Firestone 
and Bridgestone tires. 
 
¶5.  The fact that some well known brands are not leaders in the 
online marketplace suggests two explanations: first,  some companies 
less well known in the overall market have been able to quickly and 
successfully establish a popular online brand; and second, Polish 
consumers still strongly consider pricing when making purchasing 
decisions.  For example, in Apple's case, IPod's brand awareness and 
"cool factor" is not enough for Poles to accept IPod's relatively 
high pricing over other lower cost brands. 
 
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WHERE THE MARKET IS HEADED 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6.  As the online market grows, existing online companies are 
broadening their offerings - for example, a spokesperson for leading 
online store Merlin.pl, with more than 60 million zloty ($20.3 
million) in sales, explained that the firm is diversifying from 
books to music, toys, and electronics.  In addition, new players 
have appeared over the last year, specializing in the various niches 
that a larger market can support.  These players include hoopla.pl, 
specializing in appliances; komputronik.pl, computers and software; 
travelplanet.pl, travel and tour services; and gadugadu.pl, a voice 
over internet telephony service. 
 
WARSAW 00001117  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.  As the number of players in the market increase, comparison 
sites that allow consumers to perform side-by-side comparisons of 
products offered by different sellers are becoming increasingly 
popular.  The comparison leader is ceneo.pl, which has one sixth of 
the monthly visitor traffic (344,000 visitors) of market leader 
Merlin.pl.  Other popular comparison sites include skapiec.pl 
(235,000) and kupujemy.pl (147,000). 
 
¶8.  While almost everything can now be purchased online, there are 
still some market niches that are not developing  quickly.  A 
leading newspaper reporter on technology matters gave us one example 
- internet grocery delivery services.  While this service is 
available in Warsaw, outside of the capital the lack of sufficient 
logistical and transportation networks makes it difficult to 
establish reliable delivery services of fresh produce.  The Polish 
public also remains reluctant to accept these services where they do 
exist due to concerns about leaving groceries unattended on front 
doorsteps. 
 
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PLUSES AND MINUSES 
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¶9.  Consumers appear to be largely satisfied with Polish e-commerce 
firms, with surveys of online customers reporting that 82% had 
positive online purchase experiences.  According to internet 
research and comparison firm Ceneo.pl, among those reporting 
positive experiences the most important factors cited were: ease of 
ordering, mentioned by 57% of respondents; site design and 
professionalism, 34%; low prices, 25%, and customer service, 17%. 
When it came to delivery, consumers indicated that online stores 
should deliver goods within 3 days of placing the order. 
 
¶10.  Among the 18% reporting neutral or negative experiences, 72% 
mentioned the length of time it took to deliver the order; 23%, the 
fact that the goods appeared to be available online but were out of 
stock upon ordering; and 20%, poor or unavailable customer service. 
 
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Comment 
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¶11.  The Polish online consumer market appears to have reached a 
critical mass in terms of consumer demand, number of players, and 
public acceptance over the past two years, and is definitely here to 
stay.  Post believes the Polish online consumer market will continue 
to grow over the next few years and become increasingly more 
diversified as the market becomes large enough to support niche 
players.  There are still some areas where the market has been less 
successful, with companies having varying levels of success 
translating a popular brand to a successful online presence. 
However, there continues to be opportunities for U.S. companies and 
products as the market matures. 
 
ASHE