E-Commerce in Russia Part2

An international study by
E-COMMERCE
IN RUSSIA
Part 2: A practical guide
For international players
WITH SUPPORT FROM
Main research partners
UPDATED JAN. 2020

ABOUT THIS STUDY
The result of a six-month research effort involving more than 50 market experts and players, this
report highlights the main facts, numbers and trends of Russian e-commerce in an international
perspective. It can be requested at no charge via https://www.ewdn.com/ecomreport
q ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
With participation from major partnering resources, this report and its further updates will be viewed by thousands of
industry professionals and investors, both in Russia and across the world. You may get featured in it via a promotional
page, expert content or a case study made jointly with our team at the highest editorial standards. To inquire about these
opportunities, or if your would like to get involved in the distribution of this report, please contact us at [email protected]
q COPYRIGHT AND REPUBLICATION RULES
The content of this report is protected by copyright. Individuals and organizations can, without prior authorization and
free of charge, copy and publish without limitation short extracts in the form of quotes. This report must be clearly
indicated as the source with a link to https://www.ewdn.com/ecomreport. To copy and republish very large extracts, or the
full report, or for other editorial cooperation opportunities, please contact Head of Research Adrien Henni at
[email protected]
q INACCURACIES AND UPDATES
We will be pleased to receive any notices of inaccuracies or information we may have missed. Please submit
corrections, updates and/or suggestions to [email protected]. Your feedback will help us make the next edition an even
better resource for the community.
2 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players About THIS STUDY
Chief editor’s note
While Russian e-commerce is entering a promising development cycle,
information about this market is hardly available internationally – and
sometimes presented confusingly to domestic audiences.
This lack of information and the spreading of inaccurate data may create or
entertain wrong perceptions about the market, its size, characteristics
and potential, as well as its players.
Addressing these issues, we are glad to present this research, which is

based on contributions from more than 50 market players and experts from
Russia and abroad.
Among our Russian research partners are Data Insight, Russia’s leading data
provider in this field, the E-Commerce Russia Association (NAMO), and
Dsight. International partners have been the Netherlands-based
ADRIEN HENNI Ecommerce Foundation and such industry resources
EAST-WEST DIGITAL NEWS as InternetRetailer.com (Digitial360), ThePaypers and CrunchBase.
Our special gratitude, finally, goes to the sponsors and advertisers behind
this study – in particular Lamoda, Ozon and Yandex.Market. They provided
us with the means necessary for this in-depth investigation and offered
fascinating insights about their activity and market prospects.
We hope you enjoy this groundbreaking collaborative effort and wish you
every success in your e-commerce projects
3 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Chief editor’s note
Foreword
Russia is number one in Europe in terms of e-commerce growth rates.
Among more than 140 million inhabitants, 90 million are Internet users and
57 million are online consumers – the others being potential e-shoppers.
Industry growth has favored deep changes in the logistics industry. For the
last five years, large private shipping services have developed in the
country, putting competitive pressure on the postal service. New delivery
formats have emerged, such as self-pickup from pickup offices and lockers,
enjoying more and more popularity among online shoppers.
Dozens of millions of Russians have tried cross-border online shopping –

from the USA, Europe and China – and they liked it. Several years ago
orders were delivered in weeks or months, or simply lost on the way; now
customers know they will receive their orders quickly. While ready to pre-
pay online, they appreciate to have the opportunity to return items if these
Marat Artuganov don’t fit – especially when it comes to clothes and shoes.
CEO, Boxberry InternationaL Offering deep insights about these and other aspects, this study will help
international players understand Russian market specifics and take
advantage of them. Boxberry, a leading shipping provider, is proud to have
taken part in such a useful research project.
Let’s build together a market without borders!
4 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Chief editor’s note
Participating companies
Study partners
This study was conducted with the financial support and multisided contributions from Lamoda, Ozon and the Yandex Market Group of Companies,
three leading players on the Russian e-commerce scene. Research methodologies and editorial content remained independent from sponsorships.
Main RESEARCH PARTNERS
Among Media & distribution partners
Other participating companies
5 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Participating companies
Research team
Igor Baharev Ivan Gubenko
Senior analyst Artwork and layout
E-commerce journalist Freelance designer
Adrien Henni Asya Kapatsinskaya

Lead author Junior analyst
Co-founder and chief editor Analyst at East-West Digital News
at East-West Digital News
Stanislav Matynyuk Vlad Shirobokov

Senior analyst Senior Analyst
Journalist at East-West Digital News Co-founder and Event director
at East-West Digital News
6 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Research team
contributors
Artyom Berlin Arseniy Dabbakh Ellen Ehrsam Aleksei Gribanov

Associate at Founder of research Content Analyst Senior associate
Borenius Russia agency Dsight at CrunchBase at Borenius Russia
Alexander Ivanov Sara Lone

Anna Kuzmina Nina Okhmanovich
President of the Head of Research
E-Commerce Russia Industry expert, at Ecommerce Senior Marketer
Association COO at Bank 131 Foundation at Target Hunt
Katerina Mikheeva Boris Ovchinnikov

Alexey Petrovsky Nadezhda Romanova
Head of Foreign business Co-founder of research
development at agency Data Insight Industry expert Founder of Pickpoint
Yandex.Money
Konstantin Yakunin
Olga Tsios Fedor Virin Industry expert, co-founder
Chief Marketing Officer Co-founder of research and CEO of Express
at Yandex.Money agency Data Insight Russian Mail Service
(ERMS)
7 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Contributors

Special thanks to:
• Jorij Abraham, President of the ECommerce Foundation • Ivan Kurguzov, Head of E-Commerce at Russian
• Alexander Agakov, Head of payment services at QIWI; Association of Electronic Communications
• Tatyana Alexeyeva, Chief Legal Officer at • Maria Komendantova, co-founder of LED agency
Yandex.Money • Ivan Krapivin, PR Director at Kokoc Group
• Sergey Alpatov, Head Marketing and Sales at • Yulia Mansurova, Head of the PickPoint press service
Chronopay
• Sergey Lebedev, GR Director at Alibaba Russia
• Evgeniya Arnautova and Oksana Sherr of the
Yandex.Money team • Ruslan Karbolsunov and Dmitry Lushnikov of the VK
• Don Davis, editor at large at InternetRetailer.com (Digital team
E-Commerce 360) • Lidia Palubina, Senior consultant at Kantar
• Sergey Egorushkin, Partner at B2Basket • Iurii Popolitov, co-founder of Shiptor
• Irina Iozefson-Schneider, VP of E-Commerce Growth at • Artem Rodin, CEO at Retail Today
Mail.ru Group
• Arseniy Strizhenok, Blockchain expert at EWDN
• Kamila Isaeva and Polina Upitis of the Yandex.Market
team • Pavel Vrublevsky, founder and CEO of Chronopay
• Denis Ivannikov, President of MXP Group • Olga Yashenina, Business Development Executive at
• Ivan Glazachev, CEO of Yandex.Money PayU
• Andrey Khromov, General Manager of Aristos BV • Maria Zaikina, PR Director at Ozon.
8 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Contributors

