Representatives of popular retail brands on the Polish market about shopping Sundays. Here are the results of a Retail Institute survey
Yes, I want trading to be restored on Sundays, believes 88 per cent of respondents to a Retail Institute survey conducted in February 2024 among representatives of 70 companies leasing premises in shopping centres in Poland. These are companies representing nearly 140 of the most popular global and local brands on the Polish market. 52 per cent of the representatives of retail chains say there is a need to return to trading every Sunday, 12 per cent propose that centres should be open on all Sundays, but only for eight hours, 24 per cent are in favour of opening centres on the first and last Sunday of the month. 12 per cent of respondents think it is fine the way it is.
• A very important topic that the industry should address together
66 per cent of those taking part in the Retail Institute’s survey believe that the topic of shopping Sundays is very important and that the government, with the support of industry experts, should explore the possibility of a return to trading on Sundays as soon as possible. 26 per cent say that the topic is very important, but that it can be waited until the government has sorted out the most pressing rule of law issues in the country. 8 per cent of respondents believe that it is not worth discussing Sunday trading.
• Reduced turnover and fewer jobs – Restriction has changed nothing in retrospect
When asked about the effects of the Sunday trading ban, respondents cite a significant reduction in turnover for retail chains (44 per cent), a reduction in jobs in the market (26 per cent)
and lower tax revenues to the state budget (6 per cent) 16 per cent, however, argue that in the long term, the restriction of Sunday trading has changed nothing. 8 per cent of respondents have no opinion.
• Freedom for customers and additional turnover versus management problems for shop owners and lack of freedom for employees
For those surveyed, Sunday trading is primarily about freedom of choice for customers (30 per cent), an additional opportunity to generate more turnover for businesses (26 per cent) and the possibility of creating new jobs (24 per cent). Opponents of Sunday trading, on the other hand, indicate that reinstating Sundays will mean the following for their business: increased costs with uncertainty that the extra day will translate into a large enough increase in sales (12 per cent) and a lack of freedom for trade workers
(8 per cent).
• The customer will not indulge
In the survey, company representatives rated the current state of the retail industry at 3.2 – on a scale of 1-5.
“The last few years can be summarised as a time of constant crisis and change management and attempts to create business models that will allow entrepreneurs to continue to operate in a dynamically changing environment. Legal and tax changes, the introduction of the Sunday trading ban, weeks of closures caused by lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, high inflation and galloping costs, and changes in customer and consumer habits and habits – all of these translate, in my opinion, into a low assessment of companies on the health of the retail industry. The retail industry needs the government’s support in the form of new regulations and legislation, which will allow it to plan for the future with more optimism,” says Anna Szmeja, President of the Retail Institute.
In free comments on the survey, representatives of retail companies wrote about various aspects of the return to shopping Sundays. They pointed out that customers should be able to decide when they go shopping and that shop employees should be aware when choosing a job that also means having to work on Sundays.
According to one respondent (service industry), the lack of trading on Sundays has resulted in a reduction in turnover and an irretrievable loss of around 15-20 per cent of turnover. In contrast, a representative of the food and beverage industry stressed that closing shops for one day meant a large loss for this sector. Another representative of the service category pointed out that it does not matter to the customer when he buys shoes or a jacket, but unfortunately he will not indulge himself in stock. In his opinion, the restriction has resulted in a drop in revenue in this category of
15 per cent.
The survey was conducted at the beginning of February 2024 among representatives of 70 companies gathered around the Retail Institute, running nearly 140 of the most recognisable brands on the Polish retail market. The survey was anonymous. It was conducted via an online questionnaire.
