The Czech e-commerce market reached CZK 206 billion in 2025, growing by more than 6% year on year. This makes it an attractive prospect for Polish online retailers, but market size alone does not guarantee a successful expansion. Profitability depends on whether sales channels, the shopping journey and logistics work together as a coherent model that meets customer needs while keeping orders profitable. Entering Czechia should therefore be a carefully planned process, rather than simply launching a store in another language. How can you bring together channel selection, a locally adapted shopping experience and logistics to generate both sales and profit?

What Should You Check Before Entering the Czech Market?

The size of Czech e-commerce confirms the market’s appeal, but an expansion decision should be based on data about your specific category and products. Competitor pricing, the cost of acquiring an order and your store’s ability to handle delivery, returns and complaints efficiently also matter.

Assess Demand for Specific Products

Heureka Group’s figures for the first half of 2026 illustrate how performance can vary between categories. The number of cycling accessories sold rose by 81.4% during this period. Meanwhile, bicycle sales fell by 18.1% in value and 17.2% in units sold. These results highlight the importance of analysing demand at both category and product level before entering the market.

Example: A Specialist Cycling Accessories Store

A specialist store may have a strong case for testing sales in Czechia. Growth in the category provides a reason to explore which products attract local demand. Your store could start with a selected range of accessories, prepare Czech product descriptions and detailed compatibility information, then assess performance by product and sales channel. Local delivery options should be part of the plan from the outset. According to APEK’s 2025 data, parcel lockers were the most frequently selected method for receiving online purchases, chosen by 48.1% of respondents.

Example: A Store Selling Mainly Mainstream Bicycles

A retailer competing primarily on price should take a more cautious approach to rapid expansion. Bicycle sales fell in the first half of 2026, while shipping requires careful consideration of parcel dimensions, suitable packaging and the cost of handling potential returns or complaints. Entering the market may make sense if the store has a clear advantage, such as its own brand, an attractive servicing package or an efficient returns process in Czechia. Without such an advantage, it is better to test a limited range of models first and establish the actual cost of selling them.

Calculate Profitability Before Scaling Up

The final decision to enter the market should be based on the economics of individual products. Compare order revenue with the cost of goods, commissions, advertising, any delivery subsidy, packaging and expected returns and customer service costs. Before launching a trial, define how you will evaluate it: the minimum margin per order, an acceptable customer acquisition cost and an acceptable return rate. This will help you decide which products to scale up and which to discontinue before higher sales volumes drive up costs.

Your Own Store, Comparison Sites or Marketplaces: How Do You Choose Your Channels?

Czech shoppers compare prices, read product descriptions and check reviews before buying. The country also has nearly 51,000 online stores. In such a competitive market, your choice of sales channel should reflect your product category, how customers make purchasing decisions and the cost of acquiring an order.

Your Own Store Gives You Control over the Shopping Journey

A Czech version of your store lets you shape your product range, pricing, communication and customer service. However, it requires localisation of the entire shopping journey, from product descriptions and availability information to delivery, payment and returns terms. Czech-language content and local delivery and returns options are particularly important. Your own store gives you greater control over the customer experience, but usually also requires you to attract traffic and build credibility yourself.

Comparison Sites Help You Reach Shoppers Who Are Comparing Offers

Heureka.cz, Zboží.cz and Pricemania.cz can be valuable channels for customers who already know the product or category and want to compare available offers. Czech consumers use these services to compare prices and read reviews. Listing on a comparison site requires a well-prepared product feed with accurate names, specifications, prices, availability and delivery costs. Incorrect or outdated information can discourage customers or direct them to an offer the store cannot fulfil. Performance should also be analysed by product: clicks alone are not enough if sales generate no margin after advertising and order handling costs.

Specialist Platforms Support Product Discovery

FAVI and Biano can help retailers selling furniture and home furnishings, while GLAMI can support clothing and footwear retailers. These services act as search engines or platforms that compare offers from multiple stores: customers can discover a product and then complete their purchase on the retailer’s website. They should therefore be treated as traffic acquisition channels rather than substitutes for your own store. Before launching a campaign, check whether the platform supports your category, what product data it requires and how much it costs to acquire an order. For products facing strong price competition, clicks may not translate into profitable sales. For niche products, image quality, descriptions, specifications and correct category placement may play a greater role.

