Poland

Allegro, a popular online shopping platform from Poland, has announced Allegro Lokalnie, or Allegro Locally in English. This is an online platform dedicated to private sellers and buyers looking for items listed by such sellers.

Ecommerce in Poland is predicted to increase by 25 percent this year. This would mean business-to-consumer ecommerce sales of this Eastern European country will be worth 11.64 million euros at the end of this year.

Micolet, an online marketplace that sells second-hand clothing for women, will expand to two new markets in Europe. The startup will set foot in both Poland and the Netherlands later this year. With this expansion, Micolet will be active in eight countries across Europe.

About three in four business-to-business companies in Poland sell their products or services online. The majority of those retailers have been involved in ecommerce for over five years now, while half of Polish B2B companies also operate internationally.

Packhelp, a startup from Poland that allows users to design their packaging, has raised 8.8 million euros in a Series A round. White Star Capital led the investment, while existing investors participated. With the money, Packhelp wants to boost its growth in Europe.

UK fintech company SumUp, which enables small business to accept card payments via the SumUp device and online, has acquired Shoplo. This is a multi-channel ecommerce platform from Poland. With Shoplo, retailers can easily open their store online.

Nets, a payment service provider from the Nordics, has announced its strategic alliance with Przelewy24. This is a major online payment service provider from Poland. This news comes after Nets recently acquired Dotpay/eCard.

Online retailers that use the services of PayU can now offer Google Pay in their ecommerce websites and mobile apps. Two years ago, the Polish payment service provider was also chosen as a partner for Google to introduce its payment method Google Pay to Poland.

Fashion retailer Peek & Cloppenburg is further expanding its omnichannel strategy in Eastern Europe. The retailer launched an online store in Poland, where it already has eleven stationary stores. In the online Peek & Cloppenburg store, customers can order 20,000 products from 300 different brands.

Deutsche Post DHL Group has opened a new fulfillment center in the United Kingdom. In the English town of Radlett, an area of about 6,500 square meters offers same-day processing for the Greater London area. DHL already operates a similar fulfillment center in Germany and is now working to open such centers in the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.

Over half of Polish internet users can be identified as e-consumers. Online shoppers in Poland are primarily people aged 50 years of younger, with a secondary or university degree and living in larger cities. Also, there are more women than men who shop online in Poland.

DreamCommerce has launched its white-label ecommerce solution in Germany and Austria. In Europe, the company is already active in the Netherlands, Turkey and Poland. With DreamCommerce's solution, companies can enhance their offer with an ecommerce platform, adjusted to their brand, region or integrated with applications or services they already provide.

Google just launched its own payment system, Android Pay, in Poland, making this only the second country in Europe where consumers can use Android Pay to make mobile contactless payments. But why Poland and not, for example, Germany or France? Piotr Jan Pietrzak explains why.

Android Pay, which enables contactless mobile payments with Android devices, has launched in Poland. This is the first country in Central and Eastern Europe and the second country in Europe, after the UK, to roll out the payments service.

French private-sale group Vente-Privée has again acquired a fashion player in Europe. Yesterday it announced it attained a majority stake in Złote Wyprzedaże, the biggest online shopping club in Poland. With the acquisition, Vente-Privée expands its activities in Eastern Europe.