Czech consumers are increasingly shopping in Poland, driven by considerably cheaper food prices. Card payments abroad from Czechs have surged by 43% year-on-year, marking a staggering 400% increase from 2021. Most transactions were in euros, Polish zlotys, and US dollars. Poland led in terms of payment numbers with over 492,000 transactions, mainly spent on food, which costs up to 25% less than in the Czech Republic. Moneta data reveals that after a decline in travel during the 2020 and 2021 pandemic years, there’s been a significant uptick in shopping abroad, also influenced by attractive prices in neighboring countries. The current average transaction value is around 950 crowns, mirroring the pre-COVID average. David Navrátil of Česká spořitelna notes that this trend, while highlighting an eightfold spending increase in Poland since 2019, indirectly pressures Czech retailers to reconsider their pricing. However, significant price changes aren’t anticipated soon, given existing economic differences between the two nations.
Source: idnes.cz
