Affected by the epidemic and the situation between Russia and Ukraine, Russian local e-commerce has developed rapidly

Due to the impact of the epidemic, Russia's e-commerce industry has seen explosive growth, but it is mainly dominated by local e-commerce platforms such as Wildberries.ru and Ozon.ru.

In 2021, Wildberries, Russia's largest e-commerce marketplace, sold a record 336 billion rubles ($4.5 billion) of fashion goods, an increase of 55%.

Russia's leading online retailer Ozon reported gross merchandise value (GMV) soared to 175 billion rubles ($2.3 billion) in the fourth quarter, compared with 76 million rubles a year earlier, according to its full-year 2021 financial results statement.

Recently, due to the situation between Russia and Ukraine, many large technology companies around the world have announced sanctions against Russia, and the same applies to e-commerce platforms.

So far, platforms such as Etsy, eBay, PayPal and Shopify have announced the suspension or restriction of Russian sellers selling on their platforms.

As a large number of foreign e-commerce platforms withdraw from the Russian market, the importance of Russian local e-commerce has become increasingly prominent.

Data shows that from March 18 to March 22, 2022, orders for sports goods on Wildberries, Russia's largest e-commerce platform, increased by 112% year-on-year, especially sales of sports shoes, which increased by 134% year-on-year.

Wildberries was founded in 2004 and derives about half of its revenue from fashion products. 65% of Wildberries' customers are female consumers. Clothing and shoes are Wildberries' main product categories, accounting for 45% of sales.

It is understood that Wildberries is carrying out a promotion from March 14 to March 28. For products participating in the promotion, the commission will be reduced by 5%, and for products not participating, the commission will increase by 7%. This is also one of the reasons for the rapid growth in Wildberries sports goods orders.

In addition, affected by the situation between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian people have started a stockpiling trend, and sporting goods are obviously among the items hoarded.

Due to the epidemic, Russian gyms have been closed for a long time. With the recent warming of the weather, more consumers are participating in exercise, and everyone is flocking to the sporting goods market to prepare equipment for their exercise in advance. Buyers from different regions of the country are actively purchasing sports equipment, clothing and footwear for outdoor sports.

The epidemic has swept the world and affected people's daily lives. The weather has warmed up recently, and buyers' demand for outdoor exercise has increased. Export sellers should always pay attention to the impact of the weather and be prepared to select products.

E-commerce platform

Cross-border e-commerce market

Wildberries