High delivery costs are the main reason behind weak growth in e-commerce markets, according to e-store owners.

Fees charged by courier services in Poland are 20 to 25 percent higher than in other EU countries. Transport of a 10 kg parcel from Warsaw to London costs zł.538.38 if the order is placed in Poland, while the same package ordered in London would cost zł.359.81 to transport, reported Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

As a result, more and more Poles are doing their e-shopping abroad, with Polish e-businesses struggling to attract foreign customers, despite the fact that home appliances or food products are up to 15 to percent cheaper than in some western European countries.

According to Tomasz Karwatka, head of the e-commerce work group at IAB Polska, an association of internet-sector employers, the pricing policy of the Polish Postal Service with its dominant position and high fees is definitely to blame. E-store owners are hopeful however that proposed measures to standardize delivery fees across the EU will soon be implemented.

Poland A.M.