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The volume of the Russian e-commerce market in 2023 will approach 8 trillion rubles, and 75% of its orders are market places. New giants stimulate consumption, create jobs and change economies

According to the Association of Internet Trading Companies (AKIT, which unites large marketplaces), in 2012 goods worth 405 billion rubles were sold on the Runet. Over the past decade, the market has grown by an order of magnitude: AKIT now estimates sales at almost 5 trillion rubles. based on the results of 2022. The first powerful surge of citizens’ interest in online shopping began during the coronavirus pandemic. One of the largest platforms - Wildberries - at the end of 2019 reported an increase in turnover of 88% year-on-year (up to 223.5 billion rubles), and in 2020 - by 96% (437.2 billion rubles). Ozon demonstrated similar dynamics, reporting sales growth of 93% in 2019 (and revenue of 80.7 billion rubles) and by 140% in 2020 (195 billion rubles).

How sales are growing in the online segment

The geopolitical crisis has had little impact on the marketplaces. On the contrary, many departing brands began to sell the remnants of products through such platforms. Moneyplace analysts estimated that in 2022 the number of sellers on the Wildberries and Ozon sites increased by 85%, reaching 541 thousand by March 2023. According to ACIT, by this time the business was involved (as sellers or owners of ordering points, PVZ) 1.2 million entrepreneurs. Interest in the PV3, according to Franshiza.ru, became a record among all segments of franchising: in 2022, the demand for franchises increased by 22%. «Avito» noted a six-fold increase in demand for the purchase of ready-made air defense equipment (in January-August of last year in comparison with the same period of 2021). However, in February 2023, Avito reported a slowdown in the opening of new pickup points due to market saturation.

Data Insight partner Fedor Virin says that in 2023, the main growth of the e-commerce market in Russia occurred due to marketplaces, citing as examples Wildberries and Ozon, which grew by 35% in the first half of the year alone. The expert identified the growth drivers as the strength of brands, a large number of order pick-up points and “tens of thousands of sellers who provide a completer and more stable assortment than any retail team.” According to Data Insight forecasts, in 2023, sales in the e-commerce market will grow by 38% year-on-year and reach 7.9 trillion rubles, and the number of orders will increase to 4.5 billion (by 55%). The largest increase in orders will be provided by six marketplaces: Wildberries, Ozon, AliExpress, Yandex.Market, Megamarket, KazanExpress. Their share will account for more than half of the market in terms of sales, says Fedor Virin.

Why marketplaces beat retail

The growth of marketplaces has led to the “biting off” of significant market shares from classic retail. True, it is too early to talk about the “death” of offline retail. “All trading formats get along well with each other,” says AKIT President Artem Sokolov. He cites as an example recent speech by officials from Bashkiria and the Rostov region, who not only do not see problems in e-commerce, but also rejoice at the arrival of marketplaces, as this leads to the creation of logistics centers and 10-12 thousand new jobs in the region.

According to Data Insight forecasts, in 2023 the share of e-commerce will be 19% of retail volume in Russia. In the first half of this year, marketplaces, for example, managed to overtake mobile operators in terms of smartphone sales for the first time. GFK claims that network platforms accounted for 25% of smartphone sales during this period, compared to 5% in 2019.

How marketplaces are changing the labor market

Marketplaces are also involved in shifts in the labor market. As Nikolai Voinov, CEO of DPD in Russia, noted, 20% of Russians have tried their hand at delivery at least once. “Everybody needs couriers - Yandex, Ozon, Samokat, Sber.” The great need for them has inflated prices for services,” Voinov complained. The Russian Association of Electronic Communications (RAEC) cited statistics that in 2021, 830 thousand people were employed in the delivery sector, and in 2023 - more than 1 million people.

True, pick-up points remain the most popular method of delivering goods from marketplaces. Data Insight stated that in 2021–2022, two thirds of orders were sent through this channel. AKIT counted almost 300 thousand points in Russia for receiving orders from customers, of which 100 thousand are partner pick-up points of marketplaces. “Factors that influence this choice are a long shelf life of the parcel, convenient operating mode, and no need to wait for the courier. Plus - a wide network of pickup points in big cities. You can order delivery to any point near your home, near your office, or on the route between them,” says SDEK commercial director Maxim Tolstobrov.

