Image : shutterstockThe Sunday trade ban introduced in March has reshuffled the retail market in Poland. The idea behind the ban initiated by Polish Trade Union Solidarność was to give workers some more time with their families and to support small stores. However, it has turned out quite the opposite By Anna Rzhevkina Poland decided to introduce the trade ban gradually, leaving two trading Sundays per month this year and one trading Sunday per month in 2019. From 2020 onward stores will only be open on seven Sundays in the year. Trade limitations have caused unquestionable chaos on the Polish retail market for both the market players and consumers. Retailers have had to make sure they comply with the ban on non-trading Sundays, while customers need to follow the new schedule and adjust their shopping habits. Discounts win customers Large discount stores, however, quickly adapted to the new rules. They introduced extended opening hours on Friday and Saturday, reorganized logistics and invested millions of złotys in advertising to educate consumers. Poland’s largest discount supermarket chain, Biedronka, added 2 percentage points to its market share in the first half of 2018, while sales grew by 8.7 percent to €8.4 billion. “It…