STUDY CONTENT / Part 2:
A practical guide for international players
Section 1: Payments 10
Which payment means are used in Russia 11
Payment on delivery
Integrating Russian payment methods
15
16 Part 1: Market trends
Security issues 17
International sanctions
Executive interviews:
17 & players’ strategies
• Yandex.Money CEO Ivan Glazachev 19
• Chronopay founder and CEO Pavel Vrublevsky 22 A detailed review of
domestic and cross-border
Section 2: Logistics & delivery 26
27
e-commerce trends
Customer expectations
Combining delivery channels and service providers 28
Choosing service providers 28 Online consumers:
Organizing operations 32 Key facts and trends
Managing returns 36
Customs 37
Executive interview: Local and international players
• Alex Krasnov of Boxberry International 40 on the Russian e-commerce scene
• Pickpoint founder Nadezhda Romanova 44
Investing in Russian e-commerce:
Monobrand with taste: How brands and
private equity deals,
manufacturers create compelling B2C online stores 48
joint ventures,
Section 3: Taxes, customs & legal 55
M&A prospects
Cross-border e-commerce taxation 56
Personal data laws 58 http://ewdn.com/files/russian_ecom_part1.pdf
Product restrictions & product certification 61
Other legal requirements 63
9 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Table of contents
SECTION 1:
Payments
Research partnerS:
Which payment means are used in Russia
In this section, you will learn: In 2018, 81% of Russian online consumers used electronic means of payment
for online purchases of goods or services; of them, 57% used bank cards,
according to a survey by Data Insight and PayPal. E-wallets and mobile
banking were used by 37% and 36% of respondents, respectively; then came
ü Which payment means are used in Russia, Internet banking (29%) and SMS (25%) (https://bit.ly/2KRae4R).
and which ones are specific to this country When it comes to orders of physical goods specifically, the situation is
different. In domestic purchases, payment on delivery (generally by cash) is
ü Whether or not it is worth offering payment- still predominant. However, in cross-border sales, online pre-payment is the
on-delivery options to Russian customers, rule: Russian customers generally accept to use their bank cards or other
electronic payment means when making purchases on Chinese or Western
and how to set them up online stores and marketplaces.
Worthy of note are also a range of specifically Russian payment means: from
ü How Russian personal data laws have an the state-supported bank card MIR, to e-wallets such as Yandex.Money,
impact on payment operations, and how to WebMoney and QIWI, to name a few.
manage it properly While these payment means are crucial for domestic purchases, some of them
should also be considered by cross-border e-merchants.
ü Why and how you should integrate Russia’s
§ Cash payments
specific payment means for your Russian
customers Cash is commonly used in domestic Russian e-commerce – cash-on-delivery
accounts for some 70% of settlements on average, according to logistic and
delivery service provider CDEK. Historically due to a lack of trust in online
ü What you should require from your PSP to payments and e-merchants, this practice is, however, on the decline.
serve Russian customers in optimal While virtually all domestic e-merchants still offer payment-on-delivery
conditions options, foreign e-merchants rarely offer them due to the issues they pose
(see below) .
ü How to ensure payment security when
dealing with Russian customers § Bank cards
Bank cards are used by nearly 90% of Russians for online purchases of goods
ü Whether or not international sanctions or services, according to Mediascope (https://bit.ly/2FuIsYD). While Visa and
Mastercard still dominate the Russian market (each one accounting for at
could affect payment operations with Russia least 40% of online purchase settlements), a national competitor has emerged
recently: the MIR card.
11 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players SECTION 2: Payments
Launched as part of Russia’s effort to lessen its dependence on the § Contactless payments
international payment systems, these cards already account for up to 15% of
online purchases in Russia, according to payment service provider Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay entered the Russian market in
Yandex.Checkout. 2016-2017 (https://bit.ly/2KrmKJ0, https://bit.ly/2IsVUOB) . In 2018, each of
The use of MIR tends to grow, pushed by administrative measures (this card these payment methods were used by around 15% of online consumers, with
has been made mandatory for all state employees and military staff) as well as almost 40% of smartphone owners in the Russian urban adult population
market-based factors. For example, MIR and QIWI, a popular e-payment using contactless payments in general (https://bit.ly/2FuIsYD).
service, have launched joint marketing programs in such fields as air ticket The above-mentioned Mediascope study found that, in mid- 2019,
sales and online betting. contactless payments, were most popular among the 25 to 34 y.o. group
(57.3%). As much as 44.8% of Russians used these payment means at least
§ E-wallets
once in a year, up from 38.3% in 2018.
No less than 78% of urban Russians aged 12-55 use e-wallets for online Google Pay is the leader among contactless payment systems, with the
purchases of goods or services, according to a 2019 survey by Mediascope number of users growing from 19.6% in 2018 to 22.9% in 2019, according to
(https://bit.ly/2l1oCgt). this study. 18.9% of respondents made payments via Apple Pay and 15.5%
via Samsung Pay. Garmin Pay was used by just about 2% of respondents.
According to a previous study in 2018 (https://bit.ly/2FuIsYD), more than
37% of respondents (up from 26% in 2017) said they use e-wallets to settle In the 18-24 y. o. age group specifically, however, Apple Pay takes the first
purchases in Internet stores; 28% do this on Russian online stores specifically place (29%). Google Pay is more popular in elder age groups, with Samsung
and approximately the same number on foreign sites. Pay taking the second place ahead of Apple Pay in the 35-44 y. o. age group.
Russia has a range of specific e-wallets. The most well-known are
Yandex.Money, WebMoney, Qiwi Wallet and MTS Dengi. In 2018, according § Other electronic payment means
to the same survey, nearly half (48.5%) of Russians from large cities used
Yandex.Money at least once every six months to purchase online goods or Only 10% to 15% of payments are done by "other payment means," such as
services. WebMoney and Qiwi also enjoy a big traction with 38.9% and direct debit, Internet banking, cash-in kiosks, mobile payments, etc.
36.2%, respectively.
Some e-wallet are used in certain segments more than in others, notes a
Chronopay expert. “Our data suggests that Qiwi processes nearly 40% of
user payments in sport betting – which is a considerable market in Russia.
WebMoney is widely used in Russia and some other countries, but more for
interpersonal, freelance or micro-B2B payments, than in online retail.”
International electronic payment means are popular, too. In 2018, PayPal was
used by 38.6% of Russian online consumers.
(1) The study was conducted in June and July 2019, involving 3,500 inhabitants from 12 to 55 years of
age from large Russian cities (over 600,000 inhabitants).
Penetration rates of electronic payment means among age groups in Russia (2019)
Survey by Mediascope among online consumers of goods and services aged between 12 and 55
from Russian cities of 600,000 inhabitants or more (https://bit.ly/2l1oCgt)
Most used e-wallet and contactless Payment methods in Russia
from Russian cities of 600,000 inhabitants or more (https://bit.ly/2FuIsYD)
Most used payment methods by type of purchase
from Russian cities of 600,000 inhabitants or more (https://bit.ly/2FuIsYD)
+7(495) 780 30 60 ● [email protected] ● https://chronopay.com
§ How to set-up payment-on-delivery options?
Payment on delivery
On the Russian market, several service companies can manage payment on
§ Is it worth offering payment-on-delivery options to Russian delivery operations, including money transfers to foreign online stores. These
companies include PSK, Shiptor and some others. (However, the majority of
customers? big players, as well as Russian Post, do not offer this service.)
According to CDEK, around 70% of online purchases of physical goods PSK GmbH (Germany) has been providing this service to such global brands
products in the domestic segment are settled on delivery by cash or as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and some niche European online retailers
electronic payment methods. However, payment on delivery is on the like, for instance, cybermart.de. Collecting money from a customer in Russia
decline: and transfering promptly to Europe are now possible thanks to the presence
• At Ozon, a leading domestic site, the share of payment-on-delivery fell of a subsidiary of this German company in Russia.
from nearly 80% five years ago to 60% in 2017, 48% in 2018 and just 26% As an alternative to COD, you may wish to consider the option of offering
in Q1 2019. This came as a result of strong marketing and economic
free returns. This is how ASOS operates, for example.
incentives.
• Two large fashion online retailers consider introducing a user rating § How are money transfers organized?
system based on return frequency. Payment-on-delivery options will no
longer be offered to those who return goods too often. There are two schemes for transferring the money in case of payment on
• At Tmall, the domestic marketplace of AliExpress Russia, the payment-on- delivery. If the seller has a Russian legal entity (a subsidiary) registered, they
delivery option has not been made available so far, and the company has will sign a contract with a shipping company, and the money will be
no immediate plans to introduce it. transferred to this entity’s banking account. If there is no subsidiary
registered, the money will be transferred from a Russian legal entity to a
Most foreign online stores do not offer payment-on-delivery options as foreign legal entity specified by the client.
Russian e-shoppers generally accept to pre-pay their orders from abroad. This second option is, therefore, more expensive. In that event, depending on
The reason is that – even though making this option available may increase how well an online store is present in Russia and its business model, the
the number of orders – payment on delivery is very difficult to implement in goods can either be formally owned by the seller themselves or the right to
cross-border e-commerce. It also substantially increases delivery costs and take the payment for the goods can be assigned to the seller’s shipping
the number of returns. partner. From a legal point of view, the online store will remain the seller.
Payment on delivery also involves such risks as fluctuations in the ruble