The increase in the number of pick-up points has led to conflicts in the market. In March 2023, some owners and employees of Wildberries points began to announce the suspension of work in protest against the system of fines for returning and substituting goods. The media reported an increase in initially symbolic fines of 3–5% of the cost of goods to 50–60%, which raised the question of the profitability of the pickup point business. AKIT assured that only 20 points out of 60 thousand took part in the protest, linking the increased attention to the industry with its rapid growth. Wildberries reported the cancellation of 10 thousand incorrectly calculated fines.

AKIT announced the agreement with Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex Market, Opora Rossii and the Association of Electronic Commerce Market Participants (AUREC) on new operating standards. They determine that partner pickup points will be able to begin issuing orders from competitors, but without advertising, and marketplaces will have to warn points in advance about changes in working conditions. Artem Sokolov assures that the agreement has already “had a tectonic impact on the market”: “Relations have become more predictable, there is more certainty. Standards are respected and become the norm.” As an example, the president of AKIT cites the practice when sites obligated sellers to give a discount on goods under the threat of displays disappearing by certain dates. “We agreed, and this became a non-market practice. What is stated in the standard becomes part of the offer,” he explains.

With the growth of marketplaces, the share of dissatisfied customers began to increase

In 2022, Rospotrebnadzor registered 48 thousand proclamations (almost 30% more year-on-year) on the sale of counterfeits, unreliable photographs or descriptions of goods, as well as various commissions (for example, for payment by bank card). The general director of Infoline Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, notes that the leading platforms Wildberries and Ozon “together fulfill billions of orders”: “Of course, the number of complaints is not small and amounts to thousands, but this is actually a fraction of a percent.” Artem Sokolov also talks about an insignificant number of complaints against the backdrop of 3.5 billion orders, assuring that marketplaces are fighting counterfeit goods by blocking cards of counterfeit goods and sending this data through a data exchange system to other sites.

According to AKIT, in 2022 the association received 2 million complaints about counterfeit goods on marketplaces, but only 24 thousand were confirmed. Artem Sokolov explains that complaints are often a tool of unfair competition: “We saw a lower price from a neighbor. They are trying to blame him and remove him from the site.” AKIT believes that it is possible to fight counterfeit goods by labeling goods, and complains about some sellers who “have come to consider it normal” to sell counterfeit goods. “This is because nothing happens other than blocking the product card, despite laws providing for liability for the sale of counterfeits, including criminal liability,” explains Artem Sokolov.

Antitrust law for marketplaces

New restrictions for marketplaces are provided by a federal law passed in the summer of 2023 and effective from January 2024. The document prohibits the largest sites with an annual revenue of more than 2 billion rubles. and the share of transactions in the market above 35% to set «extremely low or extremely high price for the goods» and to impose disadvantageous conditions of the contract to sellers. Artem Sokolov believes that the law will certainly affect the market: If you have high market power, it is forbidden to abuse it, for example, to disconnect from the service sellers without explaining the reasons. The law lists the norms that prevent the platform to behave incorrectly and use the position in the market». In this regard, Mikhail Burmistrov considers it important to prevent a repetition of the situation with the Amazon platform, which «purposefully copied the best goods, making its trademarks, proving them first in issuance and so implementing unfair competition». The expert says that the largest Russian sites are also working on their own stamps: «This is an objective trend, but it is very important to maintain the balance, which in a number of countries has shifted in favor of the marketplace, like Amazon».

Marketplaces have become one of the drivers of small businesses

Ultimately, the development of electronic trading platforms changes the country's economy. Mikhail Burmistrov notes that the share of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia began to increase precisely with the beginning of the active development of marketplaces: “In fact, it happened as in China, where marketplaces became a driver of business development, because they allowed to find access to a wide range of consumers quickly. In general, this is a global trend, and Russia’s peculiarity is its rapid growth in conditions of fierce competition.”

Artem Sokolov notes the development of small business as one of the effects of e-commerce: Let’s say the entrepreneur has a room and he does not know how to use it. And here comes the opportunity to open a pick-up point - this is a good business.”

AKIT notes that marketplaces stimulate consumption by providing access to an inexhaustible range of products. This is the distinctive feature of e-commerce - the shelf has no borders. Access to the assortment attracts buyers in this consumption model», - says Artem Sokolov. Marketplaces help to increase the transparency of pricing and are the drivers of price reduction. If one seller sets a lower price, others begin to focus on him. This affects pricing from the point of view of increased competition,” concludes Mikhail Burmistrov.

Source: https://www.rbc.ru/industries/news/655c575c9a7947769b75727d?page=tag&nick=e-commerce