- The government's withdrawal from the restoration of Sunday shopping means that from September until the end of the year, stationary sales have 18 days less to earn than online stores.
- As a result, the mood is not the best – only 8% of companies from the trade sector predict sales growth, and as many as 20% predict a decline.
- This also initiates structural changes in the industry – large retail chains are launching their online branches, while other chains are closing their stationary stores.
Online trading privileged?
Even if online store owners do not ship on weekends, orders are still accepted through automated forms and sales are made.
This accelerates the development of online trade and worsens the competitiveness of entrepreneurs conducting only direct distribution. According to data from the Central Statistical Office, in July 2024, the value of online retail sales at current prices increased by 16.7% compared to July 2023 (in June 2024 it was 8.2%). The share of online sales increased in July 2024 to 8.8%. In 2023 in the same month it was 7.9%.
– In the retail sector, at the threshold of the most important business part of the year, the mood is not the best – sales and consumption are growing slowly, additionally hampered by increasing inflation. The position of sellers in stationary stores is deteriorating. This affects structural changes: the Kaufland retail chain recently launched its virtual marketplace, and Eurocash decided to close stationary drugstore stores. More and more small retail companies are saving and suspending investments. Short-term needs and current expenses are taking precedence. This may further increase their gap to companies strong in the e-commerce channel – says Magdalena Martynowska-Brewczak, member of the management board of eFaktor SA, a company financing SMEs.
Only 8% of companies from the retail sector predict sales growth in the third quarter of this year, and as many as 20% predict a decline (data from the EFL Barometer). This is particularly worrying considering the period of the year we are in. Although the study concerns the third quarter, it is not a good starting point before the high retail season at the end of the year.
Give us back our money, pay our bills, because we won't survive
The uncertain situation and increasing competition, combined with the lack of shopping Sundays, means that most small businesses are counting every złoty and demanding payment of arrears. However, they encounter significant obstacles in the area of settling transactions with companies. According to the study "Entrepreneurs towards their debtors" conducted by Kaczmarski Inkasso, only 14% of companies believe that their debtors are very embarrassed when they transfer receivables to a debt collection company for recovery. Commercial entities encounter this the least often – 12%. For comparison, in the construction industry, as many as 23% of companies confirm that their debtors feel embarrassed when overdue liabilities go to debt collection.
– Enforcing payments by small trade companies from larger contractors is difficult. This is influenced by the fear of deterioration of relations or even loss of orders. The problem is not only overdue invoices, but also long waiting times for the transfer date recorded on the document. This can take 2-3 weeks, or even a month or more. In this way, larger companies take out loans at the expense of small entities. We monitor the situation in the trade industry and where we see a risk of delays in the repayment of liabilities financed through factoring, we support our clients and, as an intermediary, remind invoice payers of the approaching payment deadline. Failure to respond to arrears in transfers may lead to a deepening of the problem and a loss of liquidity by the entrepreneur – says Magdalena Martynowska-Brewczak from eFaktor.
Omnichannel does not drive stationary sales either
Great hopes in trade are associated with the omnichannel strategy, i.e. combining online and online shopping. However, it is not entirely beneficial for brick-and-mortar stores. Many "omnichannel customers" in stores look at goods, try them on, but buy online, often in another store.