§ What are the fees associated with payment-on-delivery?
exchange rate.
Thus, we would certainly not recommend offering payment-on-delivery Fees usually varies as follows:
options when starting operations with Russian e-shoppers: you would
• For Russian online retailers: from 1.5% to 2.5% of the order value for cash
obviously create more headaches for yourself than get immediate benefits.
payment and up to 2.9% for payments by bank card.
Once your cross-border sales in Russia are up and running and if they
• For foreign online retailers: from 1.5% to 5% of the order value (for
account for significant volumes, you may study such options to boost your
example, Shiptor’s fees range from 1.5% to 3.5%.)
sales, under certain conditions.
3. AN ALTERNATIVE IN CASE OF FAILED TRANSACTIONS
Integrating Russian e-payment means
Alternative payment methods can be useful in case of failed bank card
§ Why should I integrate Russian payment means? transactions. For instance, Yandex.Checkout uses a special scenario that
allows a user to choose a payment method directly on their payment
Russian e-merchants do not ask themselves this question: they usually provide platform. In case there is not enough credit on the user’s bank card, or if an
their customers with a choice of many payment options. The most successful SMS confirmation code does not arrive for some reason, the user can choose
foreign sites do the same (e.g. AliExpress, ASOS, Blizzard, Electronic Arts and an alternative payment method without having to go back to the cart.
iHerb), even though most Russian cross-border shoppers generally accept to
use international payment means. § How to integrate Russian payment means?
Here are the benefits that can be expected from using Russian specific The good news is that integration is rather simple: you don’t have to agree
payment means: with each Russian e-wallet company. A variety of PSPs can do it for you,
making it easier to offer a variety of familiar payment options to your Russian
1. LOCAL PAYMENT MEANS MAY INCREASE YOUR SALES customers. Russian e-merchants themselves, in their wide majority, use such
payment aggregation services (https://bit.ly/2WQpsJA).
The fact that many foreign online retailers sell to Russia without offering
specific payment methods does not tell anything about the customers they Perhaps the global PSP you’re used to work with integrates Russian payment
could attract by integrating them. This is particularly true for MIR cards: since systems. Check that the main ones, as mentioned above, are covered.1 Also
a fraction of Russian consumers have no other bank card, it may be a good check your PSP’s compliance with Russian legislation. In particular, a law
idea to make their purchases just possible on your site. This card may account requires that Russian citizens’ personal data be stored on servers physically
for 10% of a site’s transactions, according to Chronopay. located on Russian soil (see Section 3).
In certain segments, in particular, digital and games sales, users are so “This law has not been applied systematically so far in the field of cross-
accustomed to paying with alternative payment methods that you can border e-commerce, but the authorities could adopt a firmer stance in the
increase your sales multifold by just enabling them. Last but not least: by near future,” warns a Chronopay insider.
enabling alternative payment methods, an e-merchant can cover not only
Russia but also its neigboring countries. In particular, WebMoney now
operates in several national currencies, such Belarusian rubles, Kazakhstani
tenge, and Moldovan lei. Yandex.Money offers its customers no fewer than
10 currencies to pay with.
2. THEY MAY BOOST YOUR MARKETING
Alternative payment methods can create additional opportunities for

