Latest update: 05.08.2025 | by Lili
Amazon.PLans for Poland
Table of contents
- Amazon.pl in numbers
- The e-Commerce market in Poland
- Counterfeiting and grey markets in Poland
- Conclusion
Amazon launched a new online marketplace in Poland: amazon.pl.
Amazon is not new to Poland. The e-Commerce giant has been present in the country since 2014, operating eleven fulfillment centers. The company currently supports 70,000 direct and indirect jobs in Poland. However, until 2021, Polish customers (and vendors) had to work with the German marketplace, Amazon.de.
Thanks to the company’s heavy presence in Poland, launching the new marketplace was not as much work as entering a completely new country. But, as Amazon has learned from the fiasco at its start in the Swedish market, it made more of an effort than simply machine-translating a website and slapping a flag on top.
Because not everyone waited for amazon.pl with open arms, since Poland already had a flourishing e-Commerce landscape.
Amazon.pl in numbers
Since its introduction to the Polish market in 2021, amazon.pl has carved out a share for itself in the country’s e-Commerce landscape. With 14.6 million monthly visitors, amazon.pl is well behind market leader Allegro (153.9 million) and runner-up oxl.pl (78.3 million).
Nevertheless, the marketplace has reached 22.69% of its internet audience in December 2023. In comparison, Allegro could boast a 65.22% share, while newcomer Temu reported a 45.91% share, and AliExpress was at 29.06%.
Amazon.pl reported a global net sales of $357 million in 2023. In 2024, the company stated that over 400 million products are available on the marketplace, with the most popular product category being electronics.
The e-Commerce market in Poland
Poland has a fast-growing e-Commerce market with a year-on-year increase of 8.72% and the size of the market is currently estimated at $35.76 billion.
The most popular online marketplace in Poland is currently Allegro. Founded in 1999 in Poznan, the company had more than 21 million registered and 18.9 million active users at the end of Q3 2023 and over 50% share of the entire Polish e-Commerce market.
Allegro, the third largest online marketplace in Europe, started as an auction site similar to eBay. Later, as the company grew, it transformed itself into a comprehensive marketplace not unlike - quite ironically - Amazon. Today, Allegro offers fashion, electronics, home decor, groceries, books, beauty products, and much more. The company delivers not only within Poland but to other European countries as well, including the UK.
Although undoubtedly the most popular, Allegro is not the sole actor of the Polish e-Commerce landscape. Ceneo.pl is another important player. Owned by the same company as Allegro (hence the similar design), Ceneo is mainly a price- and quality comparison service that offers purchases through the site as well.
Just like Allegro, Ceneo offers various types of household goods, fashion, books, electronics, beauty products, and much more. The fast price and quality comparison feature is definitely what makes Ceneo popular among its users.
Amazon.pl won’t be the first international online marketplace to set up shop in the country. In fact, AliExpress, Zalando, and eBay are also active players in Poland, not to mention Facebook and its very own marketplace. In 2021, AliExpress and Zalando were the most popular international marketplaces on the Polish market.
Amazon vs Allegro
Amazon’s entry has somewhat altered the structure of the Polish e-Commerce market. Upon hearing the amazon.pl’s launch announcement, the value of Allegro’s shares dropped by 7% on the Polish stock exchange.
However, this didn't mean that all was lost for Allegro. In fact, its future largely depends on how it handles the change and how well it can differentiate itself from the global e-Commerce giant.
One difference is already easy to spot. On Allegro, each available product has an individual product card per seller. This means that every seller has a unique product card for each item, and if a customer is looking for a particular product, they see all sellers lined up individually. Interestingly, eBay employs the same model.
However, Amazon has a single product card for all sellers of the same product. If a buyer lands on a product card (called Amazon Standard Identification Number, or ASIN), they can’t immediately see the different sellers. This way, it’s a lot harder for potential buyers to pick which seller they want to buy from.
But this way, it’s a lot easier for counterfeiters and grey marketers to blend in with honest, authorized sellers.
Learn everything about Amazon's Buy Box sales system here
Luckily, globaleyez’s clients don’t have to worry about that either way. Our online brand protection experts have excellent working relationships with both Amazon and Allegro, which means that we’ll be hot on the trail of counterfeiters and grey marketers on any and every marketplace.
"I do a lot of takedowns on Allegro for car parts. So much so that by now I’ve learned all the Polish search terms by heart. Actually, I know the terms for car parts and swear words in many languages."
The European journey continues
The US-based e-Commerce giant hasn’t stopped expanding in Europe. In fact, Amazon launched its Belgian site, amazon.com.be, in October 2022. The marketplace caters to Belgian online shoppers who have so far had to resort to shopping on amazon.de, .fr, or .nl.
The longer-than-usual domain name is the result of a compromise: since amazon.be was already taken by a Belgian insurance company with the same name, the e-Commerce giant had no other choice but to take the somewhat more inconvenient domain name.
Amazon.com.be has around 19.3 million monthly visitors and reported $537.4 million global net sales in 2023.
Counterfeiting and grey markets in Poland
Although Poland is not considered to be a hotbed of counterfeiting, the country is not free from fraudsters and grey marketers that harm your brand.
Most of the counterfeit items found in the country are imported from Asia, although a small portion may even be produced locally. Authorities have a hard time investigating fakes because counterfeiters don’t leave a paper trail: the goods usually exchange hands during the night, with cash payments, without any documentation. Sellers often don’t even know where their goods are coming from.
This is why globaleyez’s test purchase service is essential. When we order a product, our rigorous documentation creates a paper trail that is an immense help to the authorities. Moreover, our documentation is admissible in court, which means that if you decide to press charges, you’ll have every available evidence for a successful court case.
Counterfeiting hotspots in Poland
There are several physical marketplaces notorious for selling counterfeits in the country. For example, the international market of the village Wólka Kosowska near Warsaw is one of the largest trading spots for counterfeits in Poland and Central Europe.
The market is grouped into various national sections, e.g., Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. Wólka Kosowska is not just a B2C market, but it also serves as a distribution point for (often fake) goods across Poland. Virtually any kind of product (and/or its counterfeited version) is available here.
Bakalarska (in Warsaw), Ch Ptak (near Lódz), and various border towns near Germany have also come under scrutiny for trading fake goods (mostly clothing and footwear). However, these sellers are often small timers, or little fish, who simply sell whatever products they’re given. They’re like the mythical hydra’s heads: when one goes down, two pop up in its stead.
Brand protection experts and law enforcement join forces
Law enforcement, while eager to act against counterfeiters, often lacks the necessary resources and specific online brand protection expertise. This is why they welcome assistance from brands in any form: information, documentation, and even joint action with brand protection experts.
As the World Trademark Review’s report on the subject puts it: “quite often the authorities inquire whether any brand owner’s specialist would assist them in a control raid to make the first ‘field verification’ of suspect products.”
globaleyez is no stranger to cooperation with the authorities. We’ve assisted law enforcement many times with information, documentation, tangible evidence, and much more. Our online brand protection experts are always happy to cooperate with the authorities to eliminate counterfeits and grey markets.
Conclusion
While Amazon.pl gives brands further opportunities to sell their products in Poland, it also poses certain risks pertaining to counterfeiting and grey marketing. Don’t let your brand suffer the consequences; reach out to us and learn how we can help protect your brand.