The beer capital of the world, many UNESCO-listed tourist sites, developed exports, and a strategic geographic location that makes the Czech market an attractive distribution point to other European countries.
A lot? And these are just a few of the distinguishing features of this Central European country. The Czech Republic is undoubtedly an attractive market, as we will confirm later in this article.
From this article you will learn, among other things:
- What products most often end up in the shopping baskets of Czech consumers online,
- Whether Google's search engine has competition,
- How many passenger cars are produced in the Czech Republic and the importance of the automotive industry to the economy,
- or Czechs buy from foreign vendors,
- Which e-commerce platforms are more frequently visited than Amazon.
1. Czechs prefer to buy from domestic retailers
Most consumers, if given a choice between domestic retailers and non-Czech vendors, will shop at the former. In 2023, nearly 90% of people will choose domestic stores.
Some buyers are using vendors from European Union countries. Customers are least interested in buying from companies outside Europe.
2. popular product categories
According to Statista, the Czech e-commerce market in 2022 was most popular for fashion products and health and beauty products. Footwear was the second popular category, while "leisure" and medicines came in third.
What products Czech consumers are most likely to buy in foreign stores?
Clothing and footwear are in first place (59%). Electronics (30%) and sports equipment (26%) are also in high demand.
3. strong automotive sector
The automotive industry plays a key role in the country and accounts for 9% of GDP. It also accounts for 30% of investment in research and development.
The Czech Republic produced in 2023. 1,397,816 passenger cars, which accounted for the majority of total vehicle production (1,423,979).
Škoda, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, is one of the largest automakers in Europe. In 2021, the company had the largest share of total car production in the Czech Republic, accounting for 61.5%. Hyundai was second with 25%, and Toyota was third with 13.5% (source: Automotive Industry in the Czech Republic, 2021 AutoSAP).
4. discounts and promotions encourage FMCG purchases
What is worth including in a pricing strategy in the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) industry? Promotions are an incentive to buy fast-moving products for the Czech customer.
In 2023, nearly 65% of purchases were made through promotions. These figures are for supermarkets, but it is worth bearing in mind that most Czechs try to manage their budgets frugally.
Categories that Czechs save on include instant coffee and cosmetics. This does not mean, however, that there are no premium products in their shopping carts. They do not look for substitutes from brands offering beer or sodas, for example.
5. seznam search engine
If we take data for the last six months (April-September 2024), Google's share of the European search engine market was 90%. However, depending on the niche in which you operate, SEO in the Czech Republic can include both Google and Seznam.
In the Czech market, Google has a 81% share, as the Czech search engine Seznam.cz is quite popular, claiming a 13% market share.
6. local e-commerce platforms
Amazon in the United States, Germany or the United Kingdom is the leader of e-commerce platforms. In the Czech Republic, the global marketplace giant does not have such a strong position.
Leading the list of Czech e-commerce sites is the alza.czstore, which sells electronics. Alza.cz generated $1.15 billion (net) in sales in 2023. This compares with rohlik.cz, second on the list, with 446.6 million.
Popular platforms also include mall.cze, heureka.cz, allegro .cz.
7 Online delivery time
Czech consumers care about fast delivery of orders. Logistics and e-commerce companies such as Zásilkovna and Česká pošta are quite popular for their efficient delivery systems.
According to Digital 2024: Czechia next-day delivery is a buying factor for 31% of users.
Another survey from 2023 says that Czechs most prefer delivery within two business days (54%), and 15% said they expect it the next day. In addition to delivery time, important to shoppers is its cost.
8. second country in Europe in terms of online spending
Czechs are the second nation to spend online in 2023 most money in Central and Eastern Europe. We should add that in 2022 there were 50,000 online stores in the e-commerce market.
9. most profitable e-commerce industries
The categories of industries that generated the most revenue in online sales in 2023 are:
- Hobbies and leisure (25.2%)
- Electronics (21.4%)
- Fashion (18.1%)
Other industries with smaller shares include furniture and household goods, personal care products and food.
10. growing Fintech sector and payment method preference
Czech companies are active in many FinTech sectors. Most operate in areas related to accounting, payments, savings and personal finance, as well as P2P lending and crowdfunding.
The Czech Republic is among the European countries where electronic payments, including card, phone or other device, are the preferred method of payment for offline purchases (Survey "Attitudes toward forms of payment").
Digital payments are rated as innovative and modern (OECD, The Czech FinTech market, 2022).
Want to learn more about other markets? Check out what's worth knowing about:
Summary
The Czech market is distinguished by its strategic location, which makes it an important distribution point in Europe and promotes trade.
Diverse consumer preferences in product categories such as fashion and electronics provide ample opportunities for companies that plan to expand into the Czech market. Czechs buy from foreign companies, but prefer local retailers. This means that it is worthwhile in SEO strategy take into account local keywords and user preferences.
Planning to enter the Czech Republic with an offer? Take care of your company's growth strategy. We will be happy to help you with this.
Other source materials [accessed 28/10/2024].
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1235082/shipping-companies-in-the-e-commerce-market-czechia/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1240687/number-of-online-stores-in-czechia-by-turnover-value/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1239869/ranking-of-online-stores-czechia/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1429462/czechia-preferred-speed-of-parcel-delivery-services/
- https://ecommercedb.com/insights/ecommerce-revenue-split-by-category-in-czechia/1014163