marketing purposes and help increase conversion. Such e-wallet providers as
Yandex.Money or Qiwi will be happy to arrange for a promotion together
with your company to reach out to their audience.
(1) MIR, for example, is covered by all Russian banks and payment aggregators, but just by a few
international ones (https://bit.ly/2KpzRKC).
If your global PSP does not support local payment methods, or does not comply A
with Russian laws, or if you feel it might not do that in optimal conditions, you Security issues
should consider handling Russian payments over to another provider.
Any online payment, regardless of the recipient, will involve a certain set of
"You need guidance to navigate such a specific market as Russia. If you try to risks related to payments on the Web. There are no "Russian pecularities"
use the same approach as in other European markets, you might fail without there.
even understanding why,” says a Yandex.Money expert.
It is recommended to work with 3D Secure. At present, 3D Secure is used in
Generally, opening a legal entity in Russia is not necessary. You may partner 90% of online transactions. This helps minimize the risks for e-merchants.
with a local partner, preferably a PSP that has a foreign branch to sign
From the very beginning, 3D Secure in Russia was similar to 3D Secure 2.0
international contracts. Many major Russian PSPs have got such branches.
specification. This security system has never been something frightening in
Yandex.Checkout (operated by Yandex.Money) is the leading PSP in Russia, the eyes of Russian e-shoppers. Rather the opposite, if the first payment on
used by 31.7% of Russian sites as of late 2017. an unfamiliar site was done without 3D Secure, the consumer will have more
grounds to be worried than happy. All in all, 3D Secure is viewed at as a
Among other ones are Chronopay, EcommPay, Interkassa, PayAnyWay, security measure and not as an obstacle to online shopping.
PayMaster, PayOnline, Platron, Payeer, RBK Money, Robokassa, Uniteller,
UnitPay and Wallet One. PayU, a subsidiary of Naspers, is not widely used in
Russia, but is an example of an international PSP fully covering Russia’s International sanctions
payment diversity.
Following what they considered to be the illegal annexation of Crimea in
2014, Western powers have imposed a variety sanctions against Russia. Some
A few things you should require from your PSP of these sanctions have targeted the country’s financial system, affecting
for accepting payments from Russian customers certain banks, including Sberbank.
These sanctions typically aim at limiting the ability of these banks to raise
debt on Western capital markets. They have affected neither the functioning
of the bank cards2 they issue nor the operations of their PSP subsidiaries.
Neither have the MIR cards – a Russian government creature – been targeted
either for the moment.
The activities of Yandex.Money, a subsidiary of Sberbank, are not affected
either. “Our B2B service Yandex.Checkout serves numerous foreign clients –
including dozens of US businesses,” says Oksana Sherr, Head of Foreign PR &
Communications.
(2) Excepted during a short moment in 2014 (https://bit.ly/2FkhNxu)
https://checkout.yandex.com
[email protected]
With its PSP offer Yandex.Checkout, your company has been active in Russia's
cross-border e-commerce market practically since the very beginning. How
do you see the current developments and future prospects?
The Russian e-commerce market is even more promising than it can seem at
first glance. Russian Internet population is the sixth-largest in the world, and
Russian consumers crave foreign goods. According to Mediascope (2018),
95.8% of Internet users in Russia buy goods or services online, and the
percentage of those who buy at foreign websites is growing.
Historically, cross-border sales grew fast, driven by foreign marketplaces, in
particular AliExpress. Today cross-border accounts for approximately a third
of the Russian e-commerce, and there is still room for foreign players to
expand. The Russian central bank has reported that Russian consumers spent
$9.7 billion (610 billion rubles) in foreign online purchases in 2018.1
On the ground, we at Yandex.Checkout, the leading PSP on the market, see
Yandex.Money CEO Ivan Glazachev: how fast e-commerce is growing, and this rate is by more than 20% annually,
in line with analysts’ estimates – and growth may even be higher in cross-
“Russian e-commerce is far from border.
Another trend is the localization of foreign online stores on Russian ground:
saturation and foreign brands some of them can no longer be called just “cross-border.” The key motives
for localizing are speed and costs of operations. I see the future of the market
have every chance to succeed” in this transfer from cross-border to domestic activity in particular through JVs
of foreign and Russian companies. Meanwhile, local market players are
acquiring the experience of a marketplace business models.
(1) According to market analysts, cross-border purchases of physical goods accounted for around $5
billion (see Part I, Section 1.2). The remaining part of the cited $9.7 billion seem to correspond
essentially to purchases of digital goods and services.
Ivan Glazachev: “Russian e-commerce is far from saturation
and foreign brands have every chance to succeed”
The market is currently dominated by Chinese players. Do Western players Another key to success, as shown by the experience of many brands, is to
have a chance? cooperate with local agencies and services providers. For example,
Yandex.Checkout provides its foreign partners with expert advice on the
Asian companies are firmly established on the Russian soil, but now Western
market, helps them localize and promote their products in Russia and
brands are making their coming back. They have understood there are in
neighboring countries.
Russia many solvent consumers eager to buy a variety of quality goods online.
Chinese marketplaces and AliExpress in particular have enhanced confidence A lot depends on a merchant’s own efforts as well. We highly recommend to
of Russian customers in buying abroad. It was an important and positive shift develop a strong customer experience and keep control of every aspect of
in local consumer habits, which now benefits to both Asian and Western e- client service – including the last mile, which is critical to introduce a product
merchants. to consumers.
Currently, we are witnessing an unprecedented demand for digital goods and
content from Western (US & EU) providers. Electronic Arts, Blizzard, How specific is the Russian market in terms of payments?
Nintendo, Sony PlayStation, Steam, Xbox Live (Microsoft) have gained a very
strong traction in Russia and neighboring countries – to such an extent that The payment landscape of Russia is diverse with two main fields: bank cards
they have adapted integrated payment systems to the needs of consumers and alternative payment methods. The latter include direct debit, P2P
from this region. Western marketplaces (Amazon and eBay), fashion and transfers and e-wallets. We at Yandex.Checkout see that bank cards, direct
luxury brands (Farfetch and ASOS) also found a solid audience. However, debit and e-wallets are the most popular methods for cross-border payments.
these successes are far from matching that of AliExpress. We strongly recommend foreign merchants to integrate the largest possible
set of payment options. Some already do it. For example, as Turkish online
platforms are in great demand to Russian customers, Turkish Isbank partnered
Where do foreign players come from geographically?
with Yandex.Checkout to provide more than 10,000 of its business customers
According to a Knight Frank survey (https://bit.ly/31L7T1h), over the past with access to specific Russian payment means.
decade most retail brands came from Italy (19%) and the USA (17%). Great
Britain (9%), France (9%) and Germany (5%) are following. The top categories
were footwear and apparel (45%), food and restaurants (17%), accessorizes Do you believe foreign e-merchants should offer a COD option in order to
(8%), cosmetics (7%), and goods for kids (6%). increase their sales?
Cash-on-delivery may be useful for merchants offering expensive tangible
goods. Customers prefer to have a close look to such products before
How do foreign brands and online merchants succeed on the Russian market?
confirming the purchase. In other cases, the COD option doesn’t increase
Russian e-commerce is far from saturation, and foreign brands have every sales volumes and conversion rates very significantly. Many foreign retailers
chance to succeed. With the right technologies, e-merchants can precisely have already withdrawn the COD option from their websites.
reach their target audience and meet its demand.
Ivan Glazachev: “Russian e-commerce is far from saturation
and foreign brands have every chance to succeed”
According to Yandex.Checkout data, a considerable number of merchants Yandex.Checkout facilitates fund disbursement to customers: prizes,
achieve a conversion rate of 95% or more after their customers click the cashback, micro-loans, etc. Mass payouts can be made to holders of e-
‘submit’ button. We also see that cashless payments are embracing more and wallets, bank cards, mobile phones or bank accounts. Other features are
more industries and have already become convenient to Russian customers. payment installments and online purchase on-credit. It is a fully online process
The COD practice slowly decreases and I believe this trend will continue or with pre-scoring and scoring completed during purchasing. The customer
accelerate in the future. Merchants should focus on increasing conversion pays later but the merchant gets the money now.
rates and controlling product quality rather than create for themselves COD
Last but not least, Yandex.Checkout is also about marketing. Our clients can
headaches.
reach out to the vast audience of Yandex.Money account holders – these are
46 million online customers.
Is Yandex.Checkout's offer to international e-merchants different from other
PSPs? Do you have an offer for B2B payments?
Yandex.Checkout is more than a PSP: we aim to become a back-end business In 2018, we introduced in Russia a major online B2B service in cooperation
partner for each merchant, allowing it to focus on brand development. with Sberbank. These fast B2B payments reduce the duration of the payment
Yandex.Checkout partners with major companies in Russia and the former transfer: from 1–3 days to 1–3 minutes. Businesses get an instant online
Soviet Union, the EU, the USA, China, South Korea, Turkey and other notification about the completed transaction. This solution has every chance
countries – in total, 106,000 merchants around the globe. With our payment to revolutionize Russia’s B2B payment experience getting it close to B2C
solution, merchants offer Russian consumers all popular payment methods. scenario that is rather developed now.
Through machine learning and AI, our platform provides a remarkable level of (June 2019)
personalization. Merchants can adjust the individual package of payment
options in their profile, and find tools to increase sales through individualized
offers and deals. o Ivan Glazachev has been working in the industry of merchant acquiring and
payments for more than 15 years. Before joining Yandex.Money as a CEO he
Yandex.Checkout also offers its clients multipurpose fraud protection tailored spent 10 years at Russian Standard Bank as a board member and executive
to Russia’s specifics. It detects both behavioral and payment fraud, scam director, where he was responsible for acquiring and transactional businesses.
