Czechs Are European Leaders, They Spend the Most at E-shops. Mostly on New Clothes

Six out of ten Czechs order goods at least once a month, and every third Czech orders something once a week. Half also use foreign e-shops, mainly because of lower prices. Fashion is by far the most popular product that people browse and buy online, followed by electronics. This is according to the results of a DHL eCommerce survey of European customers published by PPL CZ, a company that is part of this division.

Czechs shop online much more often than the rest of Europe. More than a third order packages online at least once a month, and almost one in three as often as once a week. However, on average in Europe only 27% of people order a package every week. This is according to a DHL eCommerce survey of European customers. The company focused on how customers in Europe shopped online this year. The survey covered 10 key European markets.

The survey also looked at which Europeans spend the most online. And Czechs are European record holders here too, with almost two-fifths having spent over EUR 100, or roughly CZK 2,500, on their last online purchase. More than a fifth of Czechs spent more than EUR 250, which is more than CZK 6,000, at e-shops. Compared to the neighbouring countries, we have a big lead. In Germany and Poland, for example, only seven percent of consumers spent more than €250 on their last purchase. 

 

 

“The data proves what has been talked about for a long time: The Czech Republic is a paradise for e-shops. We even boast the highest number of e-shops in Europe. E-commerce is a normal part of Czechs’ shopping behaviour. Even before Christmas, when they no longer run around bricks-and-mortar stores, but buy presents from the comfort of their homes. For us, this is the busiest time of the year, when the shipment volume increases by up to 50%. That is why we strengthen our logistics and driver teams every year for this period so that we can get all the gifts under the tree on time,” said Milan Loidl, Director of Marketing and Business Development at PPL CZ.

To make purchases and place orders, Czechs mostly go to sit at their computer, over 60% of them said so, while only a third of them shop directly via mobile phones. Almost every second respondent pays by credit card, half of Czechs still prefer to pay cash on delivery. “Cash on delivery can be most efficiently dealt with by paying via our myPPL mobile app or website,” said Loidl.

Up to 90% of survey respondents do not make an online purchase because they cannot find a delivery method that suits their needs. Thanks to the strong infrastructure in the Czech Republic, only about 50% of Czechs leave their e-shopping cart for this reason. “At PPL, we have a strong background in delivery to an address and we are part of a network of 100,000 DHL eCommerce pick-up points across Europe. Thanks to our product portfolio, we can satisfy all customer needs, including delivery to addresses and pick-up points in the Czech Republic and abroad,” explained Loidl.   
 

Czechs Really Want Flexibility

The most popular form of parcel delivery in the Czech Republic is still delivery to an address, which is used by almost half of domestic customers, but the popularity of pick-up points and boxes, where 4 out of 10 Czechs prefer to pick up a parcel, is growing. “In the rest of Europe, two-thirds of people still order goods to be delivered to an address, but our customers increasingly prefer more flexible options. That is why in recent years PPL has focused on the development of out-of-home infrastructure. Currently, our customers can pick up their goods at more than 6,000 PPL Parcelshops and PPL Parcelboxes across the Czech Republic,” commented Loidl.

 

Foreign Prices Are Attractive

When the wide range of domestic e-shops is not enough for Czechs, they prefer to buy from China. According to the survey, more than 60 percent of Czechs order goods from Chinese e-shops. US e-shops are in second place with a third of customers and Germany in third place with almost the same share. The most common reason for buying from abroad was lower price, while one in three consumers was attracted by a wider range or the fact that they could not find a particular product on the Czech online market. Czechs most often shop online for clothing (59%) and electronics (30%), as well as for sporting goods and other hobby products.

 

 

For respondents, delivery is important for both Czech and foreign e-shops, to the extent that more than half of the respondents leave their cart in an e-shop if they do not find their favourite delivery company offered at the online shop. “At PPL CZ, thanks to our connection to the DHL network, we work with international e-shops that want a logistics partner that local customers are used to. And we work well together. The share of shipments from abroad is constantly growing and Czech customers have already learned, especially for goods such as clothing, that they can easily return shipments via our PPL Parcelshops and PPL Parcelboxes if necessary,” concluded Loidl.