What challenges do retailers face? The biggest obstacles to retail development in Poland
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The spectre of war, cyberattacks and a shortage of specialists are the current reality of Polish commerce. The ‘RetailTech 2025’ report indicates that most retailers in Poland are preparing for the possibility of armed conflict and that cybersecurity has become a priority. Although the industry seeks to focus on new technologies and AI-based solutions, this path is constrained by high costs, a lack of public support, and a skills gap. Success will now largely depend on the ability to overcome staffing barriers and to integrate new technologies into the existing architecture efficiently.
Increased awareness of the risk of armed conflict
The past 12 months have been marked by ongoing geopolitical instability, which is why as many as 23% of retail companies in Poland report full operational readiness in the event of an armed conflict, according to the ‘RetailTech 2025’ report prepared by Exorigo-Upos and Keralla Research.
This means that, if such a scenario were to occur, they have specific plans and procedures in place, as well as personnel trained to implement them. This is a significant year-on-year increase – in the previous edition of the report, only 16% of retailers were so actively preparing their businesses for war.
What is more, as many as 75% of companies are preparing to some extent for the outbreak of armed conflict. This indicates that geopolitical risk has shifted from the theoretical to the real domain and necessitates urgent intervention in business continuity planning (BCP).
Awareness of geopolitical risk, which is accounted for in the financial plans of 31% of the largest companies, necessitates prioritising technologies that support business continuity. This translates into increased investment in cybersecurity (to protect against cyberattacks) and cloud solutions (for scalability beyond local infrastructure).
Are Polish retailers ready for cyberattacks?
Yes, the vast majority of retailers operating in Poland declare that they are ready for such threats. This is the opinion of 84% of company representatives in the retail sector, of whom 38% assess their preparedness as high and 46% as medium.
The former indicates that the company has established procedures and backups and conducts regular tests. The latter indicates that the company has a response plan and is gradually implementing security measures. Only 3% of retailers operating in Poland lack emergency procedures for a cyberattack.
Such a high level of preparedness is evidence of the industry’s growing maturity. Regular testing, backups and emergency procedures, which were once the domain of the financial sector, are now becoming standard and a necessity in commerce as well.
The presence of cybersecurity (including preparedness for local blackouts) among the top three investment priorities for the next 12 months – alongside cloud solutions and artificial intelligence – signals that cyberattack prevention has been elevated to the status of strategic business continuity security, going beyond a mere operating cost.
External challenges – technology costs and lack of public cooperation
On the road to digital transformation and development, the Polish retail industry, which is increasingly investing, faces significant external barriers. As many as 46% of respondents cite the lack of financial assistance (from the government, the EU or subsidies) as a significant challenge.
Although this affects all businesses, it is felt most strongly by companies investing the most in IT development (at least 5% of turnover) – over 55% of such companies report this. However, this should come as no surprise – ambitious, innovative projects are capital-intensive and require support to minimise investment risk.
Another key external challenge is the high cost of technology, felt by 40% of retail industry representatives. This problem particularly affects companies that allocate the smallest percentage of their turnover to IT (1-2%) – as many as 62.5% of respondents in this group point to it. This may widen the technology gap between leaders and the rest of the industry.
Almost one-third of respondents cite legal chaos and changing consumer trends as external challenges. The former affects food retailers most, with as many as 60% citing it. This is probably due to the high complexity and restrictiveness of food safety, labelling and packaging regulations.
Internal barriers – staffing and competence gaps
The biggest internal challenge for almost half of retail companies (46%) is human resources – staffing and skills gaps, including a lack of technological knowledge and difficulties in recruiting suitable specialists. This is a significant change from last year’s report, in which 37% of respondents indicated this issue.
This increase highlights the need for intensive efforts to train teams and improve skills within the organisation. With companies investing heavily in new technologies but skills shortages being the primary internal barrier, the effective implementation and management of innovative solutions may be at risk.
The skills gap is becoming a decisive factor in whether an investment will drive the company’s growth or become mired in unfinished projects.
Systems complexity and time pressure
According to the RetailTech 2025 report, up to 35% of Polish retailers have difficulty integrating new solutions with existing systems. Maintaining a uniform system architecture is becoming increasingly difficult as companies combine traditional platforms with new sales and customer service technologies. This is becoming increasingly important for large enterprises – the percentage of responses indicating this problem has risen from 20.5% to 31% in their case.
Another significant challenge of digital transformation is the lack of time for implementation. More than a quarter of companies (27%) report a lack of time to implement necessary technological investments. In the case of large enterprises, this percentage reaches 41%, the second-highest among internal challenges for this type of company (after staff and competence shortages). The need to respond quickly to changing consumer trends and technological developments means that companies feel constant time pressure.
In theory, AI is the future of retail, but how does it look in practice?
On the one hand, AI is considered a megatrend: more than a quarter of companies (27%) plan to invest in such solutions in the coming year (among the largest companies, as many as 59% identify AI as a key trend shaping the retail industry). On the other hand, empirical evidence indicates that the implementation of AI faces numerous challenges. Many companies are unable to implement it effectively due to organisational constraints.
The most frequently cited reason is a lack of time and resources, mentioned by 37% of respondents. Close behind is the issue of cost: 35% of companies are concerned about excessive expenditure on AI with uncertain return on investment. The third limitation in the implementation of AI-based solutions is the lack of relevant skills among employees – 32% of companies admit that they lack practical know-how and AI specialists. Even if a company recognises the potential of artificial intelligence, it is often not ready in terms of personnel and operations to exploit that potential.
Only 8% of companies in the Polish retail industry have not encountered any major obstacles in implementing AI, while the vast majority face at least one. Many of these obstacles stem from a lack of proper technological preparation and appropriate processes. Without these, even the most modern algorithms may not deliver the expected results. Therefore, before a company begins investing in AI, it should ensure that it has the necessary technological foundations in place.
Main barriers to the development of the Polish retail industry (total)
| Challenge / Barrier | Category | % of Responses (Total) | Context and Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talent and skill shortages | HR / Internal | 46% | Primary internal challenge; poses a risk of low ROI on investments in innovative solutions. |
| Lack of external financial support | Financial / External | 46% | Hinders large-scale transformational projects, particularly affecting IT leaders. |
| High technology costs | Financial / External | 40% | Widens the technological gap between market leaders and smaller investors. |
| Lack of time and resources for AI implementation | Operational / Internal | 37% | Indicates an excessive operational burden in the context of digital transformation. |
| Integration of disparate systems | Operational / Internal | 35% | A growing issue for large enterprises that hinders the deployment of omnichannel solutions. |
| High AI costs with uncertain ROI | Financial / Internal | 35% | Slows down the adoption and scaling of AI-based solutions. |
| Legal chaos and legislative changes | Regulatory / External | 30% | Highly significant for food retailers (indicated by 60% of respondents in this sub-sector). |
Methodology
The study behind the RetailTech 2025 report involved 100 representatives from medium and large companies with an annual turnover exceeding PLN 100 million. All respondents are responsible for technology in their companies. Telephone interviews (CATI) were conducted with them in September 2025.
