Almost nine in ten Polish adults say access to product information before making a purchase is important, according to a new SW Research survey cited by Newseria. The findings have become part of a wider dispute over planned restrictions on alcohol advertising and promotion, particularly inside stores where adult consumers make their final purchasing decisions.
The survey found that 88% of respondents regard the ability to learn about a product before buying it as important, while 80% believe adult consumers should have access to full information about products available for sale. The debate is particularly sensitive in the alcohol category, where lawmakers are considering broader restrictions on advertising and promotion.
What Polish consumers say they use in-store information for
In-store materials are not used only to identify discounts. One third of respondents said such materials are a source of information about current offers. Another 29% use them to obtain additional information about a product, while 27% say they help them understand characteristics such as composition, use or other properties.
How consumers view access to product information
Share of surveyed Polish adults
Product information before purchase is important — 88%
Adults should have access to full product information — 80%
Adults should be able to learn about new alcohol products in stores — 75%
Accept advertising materials in adult-only sales areas — 70%
Source: SW Research survey cited by Newseria Biznes.
The alcohol debate is about where information ends and advertising begins
The proposals being discussed in parliament would tighten the rules governing advertising and promotion of alcoholic beverages. One of the most far-reaching proposals would introduce a complete ban covering all alcoholic drinks, including beer. During the legislative debate, restrictions on promotional materials displayed in designated alcohol sections of shops have also been considered.
That has created a practical question for retailers: how should the law distinguish neutral product information from advertising intended to stimulate demand? The Polish Chamber of Commerce and the Polish Economic Society argue that adult consumers in a legal retail environment should still be able to compare products and obtain information at the point of sale.
The survey suggests that many consumers make a similar distinction. Three quarters of respondents believe adults should be able to access information about new alcoholic products available in stores. Some 63% say an adult who is already in an alcohol sales area should be able to see information and materials concerning those products.
Seven in ten accept advertising materials in designated alcohol areas
According to the survey, seven in ten adult Poles accept the presence of advertising materials in areas intended for adult consumers. At the same time, 63% consider a ban on materials displayed exclusively in designated alcohol sections to be excessive state interference.
Those figures do not settle the public-policy question. Supporters of tighter rules can argue that restrictions are designed to reduce exposure to alcohol marketing and its social costs, while opponents focus on consumer information, retail competition and the ability of legal businesses to communicate with adult customers. The final economic effect will depend heavily on how broadly lawmakers define promotion.
Retailers warn about small shops and the grey economy
Trade organisations also raise a second issue: the possibility that tighter restrictions could shift part of demand outside the legal retail system. They argue that alcohol remains an important category for many small shops and that lower legal sales can affect not only alcohol turnover but also purchases of other products made during the same visit.
According to estimates by the Institute of Economic Forecasts and Analyses cited in the Newseria report, around 23 million litres of alcohol, calculated as 100% ethyl alcohol, may have been purchased in Poland’s grey economy in 2025. The hypothetical excise revenue associated with that volume was estimated at about PLN 1.8 billion.
The grey-economy argument comes from organisations opposing the proposed restrictions and should therefore be treated as part of the policy debate rather than proof that tighter advertising rules would automatically produce such an outcome. The size of any shift would depend on enforcement, the final scope of the law and consumer behaviour.
For retailers, the wording of the law will matter as much as the ban itself
The dispute shows why the details of the legislation matter. A rule aimed at mass-market advertising can have a different commercial effect from a rule that also prevents adult customers from seeing price, composition, product characteristics or information about a new product while standing in a designated sales area.
For retailers and producers, the next stage of the legislative process will therefore be important not only because of whether new restrictions are adopted, but because of the legal boundary between information and promotion. A broad definition could change merchandising, product launches and communication inside stores; a narrower one would concentrate the impact on conventional advertising.
Source: Newseria Biznes; SW Research survey and industry estimates cited in the original report.
