Russian online consumers are avid cross-border shoppers, and this trend is growing. According to a survey conducted by a market research firm GFK, about half of web shoppers in Russia made at least one purchase from an online retailer in EU, China or US last year, up from 36% in 2013.
Source: GfK, August-September 2014
While the most popular shopping destinations are traditionally the online market giants - AlibabaExpress and eBay - the niche for smaller businesses accepting payments from Russia and delivering shipments to this country is quickly expanding. Yandex.Market, a leading comparison shopping service, is in a position to accommodate the needs of international retailers wishing to sell their products to Russian customers by utilising all the benefits of a technologically advanced platform with over 16,000 stores, 68 million product offers and 22.3 million unique visitors per month (December 2014, comScore Media Metrix).
Now, international web stores have an opportunity to showcase their offers on Yandex.Market to target those customers who look to buy products specifically outside of Russia. Product search on Yandex.Market is designed to deliver the most relevant results with the best combination of customer service criteria, including time of delivery or specific payment options. This automatically gives domestic retailers an edge over international companies who are often limited in their customer service opportunities in Russia. Cross-border shoppers, however, are prepared to put up with longer delivery times or inconvenient payment methods for the sake of unique product selection or better price. They can now filter product offers from international stores from the millions of items available on Yandex.Market to instantly see them on top of other search results – including price in roubles, delivery options and a link to full product information.
According to GfK, product categories most popular with Russian consumers are clothing, makeup products, perfume, accessories and products for children and babies. International product offers in these categories are currently available on Yandex.Market and soon will be expanding to add new groups, which continuously grow in popularity, such as consumer electronics and gadgets from Chinese retailers, for instance.
Any online store anywhere in the world can join Yandex.Market by providing customers with a landing page in Russian, an opportunity to have their purchase delivered to a Russian address, as well as an opportunity to pay for purchases in Russia via a bankcard or electronic money. International retailers will soon be able to benefit from a universal payment solution provided by Yandex, which will allow web stores outside of Russia to receive payments from Russian customers regardless of their method.
Dozens of retailers, including UK's Asos.com, China's LightInTheBox, Germany's Kidsroom.de, a US website Shopbop.com, and Italian Yoox, are already offering their products to Russian consumers via Yandex.Market, and with the new functionality their number is expected to grow.