Christmas shopping frenzy
Christmas is a particular time for Poles. It is a family holiday for which Poles have been preparing since November. Planning, cleaning, preparing numerous dishes, and buying gifts make it the most important shopping period of the year.The largest share of Christmas shopping consists of groceries and organizing the holiday, e.g., the Christmas tree, decorations, and gifts. Poles spent an average of over 1,700 zloty on this purpose in 2023. In comparison, they spent less than 600 zloty on Easter in the same period. An additional cost is the New Year, approaching right after Christmas, on which one in four Poles spends between 200 and 500 zloty.
In recent years, spending has been heavily influenced by inflation and the political situation, which has discouraged consumerism. As prices stabilized in the market, spending increased. The place of shopping is also changing. More and more Poles are shopping online, but they are most likely to do their grocery shopping in brick-and-mortar stores.
Black Friday is on the annual shopping calendar of Poles
Catholic holidays are not the only period when Poles enter a shopping frenzy. Poles love to gift women during their March holiday, spend money on communion gifts for their children, and spare no expense for the long May weekend, which includes two public holidays practically in a row. After the fall of communism in 1989, new shopping opportunities came to Poland from the West in the form of Valentine's Day and Halloween. On Valentine's Day, Poles buy gifts for each other and organize trips together or outings to the cinema or theater.Poles love promotions. Price is the central buying criterion, and discounts are one of the main factors in purchasing products. Hence, big sales such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday prevail. More and more stores are offering products at discounted prices, and interest from the consumer side is increasing every year, approaching the European average. Nearly two-thirds of Poles decided to shop on this day. The most frequently purchased products were clothing, electronics, and home goods. Poles tend to spend an average of 214 euros on those days. One in three Poles spent between 251 and 500 zloty during Black Friday.
