Current trends in the development of Russia’s e-commerce sector

Abstract

This paper examines some of the latest trends in the market for electronic commerce that have been unfolding recently in a climate of rapidly evolving information and communications technology. In Russia, this segment of the economy is currently developing at a considerable pace, attracting a great many clients, with online sales posting steady gains, which is having an increasingly greater impact on the nation’s economy. The need, eventually, arises to explore in detail the current state and prospects for the development of the domestic e-commerce market. The volume of sales generated online in Russia is expected to only increase going forward, with Internet commerce set to be one of the most promising areas for business development. This has been facilitated by recent boosts in the population’s purchasing power and the increasingly overwhelming popularity of Internet commerce. Having said that, there are also several impeding factors hindering the market from growing at full capacity. These include existing restrictions on the distance sale of pharmaceuticals and alcohol, certain legal issues inherent in the sale of jewelry, and the high costs of merchant acquiring services online stores are facing. Cross-border trade continues to outdo the Russian local market in growth. If this imbalance in conditions for the conduct of business persists, there is sufficient likelihood that foreign companies will one day own all of the Russian Internet market.