E-commerce development in Russia: Trends and prospects

Russian commercial enterprises operate in conditions of increased competition and global effects of the world economic crisis. Limited financial resources, instability of the economic environment, escalating demands of consumers for the quality of services make it necessary to search for additional sales channels. With the popularization of the Internet and integrated automation of economic sectors, the role of e-commerce is becoming increasingly important. In 2015, the B2C e-commerce turnover in Russia increased by 6.6% compared to the previous year and amounted to 21.621 million euros. Russia is ranked first in Europe in terms of the number of e-shoppers (30 million people in 2015), and this number keeps on growing steadily. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the obstacles to and the opportunities for the development of the Russian e-commerce market. High practical importance and lack of theoretical basis underlie the relevance of the article’s subject. © Vasily S Starostin, 2016