Development of the re-commerce market in Poland during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose of the article E-commerce has become an important sales channel for products and services in the last twenty years. The current time of the Covid-19 pandemic also shows that the growth potential of electronic sales remains high. Currently, however, e-commerce should not be treated as a homogeneous concept. The aim of this paper is to identify the latest development trends on the Polish market in the e-commerce segment , i.e. second-hand commerce (re-commerce).

Methodology/methods The implementation of the aim of the paper required an analysis of data taken from industry reports and thematic publications. The announcements of enterprises regarding the launch of new sales platforms on the Polish market were also taken into account.

Scientific aim Identification of factors of strategic importance for second-hand commerce ventures on the contemporary market in Poland.

Findings The key factors shaping the re-commerce market in Poland during the pandemic include: an increase in demand for certain products due to the introduction of a lockdown, as well as an increase in consumers' propensity to buy products through electronic sales; the presence of large Polish portals on the market, which include they enable the buying and selling processes of used things; announcements of the entry into the Polish market of new international portals specializing in this type of sale; age structure of consumers using electronic sales channels.

Conclusions Many factors on the Polish market are currently conducive to the development of re-commerce, e.g. the age structure of consumers or the general increase in the propensity to make purchases via the Internet. However, it should be taken into account that in Poland there are already large and popular portals dedicated to this type of sale. For new ventures in this area, the issue of distinguishing themselves from the competition, as well as the possible use of actions taken by large market players in the field of modifying business models, becomes of key importance.