Today, Tuesday 2nd March, 2021, the retail giant Amazon, launched their long awaited,  Amazon.pl shopping site.  Following years of speculation and rumour, Polish customers can finally shop on a dedicated Amazon.PL site.

The unannounced launch took many by surprise, in spite of Amazon recently inviting Polish sellers to register for selling, there was no launch date set or prior press release.  

amazon.pl

Previously Amazon shoppers had to rely, on Amazon.DE, which was partly available in Polish, or Amazon sites in other countries.  There were however some limitations with some sellers not shipping to Poland, including Amazon’s Echo smart devices.

For now, the Amazon.pl version seems to have some limitations, and appears more like an Amazon Lite, but it’s still only day 1, there’s time to grow, and more of the familiar Amazon services to be included.

Notably, there is no Amazon Prime delivery on offer, with only regular post and Inpost Parcel locker options available.  Free delivery is offered for sales over 100zł.  Amazon Music and Prime Video is listed on the site, together with a very limited selection, not the full range, of Amazon’s ‘Alexa Echo’ popular smart speaker family.

The site fairs better in terms of payment options, with goods priced in Złoty, and familiar Polish e-payment options, such as Blik etc.

There has been some speculation as to how Amazon will fare against the likes of Allegro, however we feel that the Polish consumer will benefit from having the choice of both.

“Amazon has been supporting Polish customers for many years and helping to sell the products of Polish entrepreneurs in our European stores. The next step is to introduce a full retail offer for consumers in Poland and it is now time to take that step,” – Alex Ootes, vice president of development, EU, at Amazon, said in January.

Whilst the dedicated Amazon.PL retail site, is a first in Central and Eastern Europe, Amazon is already well established in Poland.

Amazon has created over 18,000 permanent jobs in nine logistics centres throughout the country, in Sady (near Poznań), Sosnowiec, Kołbaskowo (near Szczecin), two facilities in Bielany Wrocławskie, Pawlikowice (near Łódź), Łódź, Okmiany (near Bolesławiec) and Gliwice and at the Amazon Web Services office and at the Amazon Technology Development Center in Gdańsk, which provide innovative solutions supporting Amazon products and services around the world, including Alexa. This year, a 10th logistics centre will be launched, in Świebodzin, creating a further 1,000 new jobs

Amazon is of course, no stranger to controversy with regard to its work practices, and some questionable tax arrangements, with many choosing to boycott the retailer.


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