attempts and abnormal patterns while reducing merchants’ financial risks and With his active participation, Russian Standard Bank became Russia’s third
maintaining payment conversion. This antifraud mechanism is also based on largest acquirer in Russia and launched one of the largest white label card-to-
AI and machine learning. It increases conversion rates while lowering card money transfer platform. The bank also relaunched its mobile and online
chargeback risks and losses related to stolen cards. banking solution. Mr. Glazachev holds an MBA in investment and corporate
finance from Toronto’s Schulich School of Business at York University as well as
a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Moscow State University
of Commerce.
Where is the global electronic payment market heading to in your view?
Deep changes are in process. Some trends might not be fully apparent at first
glance, but the record M&A and investment deals we’re witnessing are a
symptom.
In May, Global Payments announced a $21.5 billion all-stock deal for Total
System Services Inc. This merger followed Fiserv Inc.’s acquisition of First
Data Corp. in January and Fidelity National Information Services Inc.’s merger
with Worldpay in March.
According to Dealogic, there were 102 M&A transactions in the payment
industry, entailing a value of $46 billion in the first half of 2018 alone – up
from $32.9 billion in full-year 2017. Investment activity in the payments sector
was also notable in public markets, with Dutch PayPal competitor Adyen
reaching a valuation of $22 billion in Q4 2018 – a 175% jump since its IPO last
June.
chrOnopay Founder Pavel Vrublevsky: Another striking example is Wirecard. Neither the investigative media reports
about this company's fraudulent accounting practices nor the German
“e-globalization and the economy regulator's complaint against it prevented Wirecard from attracting $1 billion
in new investment from SoftBank.
of demand are redefining the global The Adyen IPO had a ripple effect across the European payments sector,
payment industry” raising the valuation of German competitor Wirecard AG near the $20-billion
mark as well. The capitalization of Ayden and Wirecard combined now
exceed – by more than $10 billion! – those of Germany's Deutsche Bank and
CommerzBank put together.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, British payment startup Checkout raised $230
million at a $2 billion valuation. And this is not even counting American
investors' moves in the Indian payments industry: last summer, Walmart
acquired e-commerce giant Flipkart Online Services Pvt for $16 billion while
Berkshire Hathaway took a $300-million stake in Paytm.
Pavel Vrublevsky: “E-globalization and the economy of demand
are redefining the global payment industry”
What does this frenzy mean? This real-time, demand-tracking capability gives a serious edge to
shareholders, since it instantly reflects the changing demand dynamics of a
The industry is being redefined by the convergence of two trends: e-
product. Investments and resources are immediately allocated to the most
globalization and the economy of demand. E-globalization is a characteristic
promising products. This is why Facebook and PayPal are exploring new
of today's e-commerce, where an exclusive cluster of firms – namely
payment technologies, which enable them to measure demand in real time.
Facebook, Google, Apple, AliExpress, Steam, BattleNet, PokerStars and a few
others – process 30% of global transactions. As real-time sales data empower investors with greater insight into customer
demand, these new metrics enable a more certain path for economic value
E-globalization significantly affects M&A activity in the payment industry
creation. Ultimately growth and investment in the payments sector creates a
because roughly half of the fees paid to by e-merchants to payment
virtuous cycle, stimulating online commerce and scaling prosperity through
companies constitute their revenue (the other half goes to banks and such
consumer, vendor and investor ecosystems.
operators as Visa and MasterCard). Therefore, 1-2% of the extra cost the
merchant pays can be kept if the owner of the e-commerce company is also
the owner of the payment company. Thus, for the shareholders of large e- Are such trends also visible in Russia? Are local e-payment companies
commerce companies, it makes perfect sense to buy out payment companies. courted by investors and acquirers?
The introduction of national personal data legislations in many countries has Not really. Russia is a bit dead in this respect. The payment industry
contributed to this trend, since these laws have attracted e-globalization traditionally is linked to banks and larger Russian lbanks are more or less
players’ attention to local payment companies. under fire. I was surprised was when I learned that it's literally impossible to
find investors for a bank in Russia. The market is in my view very undervalued
Meanwhile, a second trend is much less noticeable, more difficult to because investors fear the Russian Central Bank sometimes unexplainable
understand yet perhaps even more important: the rise of the demand policies.
economy. Traditionally, in an offer-led economy, marketers measure how
many people can buy their products. Further, they determine market size, On the other hand, I have never heard that the Russian central bank would
followed by their own market share, and then calculate how much advertising have attacked any Russian bank with reputable international investors.
is needed to increase this market share.
Which other trends do you see in the Russian payment market?
The widespread development of e-commerce, e-payments and digital retail
has led to the emergence of a new approach. Instead of counting the market This market will soon be cleaned up with a stricter application of Russian
and market share, you can analyze customer purchasing behavior in real time, personal data laws. Almost four years after the personal data storage law
enabling enterprises to adjust their marketing strategy accordingly. Before became applicable [in Sept. 2015], a range of international companies are still
the rise of e-commerce and e-payments, such an approach was impossible, not in compliance. The regulator Roskomnadzor has checked a relatively small
because real-time sales data didn’t exist. number of sites so far – which, however, has led to blocking access to
LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2F1q9tG) and threatening Facebook and Twitter with
small fines (https://bit.ly/2Xd1NYV).
Pavel Vrublevsky: “E-globalization and the economy of demand
are redefining the global payment industry”
But Roskomnadzor hasn't gone far in this direction, being too busy with other Not too many PSPs offer simultaneously offer the two key benefits of full
things like the illegal gambling industry. This is likely to change soon, and the compliance with data laws and a legal presence both within and outside
authorities have given signals about it (see Section 3). Particular attention will Russia. Having a branch outside Russia is not a legal obligation, but it makes
be brought to the e-commerce sector. We will ask the State Duma [lower things easier for international clients.
house of parliament] to request the regulator to check the actual compliance
What are your plans for Chronopay?
of a range of international players with this law – not just their statements or
commitments about it. Once the geopolitical context stabilizes, we will seek to develop in three
directions. First, we’ll set out to obtain a specific type of banking license in
Has a list of such players been made public? Russia – called an NKO – to launch an e-wallet just like PayPal or
Yandex.Money. This goal may be attained via the acquisition of an existing
This is the list of international resources that generate the biggest payment licensed organization.
volumes from Russia. It includes Aerobilet.com, Airbnb, AliExpress, Amazon,
ASOS, Elama.com, Eshopworld.com, Facebook, Booking.com, Farfetch.com, Second, we are preparing a new PSP offer and sales strategy both for Europe
Google, Hotels.com, iHerb, iTunes, Microsoft.com, Moneta.trade, Netflix, and Russia. We will target small and mid-sized business, aiming to win over
Olymptrade.com, PayPal, Playstationnetwork.com, Rentalcars.com, PayPal and Yandex Money in Russia. We're also in the process of restructuring
Steamgames.com, Terminal-5, Tiburon.com, Uber, Yoox.com, 7pm.com – as our business in the Netherlands.
well as such airlines as Air France, Finnair, KLM, Pegasus and Turkish Airlines. Third, ChronoPay has a top-secret crypto project called 'Pandora.' We
I'm not saying these companies violate the law, but that the authorities should designed it two years ago but postponed its introduction until we can fund it
check up on them due to the massive payment volumes they generate. properly and determine an adequate jurisdiction. Pandora is an exchange for
investing in real-time sales of e-commerce companies. This will be an entirely
Are payment service providers also concerned by this law? new way of investing in business.
Absolutely, since any transaction is necessarily related to a person's name and (June 2019)
surname. This is personal data in essence, so PSPs fall under this legislation.
Needless to say, a range of international PSPs are not compliance. They will
o A renowned, internationally-connected entrepreneur, Pavel Vrublevsky is the
have to make big changes in the way they handle and store Russian users'
founder and CEO of Chronopay, a major payment service provider. He also has
personal data. Otherwise, these PSPs will lose online retailers that are serious
backed several Russian Internet projects such as Habrahabr.ru, Russia’s #1 high-
about working with Russia.
tech guru community; Rospravosudie.ru, the largest legal database in Russia;
and Russia’s Financial Newspaper, the oldest Russian business publication. Mr.
Does your company Chronopay fully comply? Vrublevsky graduated from the Maurice Thorez Institute for Foreign Languages
and holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from Moscow State University. He is a
It definitely does – and this will soon become an obvious competitive
member of Russian billing software think tanks and holds a column in Forbes
advantage.
Russia about electronic payments and cryptocurrencies.
Once a year, The Paypers releases large-scale industry overviews covering the latest trends, developments, disruptive innovations and
challenges that define the global online/mobile payments, e-invoicing, B2B payments, ecommerce and web fraud prevention & digital
identity space. Industry consultants, policy makers, service providers, merchants from all over the world share their views and expertise
on different key topics within the industry. Listings and advertorial options are also part of the Guides for the purpose of ensuring effective
company exposure at a global level.
https://www.thepaypers.com/reports/
Section 2:
Logistics
& delivery
Research partnerS:
CustomEr expectations
§ Delivery fees are sensitive
In this section, you will learn: In the context of low population income, delivery fees are an important,
sometimes decisive factor to trigger, or not, online purchasing decisions (see
Part 1, Section 2).
ü What are Russian online consumers’ main Delivery fee is also the primary thing considered by Russian consumers when
choosing an express delivery provider. This factor was cited by 58% of
expectations in terms of delivery fees, respondents who participated in a joint 2018 survey by Data Insight and
delivery times, and returns Dostavista.1
§ Delivery time expectations

