Ministry Wants Full Retail Ban on Sundays

In a recent press conference, the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology confirmed the authorities are going to stick to the plan of extending the retail ban. Despite some media reports according to which the government had the intension of holding the progression on shopping-free Sundays, there are no plans to stop mid-way, even though it appears the public may have different opinion on shopping restrictions than the lawmakers.

It has been over a year since the introduction on the ban on sales due to which the majority of stores, shops and supermarkets in Poland close on most Sundays. The Ministry decided to present their current findings on the effects of the restrictive legal provisions. Despite the concerns voiced by the critics of the ban, it turns out it do not have negative effect on retail sales. In fact, the previous year was best in several years in terms of sales numbers. The job market was not affected either.

Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz noted that the change in regulations had a positive impact on the tourism industry. Apparently, Poles have more time to spend with their families and are willing to spend more money on travelling and tourist attractions instead of staying home. At the same time, the government official stressed the need to keep monitoring the situation on the retail market, especially in the sector of small shops.

Meanwhile, the public support for the government initiative appears to be in decline. According to recent polls, more and more people have negative opinion on the Sunday shopping restrictions. Approximately only a third of the survey takers are in favour of closing stores on every Sunday (currently the ban is lifted on the last Sunday of the month, but this is to change next year).

The opponents of the ban stress that even though the provisions were designed with independent shopkeepers in mind, the ones who benefit from the restriction are large discount stores and service stations.