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Almost everyone uses the Internet today. Deducting young children and the elderly, Internet users make up about 30 million Poles. Most of them shop online. The popularity of e-commerce has increased even more recently due to pandemics, as well as inflation, and is continuing all the time, as evidenced just now by the e-commerce 2022 report. What was the purpose of the report and how was the research conducted? What are the current online shopping habits of Poles? Who doesn’t buy online and why?
Research and report objectives.
The 2022 e-commerce report has been released for the 10th time. This is the result of surveys conducted from June 9 to 15 this year among 1,559 Internet users in the 15+ age bracket. The aim of the research was to find out attitudes, habits and motivations related to online shopping. In particular, the following aspects were looked at:
- attitudes toward online shopping, both in shoppers and in those who do not buy online;
- products purchased and expenses incurred;
- knowledge of brands and reasons for choosing specific stores;
- plans for purchases;
- sources of product information;
- ROPO effect;
- delivery and payment preferences;
- The impact of pandemics and inflation on purchasing behavior;
- preference for equipment used for purchases.
Who buys online and why?
According to the e-commerce 2022 report, 77% of Internet users shop online. The high percentage applies to all groups, but it can be seen that residents of large cities, better educated people and those with better financial situations buy online more often. All respondents have an all time good opinion of online shopping. Those who started shopping this way as a result of a pandemic, by lockdown or health concerns have stayed with this form of shopping. 75% of e-consumers value online shopping for its availability around the clock. Only 1% less also value them for not having to leave home and commute to the store. 67% also appreciate lower prices and better promotions online than in stationary stores. The vast majority of people buy from Polish stores, while only 3 in 10 Internet users buy from foreign stores.
Online shopping and inflation
For the first time, the report included data on the impact of inflation on shopping preferences. While it would seem that inflation has quite an impact on purchasing decisions, the survey results do not specifically show this. As many as 58% of online shoppers said they have not changed their preferences and are buying the same as before. 28% buy less, and 14% buy more. More women said they had reduced their spending, and the majority of those surveyed said they had reduced their online shopping planning.
What are we most likely to buy online?
The most popular products bought online are primarily clothing, footwear and accessories and appearance-related accessories. This is followed by cosmetics, perfumes, books, CDs, movies, medical products, home electronics/appliances, and sports apparel and accessories. Men are more likely than women to buy home appliances/RTVs, phones, accessories, computers and parts, cars or collectibles. Those aged 25-49 are slightly more likely to buy products from most categories. In contrast, the youngest e-consumers, under 24, are more likely to buy movie tickets, theater tickets, games or jewelry. Among the products that Internet users intend to buy are reservations and travel, furniture and interior design accessories or building materials.
What delivery methods do we like best?
In the case of delivery, the undisputed leader is In Post Parcel Machines, which as many as 81% of e-consumers said they use. Only slightly more than 40% choose courier delivery to home or work. Parcel machine delivery is also one of the biggest motivators for online shopping. This is due to the fact that there are more and more of them and almost everyone has access to such a device close to their home. The popularity of parcel machines is also due to the ability to pick up the package when you want, even on weekends. Also in the case of courier deliveries, In Post reigns supreme. It is followed by DPD and DHL. As for the time of delivery, customers expect it from couriers between 8am and 8pm, maximum 10pm, and here there is no change compared to previous surveys.
In Post parcel machine is also the most preferred form of returning goods. It is chosen by 74% of Internet users. In contrast, returns to a stationary store and courier, or door-to-door, received 42% of the votes each. Among additional methods of delivery, courier delivery with free product delivery proved to be motivating for 88%, which is especially important for heavy household appliances or furniture. Internet users also value instant home delivery, even on the day of the order, as well as weekend delivery. For women and those aged 15-24, environmentally friendly delivery is motivating. Again, parcel machines were ranked as the most environmentally friendly delivery. This was followed by deliveries to a partner point or store branch. Only 38% rated courier delivery to home or work as environmentally friendly.
How do we prefer to pay for online purchases?
In terms of payment methods, the most popular are still quick transfers through a payment service, and 70% of shoppers said they use them. In second place were mobile payments, including BLIK, and their position has strengthened. The popularity of this method declines with the age of respondents. Not surprisingly, older people either don’t use smartphones at all, or despite their use, they don’t use banking apps due to reluctance or lack of apps by the banks where they have accounts. These people therefore choose to transfer money or pay by debit card.
What determines the choice of a particular store?
There are more and more stores online. The choice is getting more and more difficult. When asked what has the greatest influence on the decision to choose a particular store, respondents pointed primarily to financial considerations. 47% cited attractive product prices, and slightly fewer cited lower delivery costs or previous positive experiences. Attractive promotions and special offers came in fourth place. This is not surprising, looking at the current price tag, of which there is no end in sight, and the survey results on questions about spending. The same as last time, the number of people indicating that their spending would increase remained the same. In contrast, more people declared a decrease in spending, meaning that they intend to buy less and more reasonably, precisely because of the high prices.
Have pandemic and inflation affected online shopping?
It’s already known that through the pandemic, the popularity of online shopping has increased significantly and is continuing. However, the e-commerce 2022 report shows detailed data on the impact of these factors on shopping preferences, which Internet users were asked about this time. The impact is not great. Still users point to lower prices, delivery costs, discounts, discount codes as factors that encourage online shopping. Women point to better quality product photos and better accessibility of store pages on smartphones. The youngest users primarily pointed to discount codes, wider assortment, payment security, product quality or personalized promotions and better customer service as motivators. Invariably, the most important source of a store’s credibility when shopping for the first time is feedback from other shoppers. Among the stores and shopping platforms themselves, the undisputed leader is still, of course, Allegro.
Problems when shopping online
When asked about the problems encountered with online shopping, respondents mainly indicated long waiting times for delivery, but also its high cost or intrusive ads for previously viewed products. These elements were indicated by all groups of respondents, but are least problematic for older people. These are much less likely to complain about any problems.
ROPO effect
The ROPO effect is the tendency to search for information about products online and buy them offline later. This year it proved less pronounced and mainly affected building materials, footwear, medicines and supplements, consumer electronics/appliances, clothing or smartphones. The reverse ROPO effect, i.e., searching for information offline and buying online, on the other hand, mainly affected cosmetics, perfumes, footwear and consumer electronics/appliances.
Smartphone or computer?
More and more people are making online purchases on smartphones, although their advantage over laptops is slight. A phone is strongly preferred by the youngest respondents. 41% of respondents indicated a desktop computer, 19% a tablet, and 4% e-book readers. Many point to problems when shopping on smartphones, in the form of inconvenient forms or the failure of store websites to adapt to mobile devices. For older respondents, the size of letters also matters.
Online non-buyers – what would convince them to buy online?
23% of Internet users say they don’t buy online, however. Why? 41% prefer physical contact with the product before buying, 22% note the high cost of delivery, and 18% are reluctant to wait for delivery. Older people prefer to talk to the seller and are more concerned about payment security online. Women are more likely to indicate that online shopping is expensive. All unanimously indicate that they would be attracted to online shopping by lower product prices, lower delivery costs, discount codes and faster delivery. Their interest in specific products is no different from that of online shoppers. Also prevailing here are clothing, footwear, cosmetics, perfumes, jewelry, but also children’s items, books, records or sports accessories. Women are, of course, more likely to be interested in clothing, jewelry or children’s items, while men are more likely to be interested in phones, household appliances/RTVs or cars and parts.
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