E-commerce recorded a decline in revenues
During the first quarter of this year and after more than a decade of continuous growth, the e-commerce sector experienced a decline in revenues. This, according to experts, could indicate a turning point in the industry, on the one hand with the strengthening by larger players and on the other hand with the exit of smaller players from the market.
Data from the Bureau of Statistics show us that revenues from online stores have declined by more than 13 percent since 2021 . This figure, which was altered last year by the pandemic and government decreed closures, signals a reestablished balance between traditional and virtual outlets; an example of this is the performance of revenues related to specialized footwear and apparel outlets, which recorded 262 percent growth; whereas for non-specialized and mixed stores, which mostly remained open even during the lockdown, they recorded similar numbers as in 2021.
Experts believe that the first quarter’s figures portend a turning point in the e-commerce sector. The newspaper Hospodářské noviny reports that many players in the market have set their business strategy on the data from the pandemic years, which represented an exceptional event. Other experts point out that there are thousands of small e-shops operating in the Czech market with narrow profit margins and unskilled staff, which will find it difficult to survive in a less dynamic market than in the 2020-2021 biennium. With reference to all this, the possibility of a restructuring that sees the exit of the smaller players and the reinforcement of the more significant players through mergers and acquisitions cannot therefore be ruled out. On the other hand, the Czech Association of Electronic Commerce (APEK) remains optimistic, which despite the red numbers in the first quarter, continues to forecast growth of a few percentage points for the sector in 2022.
Source:http://www.camic.cz
Source of image: http://www.pixabay.com; http://www.storysat.com