Treat Seznam as a Separate Advertising Channel

Your marketing plan should account separately for Seznam and its advertising system, Sklik. Sklik allows you to run ads on the Seznam.cz search engine, across its advertising network and on related services. Zboží.cz, meanwhile, is a product comparison service. Distinguishing between these roles makes it easier to measure whether you are paying for search advertising, comparison site visibility or both.

A Marketplace Can Be Part of Your Pilot

A marketplace such as Allegro.cz lets you test interest in your range and secure your first orders without relying entirely on traffic to your own website. However, you need to account for commissions, platform rules, listing requirements, delivery costs and returns handling. Allegro.cz requires prices in Czech koruna and Czech-language listings, among other things, while also providing tools for managing sales in international markets.

How Do You Localise Your Store and Build Trust with Czech Customers?

Localisation involves more than translating your website into Czech. Product descriptions, variants, availability and prices in Czech koruna should be clear and consistent with delivery, payment and returns information. It is also worth having the translation reviewed by someone familiar with the Czech market. Customer service in the local language and clear instructions for tracking orders and requesting returns also help build trust. An advert that performs well in Poland will not necessarily work simply because it has been translated into Czech. Test different messages and measure their effect on conversion, the cost of acquiring an order, customer enquiries and returns.

How Should You Plan Delivery, Payments and Returns?

Cross-border logistics affects shopping convenience, service costs and order profitability. Before launching sales, compare the available delivery and payment methods and plan your returns process.

Choosing Delivery Methods and Carriers

When comparing carriers, check their coverage, pricing and estimated delivery times, along with parcel size and weight restrictions. Also consider access to collection points and parcel lockers, tracking quality and returns handling. APEK reports that parcel lockers were the most frequently selected method for receiving online purchases in Czechia in 2025, chosen by 48.1% of respondents. This is a useful signal when planning your delivery options, but the final choice should reflect your product range and trial results.

Explore the services offered by local operators such as Packeta, PPL and DPD. Compare their terms for your store’s typical shipments, whether these are small parcels, larger products or non-standard items.

Delivery Information at Checkout

Before placing an order, customers should be able to see the available delivery methods, their cost and the estimated delivery date. The information at checkout must reflect actual product availability and the carrier’s service terms. After purchase, the store should send the order details to its shipping system, issue a confirmation and provide the customer with a tracking link. Regularly check whether promised delivery dates are being met and how often delays, failed deliveries and order status enquiries occur. This data will help you assess whether your chosen carrier and customer communication work well in practice.

Payments and Returns Handling

Choose payment methods based on your product category and the customer behaviour you observe in your store. APEK reports that card payments have overtaken cash on delivery, but you should assess how individual methods perform with your own audience. For each method, compare processing costs, the effect on conversion and any losses associated with uncollected cash-on-delivery parcels.

Plan returns alongside outbound shipping to Czechia. Define how customers will send items back, where returns will be received, the transport cost and what happens once a product reaches the warehouse. Local returns options are also important to Czech customers. Explore Alsendo International, which offers services including access to local delivery providers, shipment tracking, returns handling and cash on delivery in the local currency.

When Should You Scale Sales in the Czech Market?

Expand your Czech operations when sales results confirm demand and orders remain profitable after advertising, commissions, delivery, returns and service costs. Before increasing your budget, also check whether the store can handle higher volumes: keeping stock levels up to date, meeting promised delivery dates and resolving delivery issues efficiently.

Before making a decision, review the pilot results: which products sell best, which channels generate profitable orders, which delivery and payment methods customers choose, and how much fulfilment and returns handling cost. Use these findings to decide where to scale up and which parts of your offer or process need improvement.

Grow your cross-border sales with Alsendo International. Manage domestic and international shipping, access local delivery providers, track shipments and handle returns in one place.

Sources:

1. Heureka Group: Czech e-commerce performance in the first half of 2026
2. APEK market data
3. Apaczka: Planning your e-commerce expansion into Czechia
4. Seznam: Sklik advertising
5. Allegro: Selling in Czechia

Anna Sztyk