Czech e-shops generate turnover of CZK 43bn in 2012

Prague, Jan 28 (CTK) - On-line shops in the Czech Republic generated the same turnover in 2012 as 46 average brick-and-mortar shopping centres, their sales growing to Kc43bn, according to an analysis carried out by consulting company Cushman & Wakefield.

The share of on-line shops in Czech retail sales reached 4.6 percent last year, said the Association for Electronic Commerce (APEK).

In 2001-2012, eight retail shopping centres were built annually on average, while the number of e-shops increased by four each year.

"According to data of the biggest selling portal, one Internet visit generates about EUR3.5 (Kc89) of turnover. One visitor to a brick-and-mortar shopping centre spends about EUR7 (Kc178) on average. At the same time, the number of visitors of the most successful Czech on-line portal is about five times higher than the average number of visitors of the biggest shopping centres in Prague," Cushman & Wakefield market research leader Michal Sotak said.

There are 128 shopping centres with retail area over 10,000 square metres in the Czech Republic.

Turnover of e-shops have increased 40 times over the past ten years. "This is partly thanks to the fast spread of Internet among households and partly thanks to the comfort of the Internet. Despite this, we do not expect the Internet to catch up with classic brick-and-mortar shops in the years to come," Sotak said.

The share of e-shops in total retail sales is growing but most of the goods is still sold in brick-and-mortar shops. Between 5 and 6 percent of all goods in the Czech Republic is sold via e-shops, according to an analysis of the use of Internet in retail made public by the Czech Statistical Office (CSU).

APEK data show that the share of on-line shops in total retail sales grew by 0.6 percentage point last year. The most frequently sold goods in e-shops are computers and mobile phones.