ü How and why combine several delivery
In the same survey, the delivery time factor was mentioned by 55% of the
channels and delivery providers respondents. Almost one third (32%) of the e-shoppers surveyed by DPD
cited too long shipping time to be among the primary reasons for them for
not placing orders online (https://bit.ly/2JqdstY).
ü How to choose service providers
E-shoppers in Russia are used to having a choice of three delivery options:
self-pickup points (lockers), delivery by courier, and delivery to Russian Post
ü How to organize shipping operations, offices. 89% of those polled in the DPD E-shopper Barometer 2018 study said
the availability of several delivery options raised the chances that they would
including postal and express shipping, all place their orders.
across Russian territory According to another survey by GfK-Yandex Market, Russian e-shoppers are
used to waiting three to eight days for their purchases to be delivered. The
acceptable delivery time in Moscow is three to four days and twice as long in
ü Why and how returns can be organized smaller cities. Acceptable delivery time for cross-border purchases is about
even in cross-border e-commerce three weeks, according to this 2018 survey (see graph below).
ü How to organize customs clearance with

your service provider minimizing the
hassle for you and your clients
(1) The survey, “Express Delivery in Russia,” was conducted in March 2018 among 1,500 online
consumers aged 18 to 64 were polled.
27 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Section 2: Logistics & delivery
§ Customer expectations on returns
Combining delivery channels and service providers
Russian customers are used to having their consumer rights observed;
therefore, they will refuse to make a purchase without the possibility for a Combining several delivery channels – from postal delivery, to express courier
purchase return. services, to pick-up points, self-pickup lockers – is a good idea. Each channel
is adapted to certain situations and certain consumer groups, and you could
According to the DPD E-shopper Barometer 2018, 29% of customers lose customers if you will try to impose them just one delivery option.
shopping on foreign online stores cited a complicated returns procedure to
be among the reasons for their refusal to make a purchase. On the contrary; Offering several delivery channels often implies to work with several providers
when one of BoxBerry's largest customers offered free returns on purchases, – with in itself is a good thing. In addition to competitive considerations, a
it saw its direct traffic increas by more than 30% and achieved a monthly sales reason to combine several providers is the fact that, in peak seasons, one
growth of about 5%. single company might not be able to fulfill all incoming orders. In this case, it
is good to have a delivery partner on standby.
In 2018, 4% of the goods purchased online in Russia were later returned. The Since private delivery providers are interested in working with foreign online
share of returns among active buyers reached 7% (according to E-shopper retailers, they will usually be flexible enough to arrange the shipping process
Barometer 2018), and up to 30% in the fashion category (Boxberry data). as conveniently as possible for the retailer. They may also help you attract
new customers, since many of them have their own marketing instruments.
Choosing service providers

Acceptable delivery times
in Russian e-shoppers’ opinion (2018) § What are my options to be provided with quality service
from first to last mile?
There are no companies capable of delivering an item from a warehouse in,
let’s say, Spain to every little village in Siberia. And there is no need for this as
almost all of Russia’s largest delivery providers have contracts signed with
international delivery operators, which allows them to offer seamless shipping
from first to last mile.
A few operators work using their own infrastructure on both sides of the
Russian border at the same time. These include Boxberry (UK), DPD
(international), PSK (Germany) and Shiptor (USA, UAE, China and Germany).
They all work under the B2B2C format.2 Boxberry is the leader in this
segment, serving iHerb for example. Russian delivery provider CDEK has
Source: GfK and Yandex Market (https://bit.ly/2Wx0gwA) been testing delivery from the EU to Russia. It has started developing its
infrastructure in Germany and the Baltic states by means of franchises. Arvato
and BetaPro are among those to be mentioned in Russia.
(2) B2B2C shipping: Batches of products are delivered to a Russian warehouse before the items are
sold individually to local online consumers.
https://pickpoint.ru [email protected]
Postal operators of European countries work in the B2C format.3 In particular, • When determining shipping fees, almost all the shipping companies in
Russian Post has its own infrastructure in Germany and Finland. They ship orders Russia speak in terms of cubic weight instead of gross weight of goods.
only as postal items. Express shipping providers also operate in this very This is the weight calculated by measuring and multiplying the length,
segment, with DHL being the largest (the other few are UPS, TNT, and FedEx.) height and width of a carton box, in which a purchase travels. Instead,
Russian Post’s rates are based on gross weight of shipments.
§ Can foreign companies work with Russian operators? • At the customs, Russian Post is free from following many procedures. It is
much easier for them to get the paperwork done.
There are no legal restrictions or any technical issues. A variety of Russian
shipping operators work with foreign companies, some of them have a vast • The Russian Post’s rates are considered to be the lowest. This is only partly
experience in this field. Usually, no personal meeting is required to enter into true: these lower rates are partially offset by insurance fees (please, refer
such a relationship. The exchange of data regarding the status of shipments to the What about insurance section below.) Clients who prefer to get
can be arranged for in any way suitable for an online store: via an IT platform, their purchases through Russian Post are usually less demanding. The
a user account, API, or data exporting. average waiting times for such shipments (both for Russian domestic and
cross-border purchases combined) is 14 days.4
§ What are the advantages and drawbacks of working with RUSSIAN POST’S DRAWBACKS
Russian Post?
• Specific rates determining payment on delivery and insurance service
In the past, the quality of the Russian postal delivery service left a lot to be charges.
desired. It took weeks, if not months, to have a parcel delivered, and a
• Extremely complicated system of refund following claims about goods
significant number of parcels often ended up damaged or simply lost. In the
being lost or stolen – and no system in place yet for returning purchases in
past few years, however, Russian Post has reformed its processes and
cross-border shipments.
invested considerable amounts of money in improving its capabilities.
• Poor customer service, including when it comes to handling clients’
Nowadays, the quality of shipping services, tracking procedures, and shipping
complaints. Considering Russian Post’s huge amount of business, this
speeds offered by Russian Post are comparable to other logistics companies
operator is not always interested in retaining every client.
operating in the market. Nevertheless, along with advantages to be enjoyed,
working with the Russian postal service also has its own drawbacks. • There are several issues with automating the entry of new clients into
Russian Post’s system. The company offers no API for handling cross-
RUSSIAN POST’S ADVANTAGES border shipments; therefore, it is difficult to get connected to them. All the
work is done through the Universal Postal Union (UPU.) A foreign online
• Area of operations. Up to 30% of Russia’s territory and up to 15-20% of the
people living in Russia are not covered by other shipping operators. Also, a store has to communicate with the national postal operator of the sending
country. These problems are not posed inside Russia, though.
significant share of the population (73% according to the data presented in
the DPD E-shopper Barometer 2018 report on Russia) has traditionally • Russian Post does not provide custom clearance services when dealing
preferred to receive their purchases through Russian Post in the first place. with B2B shipments. They only work with B2C shipments.
Russian Post has lots of postal offices; therefore, for many recipients, it is
more worthwhile and comfortable to visit the nearest one instead of
looking for a self-pickup point of other companies elsewhere.
(3) B2B shipping: An individual parcels or small package is shipped to Russia and delivered to the
customer following an online purchase. (4) According to the Express Delivery Market survey by Dostavista and Data Insight
§ What are the advantages and drawbacks of
Russian private operators compared with global
companies?
It is certainly simpler for an international online retailer to work
with one and the same provider serving all, or the largest
number of countries. However, large international shipping
companies like DHL, UPS, TNT, and FedEx do not always easily
operate B2C shipment flows to Russia. This is due to a number
of legislative and procedural difficulties.
Also, when working inside Russia, large international companies
can only arrange for delivery themselves in some of the largest
cities and will have to hire other contractors to deliver shipments
on their behalf across the regions of Russia.
Russian shipping companies know their own market better. They
are likely to be quicker in responding to changes in market
conditions and are, in general, more flexible when it comes to
partnerships.
The Russian logistics infrastructure is built in such a way that the
last mile delivery is done by Russian domestic shipping
companies. All the required integration solutions like API, a user
account, etc. are now offered by almost every shipping company
in Russia; therefore, connecting to their networks is fast and
easy.
§ Does it make sense to work through a delivery

