Consumer behaviours in Poland differ dependently on the region. The price is an important factor influencing choices, but from time to time Polish consumers also like to spoil themselves with a little bit of luxury. They do shopping not only to purchase products they need, but also to spend time with their families and friends. They are open to new foreign brands. These are the trends revealed by many researches conducted in Poland in the last 5 years.

Saving strategies

Polish consumers like to save money, so they eagerly engage in loyalty programs allowing for discounts and special offers. Choosing cheaper shops and waiting for season sales are other strategies often used. Being careful with money often is accompanied by environmentally friendly thinking. Saving water and electricity is good both for environment and your wallet.

Regional differences

In big cities consumers pay more attention to their time spent doing shopping than to the price.They will chose the closest shopping centre or supermarket rather than a cheaper shop far away from their home. In smaller towns people have usually more time to check a few shops to find the best price, and the distances between these shops are shorter.

Shopping online

More and more people prefer shopping online, but still they chose Polish websites or those with translation into Polish. There are some factors discouraging them from using foreign websites: language barrier, foreign currency and payment with a credit card.

Consumer wants are constantly monitored and analyzed by product and service providers. A marketing messages filtered through culture and language can work totally different from the way it was expected. Don’t forget it developing your marketing strategies on new markets.

Translators have always supported businessmen. Translating documents, websites, marketing materials, interpreting during conferences and meetings – this is what we do best. Translators and interpreters are also entrepreneurs themselves. They also encounter various problems connected with running a business. Every country is specific with its law, culture, language etc. Poland is a big and diversified market. Translations into Polish are one of the necessary steps to enter this market. Another one will be to know the business environment here.

The experts from the World Bank periodically publish Doing Business: a study analyzing business environment all over the world. However, it was the first time when the analysis of Poland was so detailed and thorough to include 18 Polish cities. The cities were ranked according to such criteria as starting business, dealing with construction permits, registering property and enforcing contracts.

It transpires from the report that smaller cities have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Bydgoszcz (8th largest city in Poland) tops the ranking aggregating all the criteria. The next is even smaller Olsztyn. The biggest cities: Warsaw and Cracow are at the end of the ranking. Other cities shine in particular categories: Poznań offers the easiest start for new company owners, construction permits can be easily obtained in Bydgoszcz, Zielona Góra scores best in registering properties, enforcing contracts is easier in Olsztyn, Gorzów Wielkopolski and Białystok than in other cities

How do Polish cities look like in comparison with the rest of the European Union? Scores in most of the categories do not differ from the other countries in the EU. Unfortunately, Poland still lags behind in respect of the area concerning starting business. The European average is 11 days to establish a business. In Poland it is as long as one month. Besides, the cost is three times higher (counting the percentage of per capita income) than in other member states.

Still, there is a lot of work to do, but the good news is that Polish cities get more and more business-friendly. So this is the best moment to enter the Polish market. Every company willing to do so will need good translations into Polish.

The title of the report published by Common Sense Advisory speaks for itself: if I can’t read the label/manual/website/etc., I won’t buy your product. The language of your website is one of the most important factors that make the users stay or leave. Communication in international markets is a key to global success of a company. Translation is always an investment. Otherwise you end up wondering why you company does not sell as much as it could.

The researchers contacted consumers in 10 countries and checked how shopping preferences are influenced by the language of a product. It turned out that the significant number of consumers chose only products and services which offer versions in their native language. Many customers consciously avoid websites with only English version because they are afraid of misunderstanding and consequently making a bad buying decision. Those who visit such websites spend there less time and go back to the search engine to find some more language-friendly company.

Apart from website translation there are other important factors influencing customer choices: manuals, technical support, guarantee service etc. should be available in the desired language version. If consumers cannot use this services in their native language, they are generally discouraged to buy a product.

Figures

87% of the consumers who do not speak English do not buy products and services on the English websites

55% of the consumers buy only on the websites translated into their native languages

56% of the consumers spend more time on the websites created in or translated into their native language than on the websites in English

The research was conducted in the following countries:

• Brazil
• China
• Egypt
• Spain
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Germany
• Russia
• Turkey

The analysts did not include Poland, but the results could be very similar to other countries. Although Polish consumers know English very well, they still prefer shopping on the Polish websites. Translations into Polish are necessary for all the companies wishing to conquer the Polish market.