One of the biggest opportunities for online retailers is to grow sales by finding new channels. Online marketplaces are a great way to do this and there are hundreds across Europe. Amazon and eBay dominate in Germany and the UK, but Polish platform Allegro has now moved to fifth on the list of Europe’s biggest online marketplaces.
The result was reported in a study by the Federal Association of Online Trade. The study measures the diversity of online marketplaces, goods and traders across Europe.
That’s quite an achievement for the site that’s tearing up trees in Central and Eastern Europe.
Allegro is set to gain further momentum with the launch of a new German website and plans to attract more retailers from the UK. The marketplace is so keen to recruit UK retailers, it’s created a dedicated ‘brand zone’ for them.
Allegro brand zone
The ‘brand zone’ on Allegro is a section of their marketplace where internationally renowned brands sell. Allegro guarantees the authenticity and quality of the products sold here.
In the brand zone you can learn about selling on Allegro, access resources and talk to a dedicated agent. They offer assistance with eCommerce marketing to help sellers reach new buyers, increase brand recognition and offer customers discounts.
In January 2020, Allegro announced they’re allowing sellers to display their website address on photos, headlines and banners in the brand zone. However, this applies to listings in the automotive , property, services and holidays categories only.
Difficulties with selling on Allegro
If you’re considering selling on Allegro, there are some obstacles to overcome. Shipping, the cost of logistics, listing products in Polish and dealing with customer service queries are all issues to consider.
Running your Allegro store means translating your product information to match the expectations of local buyers. It also means translating incoming messages and responding in the buyer’s language.
This isn’t a problem for sellers using eCommerce customer support software, such as eDesk.
eDesk can automatically translate incoming questions from Polish to your native language. When you type out a reply, it will translate it back into Polish, helping you overcome the language barrier with ease.
If you have customer support staff with Polish language skills and would prefer them to translate, you can facilitate this using eDesk as well. The software can automatically route incoming tickets from Allegro to your Polish agent, helping you work efficiently as a team.
How much does it cost to sell on Allegro
Allegro has three levels of subscription fee, these are:
- Basic subscription: 39 Polish złoty per month
- Professional subscription: 199 Polish złoty per month
- Expert subscription: 3000 Polish złoty per month
The higher the subscription tier, the more features you’re able to use. These include, sales statistics, offer tags and banner ads. Find out more information about Allegro subscriptions here.
Only products in certain categories require a listing fee on Allegro. These categories include automotive products, motorcycles, holidays, machinery, live animals and a few more. Find the full list here.
For most product categories on Allegro, you only pay a commission fee once you’ve sold an item. The amount of commission you pay ranges from 4% to 11%, depending on the category. Find out more about the commission prices of each category here.
What type of retailers are selling on Allegro?
Allegro has significant market share in electronics (62 percent), home and garden (74 percent) and fashion (46 percent). In fact, it’s Poland’s most popular place to buy fashion.
Brands of all sizes are selling on Allegro. Some notable names include Superdry, Hollister and Abercrombie, to designer labels like Versace and small boutique brands.
Online sales in Poland grew at the rate of 16% in 2019. This is set to continue with at 9.3% over the next four years according to Statistica. With 14 million active users, Allegro is a good opportunity for B2C brands and professional re-sellers to expand into Poland.
Essential software to help you sell on Allegro
Allegro provides a link with external software to make it easier to list products and deal with customer support queries.
eDesk is essential customer service software if you want to start selling on Allegro. It natively integrates with Allegro along with every other major online marketplace in the world. This enables you to centralize your all your customer service interactions in a single inbox.
With incoming customer queries in Polish, you can take advantage of eDesk’s translation features to help you start selling internationally!