aggregator instead of a shipping company?
The choice between working with delivery aggregators or
directly with a shipping operator will depend on your volumes. If
you have large shipment volumes and have arranged for a direct
integration with a shipping company, you can benefit from better
commercial terms and agree on customer-specific options with
additional control of your KPI.
If your online store’s shipment volume is under the one
specified as the minimum threshold for customer-specific terms
offered by a shipping company, it will be easier to work through
a delivery aggregator. Scanning and sortng operations in Boxberry’s new Moscow warehouse. Photo credit: Boxberry
Very few shipping companies handle all the operations in the delivery chain
entirely on their own. Such companies do have contracts with their partners Organizing operations
and they do hire intermediaries. One of the advantages of a delivery
aggregator is that they have a detailed knowledge of the options available on § How do the B2B2C and B2C shipping and customs
the market. On the other hand, a single shipping company may better picture
processes look like?
the entire chain in full.
B2B2C SHIPPING
§ Will marketplaces (AliExpress, Bringly, eBay…) organize
shipping support for me? How does integration look like? First, the goods are subject to import duties and VAT, then they are delivered
to a warehouse or a fulfillment center in Russia. Finally, they are shipped to
Such marketplaces can effectively organize the logistics for you: if you sell to the e-shoppers who ordered them. For instance, iHerb works in Russia with
Russia only through them, you will not need to take care of agreements with the help of Boxberry, using this particular scheme.
shipping service providers.
B2C SHIPPING
Orders placed by Russian e-shoppers on AliExpress are delivered to Russia by
authorized shipping partners of Cainiao, the logistics service aggregator of The goods whose value does not exceed the threshold of duty-free entry are
Alibaba Group. At present, integration is done at the IT level: when in need imported free of charge. Those above the threshold are subject to an import
to send a sample, sellers can select a company with which they will be duty, which is imposed on the amount exceeding the threshold. In this case,
sending their order. Russian Post, DPD, and KSE are among the largest orders are collected and fulfilled when still abroad, and they are cleared
authorized partners of AliExpress. These companies work with tracking through the customs into the name and address of a particular buyer.
services and have integrated AliExpress’s logistics systems on their side in full.
Bringly, the new cross-border marketplace of the Yandex Market Group of § How do Russian Post and express shipping operators
Companies, also offers logistics support to make the Russian market organize operations?
accessible to a wide range of players. “We offer an easy and risk-free
solution,” says Chief International Officer Alex Vassiliev. POSTAL SHIPPING
“So far, just few international brands and platforms were using our price Goods can be shipped to Russia by either a local national postal operator to
comparison platform Yandex.Market (e.g. Asos, Farfetch etc) as only these
whom these items are handed over, or a special unit of Russian Post, which
brands / online retailers had their own logistics solution to Russia. By operates in Europe. In particular, here we are talking about the Berlin branch
developing our logistics network, we will open an access to Russia to
of Russian Post.
hundreds of other retailers that didn't have it before,” he explains (see
interview in Part 1, Secton 3). For items to be accepted for postal shipping, the following special packages
For e-merchants selling goods domestically and abroad, eBay has simplified of documents are required: customs and customs ones and postal ones – in
the parcel shipment process. In 2018, eBay and Russian Post formed the first particular, customs forms CN23 or E1. They contain information about the
partnership in Russia that provides for the integration of Russian Post’s system contents of the parcela parcel, its customs value, codes of goods and so on.
otpravka.pochta.ru into a single seller’s account on eBay. Among other The postal item arrives at the international postal exchange office (IEO).
things, it allows for tracking of goods by Russian exporters. Since last year, Based on the documents provided, customs officers at the IEO take the
express shipments have also been made easier thanks to the integration of decision whether to let the goods into the country or not.
DHL Express logistics services into a single seller’s account on eBaymag.com.
As a result, Russian e-merchants can benefit from special shipment rates to If some documents are missing, the customs officers have the right to open
up the parcels in the presence of experts.
220 countries. UPS also offers special rates to e-merchants selling on eBay.
EXPRESS SHIPPING § How should I organize shipment across Russia’s regions if I
Parcels can also be sent via express shipping by other private postal work with several shipment providers?
operators. This shipping method is very similar to regular postal shipping, but
has a number of restrictions. In particular, if you send a parcel via Russian Working with different shipping companies is not enough: it is equally
Post, it is enough just to specify the recipient's name and delivery address important to manage them through a quality control system and to be able to
and let their passport details be collected at the time of delivery of the parcel distribute your volumes depending on their operations, current loads and
to the customer. regions covered. This creates competition, which is a factor of service
improvement .
On the other hand, if you opt for express delivery, it is good to know that
express delivery operators are required by the Russian customs to provide a Russian fulfillment companies usually divide all their logistics operations into
customer's full passport details, delivery address, and TIN even before the two parts: the capital cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the rest of
parcel will be approved for import into Russia. There are two solutions: either Russia. This is due to the more stringent requirements of customers in
the seller has to place a special window on their website, where filling out of Moscow, where they are used to receiving their purchases from Russian
these data will be mandatory for the buyer, or collect these data separately online stores on the next day, and, on average, are ready to wait for the
by making a phone call or sending a letter. This option is not very welcomed goods purchased abroad for no more than a week.
by the customers.
• For delivery to Moscow and St. Petersburg, it is advisable to deal with
Next, a special e-register is compiled, which, among other things, contains shipping companies focusing on these two key cities.
information about the sender, the purchase price, information about the
• When delivering to the rest of Russia, you will have to negotiate with the
recipient and the express shipping company, and a detailed description of
companies that guarantee greater coverage, albeit with a slower shipping
the purchased goods.
speeds. These include Boxberry, CDEK, DPD, Pony Express, PickPoint,
CSE, Delovye Linii (Dellin.ru), and PEK (pecom.ru). Customers in Russian
Also, according to Russian regulations, the recipient has to instruct the
regions are much less demanding. Anyway, Russians prefer more
express shipping company to carry out some customs procedures on their
affordable regular delivery, and express delivery is still rare, when, for
behalf. As a rule, this is done on the website through the acceptance of an
example, you need to deliver a gift for a birthday.
offer. Once shipments arrive in Russian territory, they have to undergo
customs clearance procedures in accordance with the data stated in the • If you plan to work in neighboring countries (CIS), it may make sense to
shipping documents. select separate shipping companies for particular countries. For instance,
CDEK is doing good in Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Important to know: as part of a new pilot procedure, the main flow of express
shipments now comes under a simplified customs clearance procedure if they
• Is it worth offering payment-on-delivery options to Russian
are addressed to individuals "for personal use" (that is, B2C). If they are
addressed to legal entities (B2B), they cannot follow this procedure. customers, and how to manage this at the logistics level?
See section 1.
https://cdek-express.com
§ How do I prepare the parcels for shipment to Russia? § Are there other miscellaneous or hidden costs?
To send a parcel, you have to: Many companies charge a separate fee for "additional services" – in
particular, for opening the parcel at the time of delivery in the presence of the
• Pack the purchase properly, each in a separate parcel.
recipient, for providing an opportunity to try on apparel, for the courier
• Attach a consignment note issued by your shipping partner. waiting at the recipient’s place longer than the standard 15 to 20 minutes, for
returning the documents after they are signed by customers, and so forth.
• Prepare a register of parcels and a shipping manifest in accordance with
Russian law. All such details must be discussed with every particular company beforehand.
• Prepare an airfreight bill as required by a Russian express shipping Also, take care of getting all the data from your clients; otherwise, your
operator. shipping company will have to contact them on their own to get all the
required information – and they will charge fees for doing this, sometimes
• Consolidate the parcels for shipment and have them shipped to Russia.
imposing non negligible rates. According to the Russian E-Commerce
As seen above, take into account the specifications of working through the Association, customs clearance agents charge from $0.4 to $0.7 for calling
postal channel and through express shipping operators; as well, each express one client to obtain the necessary information.
shipping operator may have its own specific requirements on certain points.
§ What about insurance?

