Every fourth Polish user shops for grocery online

Of all Polish internet users, 24 percent do their grocery shopping online. This number indicates a growing popularity among Polish shoppers as two years ago only 8 percent of the internet users declared they had some experience with online grocery shopping. Last year this number grew to 13 percent.

And this year, it’s a quarter of Polish internet users who claimed they chose e-stores when buying food, while one in three intends to do so in the future, a report from Gemius shows. The study also shows that 26% of female internet users do their grocery shopping online, while the share of men shopping for food via the internet is 23 percent. Most often the users hold a degree (29 percent) and see their financial standing as average or more (49 percent).

Online groceries opportunity for Polish e-stores
The fact shopping online for groceries is growing in terms of popularity, is something that could be a real opportunity for Polish e-businesses. “It’s also a considerable challenge. A competitive advantage may be attained by those who will be alert to the moves made by their competitors, compare against them, but also adapt their websites to the needs of e-customers”, says Mateusz Gordon, ecommerce expert at Gemius.

When asked to spontaneously name a grocery e-store brands, the most often named stores are alma24.pl (17%), etesco.pl (16%) and e-piotripawel.pl (1%). Most of the respondents get their knowledge about the offered range of products from their family, friends and acquaintances (85%), Google Search (83%) and other online stores (78%). “A crucial factor that may sway internet users’ willingness to shop for grocery online is the opinion of other users who already have the experience”, says Patrycja Sass-Staniszewska from the E-commerce Chamber. “This is the reason why the online stores who want to be successful should pay extra attention to e-customer care. Internet users want clear information on the details of delivery, quality of the products and options to take if a product is not available”.

The study also shows more information about the amount of money the Polish users spend on their online groceries. It turns out to be 16.66 euros on average, with men spending 22.13 euros and women 12.37 euros on average. “The game is definitely worth the candle”, says Michał Kot, research director at IIBR. “Online grocery stores hold enormous potential and should look up to these product categories that now enjoy the greatest popularity, i.e. apparel, books, CDs and films and household goods.”