Poles shop here less and less often. Sellers are going out of business

According to data from Dun & Bradstreet Poland, presented by “Rzeczpospolita”, last year nearly 1.5 thousand companies trading in bazaars were liquidated, and 6.3 thousand of this type of activities were suspended. This means that in 2024 the number of sellers decreased by almost 8 thousand.

Dun & Bradstreet Poland estimates show that at the end of last year there were just over 108,000 shops operating in Polish bazaars. enterprises, which is a decrease compared to December 2023.

– Everything indicates that the time of bazaars and markets is passing. More points will decrease in the following months. In total, over 13,000 were suspended in Poland in the last two years alone. companies, which constitutes approximately 10 percent the total market, i.e. 10 percent. all actively operating enterprises – comments Tomasz Starzyk, spokesman for Dun & Bradstreet Poland.

Why are bazaars losing popularity?

There are fewer sellers in bazaars, and there are also fewer customers. It is true that Poles are still eager to buy groceries (especially fruit and vegetables) in such places, but in the case of other product categories, the decline in buyers’ interest is obvious. Reason? Similar to the case of small stationary stores, which also decreased last year (Dun & Bradstreet Poland data indicate that 2,000 such stores were closed in 2024, and just over 9,000 suspended their operations). Experts indicate that customer expectations regarding the convenience of shopping are increasing. Many consumers simply do not want to shop at stalls that are not visually attractive anymore. Others are bothered by inconveniences such as lack of parking spaces, lack of free viewing and selection of goods, or restrictions on making digital payments.

Among the sellers who withdrew from bazaars, the largest group are those offering shoes and clothing (3 percent of sellers decreased).