Poland is expected to register the fastest growth in European e-commerce in 2012, with a 24 percent increase as compared to the European average of 16.1 percent, a recent survey released by UK’s retail research and consulting firm Centre for Retail Research has unveiled.

According to another study, published by shopping search engine Kelkoo, e-commerce in Poland is expected to grow from EUR 4.50 billion in 2011 to EUR 5.59 billion in 2012.

According to Kelkoo’s analysis of 13 European nations, which also included the Western European countries of Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and Norway, in 2011 Poland ranked last in online retail sales. The same source pointed out that Poland is still far behind the UK where online sales are expected to reach EUR 67.4 billion in 2012. Research has indicated that in 2012 online sales will represent 3.8 percent of overall retail revenue in Poland, up from 3.1 percent in 2011.

According to comScore, the number of Polish consumers who use the internet has reached 18.2 million, turning Poland into the eight-biggest internet market in Europe. A study released by the European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, has shown that 67 percent of Polish households had internet access in 2011.

The number of online stores has increased from 7,500 in 2009 to 10,800 in 2011, according to Polish market researcher TNS OBOP, which indicated that 47 percent of internet users in Poland have made an online purchase in the past six months. The clothing industry represents the largest number of new e-retailers with 17 percent of Polish e-commerce websites selling clothes and shoes.