A rise in people shopping for products over the internet is helping the Czech Republic counterbalance a slump in overall retail sales.
Praguepost.com says the country’s ecommerce sector is continuing to grow and has caused stores such as supermarket company Albert to move across to the internet model.
Figures from the European Union show that 32 per cent of Czechs bought products online last year, up two per cent in 2011, while 43 per cent of the country’s internet users purchased goods over the web.
The number of Czech internet users that shop online is still below the EU average of 59 per cent, although growth in the country’s ecommerce sector is encouraging international brands to see the Czech Republic as a market with great potential.
Cited by forwardingsolutions.com, retail analyst David Marek from Patria Finance says this difference will soon narrow – a warning for brands that have considered offering online payments services and delivery to customers in the Czech Republic.
Speaking on the behalf of his own group, Mr Marek claimed to have witnessed double-digit increases for the country’s ecommerce sector over the last four years, adding that any gap between the Czech Republic and the rest of the EU will close very quickly.
“I would say the whole industry of retail shopping is being forced to enter online. Competition from pure online shops is so strong. Any traditional brand has to have its own shops,” he concluded.
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