Another city! TikTok Shop is rumored to be expanding into Poland

On the path of global expansion, TikTok Shop has once again made a major move. Recently, there has been much discussion online, and it is rumored that relevant sources have revealed that TikTok is actively preparing to launch its e-commerce business in Poland, with plans to officially go live no later than the first half of 2026.

If the news is true, Poland will become the seventh key market for TikTok Shop in Europe, following the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Image source: xyz.pl

Accelerating European Expansion to Respond to US Pressure

TikTok Shop's focus on Poland is a continuation of its recent accelerated strategy to expand in the European market. This rapid expansion is closely related to the uncertainty and potential trade policy risks brought by the US "sell or ban" bill. To reduce its reliance on the US single market, TikTok Shop is actively exploring new sites and regards Europe as the strategic focus for the development of its e-commerce business.

On March 31 this year, TikTok Shop simultaneously opened three major sites in Germany, France, and Italy. Shortly after, the platform updated the POP (Platform Open Plan) entry standards for some European markets, significantly lowering the entry threshold. The new policy not only supports sellers with operational experience on third-party platforms such as Amazon and eBay to quickly join, but also opens a green channel for US sellers, aiming to attract more seller resources to the European market.

Image source: TikTok Shop Cross-border E-commerce

Huge E-commerce Potential Makes Poland an Ideal Expansion Target

The reason why TikTok Shop chose Poland as its new foothold in Europe is closely related to the country's booming e-commerce market. Market data fully demonstrates its growth resilience and broad prospects.

According to data released by the European online sales management platform BaseLinker, even in January this year after the traditional peak season ended, Poland's e-commerce market continued to grow steadily: total sales increased by 9.9% year-on-year, and the number of orders increased by 5.4% year-on-year. Market research firm Statista's forecast is even more optimistic: in 2025, Poland's e-commerce market revenue is expected to reach $25.6 billion; by 2029, this figure is expected to grow to $35.76 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.71% from 2025 to 2029. Such strong growth potential naturally attracts TikTok Shop's strategic attention.

Image source: Statista

Large User Base and High Social Media Shopping Acceptance

TikTok Shop has significant innate advantages in the Polish market—a large user base and high acceptance of social media shopping among local consumers.

According to TikTok's official EU enforcement and usage data report, during July to December 2024, TikTok's monthly active users in the EU reached 159.1 million, a net increase of 9 million from the previous statistical period. Among them, the number of TikTok users in Poland reached 12.6 million, ranking fifth among European countries.

More importantly, Polish consumers, especially the younger generation, show great enthusiasm for shopping through social media platforms. A research report by fintech platform Adyen points out that in 2023, 45% of Polish consumers shopped through social media platforms, with an average annual spending of £7,000. Among Gen Z, this proportion is as high as 59%. Notably, TikTok has been identified as the most favored social shopping platform among Polish Gen Z consumers.

Image source: musically

Strong Rivals, Fierce Market Competition

However, as a latecomer to the Polish e-commerce market, TikTok Shop will inevitably face fierce competition from local giants and emerging cross-border players.

Local e-commerce platform Allegro is the undisputed leader in the Polish market, with strong market position and profitability. Data shows that in the first quarter of 2025 alone, Allegro achieved revenue of 5.04 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%; its operating profit reached 920 million yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 10.5%, demonstrating strong profitability.

In addition to Allegro, the rise of the Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform Temu in Poland has also been astonishing. According to Gemius Mediapanel data, as of March this year, Temu had accumulated 18.1 million real users in Poland, slightly surpassing Allegro's 17.8 million users in the same period. This means that Temu overtook the local giant in just about two years, becoming the most visited e-commerce platform in Poland.

Image source: Bloomberg

Conclusion

Although the Polish e-commerce market has broad prospects, it is already a fiercely contested arena, with local giants like Allegro entrenched and cross-border tigers like Temu expanding rapidly. TikTok Shop, with its huge traffic advantage and young user base, is entering the fray, undoubtedly adding a new powerful variable to this battlefield. Whether it can successfully break through under the dual pressure of Allegro and Temu and carve out a considerable share of the limited Polish market remains to be seen by the market.