Russian Post charges an insurance fee of 4% of the declared insurance value
of a parcel. This being said, the insurance value of a parcel cannot be lower
than the amount paid by the customer for their order.
When sending a purchase with a total value of, let's say, 3,000 rubles to be
paid upon delivery, the amount of the insurance fee will be about 120 rubles.
The average service cost for sending parcels via Russian Post within Russia is
about 300-350 rubles. Thus, with formally low rates, the real cost of sending a
parcel is more than a third higher because of the insurance fee. When
sending parcels over short distances, this increase is even more significant.
Fortunately, in 2019, Russian Post plans to reduce the insurance fee for the
declared value of parcels by eight times to 0.5%.
Other companies charge from 0.3% to 0.8% for this.
When working in B2B2C format, there is no insurance dispute. It is the cargo
which is insured, and the insurance fee depends on the type of goods being
shipped.
The returns procedure is as follows:
Managing Returns • The customer (himself or the store with his permission) provides his
passport details and tax identification number;
§ How to organize cross-border returns?
• The store provides links to pages featuring purchase details (these include
In addition to being a strong customer expectation as seen above, returns are the information on which product exactly was purchased, when, and at
also a legal obligation even for foreign merchants. The main requirements for which price; if the price included a discount, this info is provided there,
returns are the preservation of the original product packaging, the original too.)
invoice, and compliance with deadlines. • The return is registered and the return shipment is carried out by customs
Several providers manage cross-border returns, but this procedure is pretty brokers and/or shipping operators providing this kind of service. The seller
complicated and expensive. Even processing them in an entirely legal way is compensates the customer in accordance with their own rules and
not always easy – but such established operators as Boxberry, CDEK, DPD, procedures.
PSK and Shiptor do have the know-how. Some operators collect all the returned goods from different companies in
Some shipping companies, including large ones, involve partners in the Russia in a single warehouse. The goods are then loaded on pallets and sent
process. For instance, PickPoint has launched a returns service via its vast self to Europe as a consignment. This methods is much cheaper and requires
pickup point network across the country. A dissatisfied customer can place much fewer documents when processing. However, the goods get "frozen" in
the item to be returned in one of these lockers; PickPoint will pick it up and the warehouse as operator will wait until a sufficient volume of shipments is
pass it to one of its logistics partners. In turn, this partner will manage the reached before shipping them back abroad.
customs procedure and and take care of sending back the merchandise to According to CDEK, it usually takes two to four weeks for an online store to
the foreign merchant. receives their goods back.
Depending on the company, the return can be made both at the customs (if There is no need to open a Russian legal entity for such a service.
the customer refuses the order before its receipt) and after delivery to the
customer. • What are the fees involved?
There are considerable price variations. Returns are more expensive due to
the complexity of procedures relating to the registration of goods to be
exported: the passport details of the sender have to be collected, the insides
of the parcels have to be checked, and export limitations have to be
observed.
Before January 1, 2020, the threshold was higher €500 – but per month, not
Customs per package; and the tax rate was higher, too, at 30%.1
There is a special customs body that monitors compliance with the threshold
§ What documents are required for customs clearance? regulations. If the threshold is exceeded, an SMS will be sent to the recipient's
phone number with a requirement to pay the duty.
For customs clearance, the sender is required to present all the data:
All of such goods must be described as "for personal use." In case an
- about the item(s) contained in the parcel: the names of the items individual orders several identical items, the customs will consider it to be a
enclosed, their SKUs, weight, price and quantity; commercial transaction which cannot legally be made by an individual
- about the recipient: full name, contact details, TIN and passport details. customer. If this is the case, the foreign merchant will have to follow the
general customs procedures by submitting a customs declaration. Otherwise,
§ Which problems may occur in the customs process? the batch of identical items will draw the attention of customs officers who will
definitely inquire about the purpose of the purchase.
SOME DATA MISSING
There is also a number of limitations on certain types of goods – for instance,
Like a TIN, passport details, or a privacy policy agreement. According to mobile phones.
Russian E-Commerce Association, in cross-border shipping, some data is
missing in 85% of cases, and a shipping company's officer can do nothing but § Will my customers have to get involved in the customs
call their clients to be able to collect it. procedure?
INCORRECT SELECTION OF AN HS CODE
• In case of a postal item, a customs payment order (CPO) will be issued.
This code has to be specified by the party willing to clear the goods through With the CPO attached, the parcel will travel to the recipient; however, he
the customs: it can either be the online retailer itself or the shipping or she will not get it until the CPO is paid in full. Payment can be made
company. through a money order in a post office or through the Russian Post’s
mobile app. A direct online settlement procedure (with no involvement
INCORRECT CUSTOMS VALUATION from the Russian Post) is currently being tested.
For instance, you will have to confirm a discounted price for the customs. It is • In case of an express shipment, the goods will not be allowed to leave the
quite possible that the customs authorities can compare the real price of an customs controlled zone until the duties are paid. The shipping company
item on the seller's website at the time of the goods going through the will have to get in touch with the client, explain the situation to them and
customs against its promotional price and impose additional duties. provide the details on how to make the payment. Once the client pays the
customs duties (which is usually possible online with a bank card), the
customs authorities will provide the shipment to the express shipping
What is the customs taxation regime?
company for delivery to the client.
As of Jan. 2020, online cross-border B2C purchases are exempt from any
customs taxes if their value (per package) does not exceed €200 and their
weight (per package) does not exceed 31 kg.
Purchases above this threshold are subject to a 15% customs fee (applied to 1. Some officials aired plans to lower the tax-free threshold even further – down to €20 by 2022.
their fractional value above the threshold), with a minimum of €2 per 1 kg of However, as of early 2020, such measure was not supported by the concerned government bodies,
weight exceeding the threshold. and industry analysts did not expect it to be adopted in the near future.
• For B2B2C shipping, am I responsible for the customs
procedures, or will the postal or shipping operator fully
take care of them?
According to Russian law, goods can be cleared through the customs only by
In Part 1 of this report:
a resident of the country. If you are bringing batches of goods to Russia
without having registered any Russian legal entity, you will have to approach
a special customs broker or a representative of a shipping company to have
them cleared through the customs.
Market trends
For customs clearance, you can use a scheme under which the goods are
purchased from your company by a customs broker.
& players’ strategies
This broker will get them cleared through the customs and then sells those
goods to a foreign national. This process is formalized as two purchase and
sale contracts, though with different timestamps. • A detailed review of
Shipping service providers usually work with customs brokers themselves: you
domestic and cross-
will not need to spend much time approaching them or dealing with them. border e-commerce
The service fee taken by a broker is different from contracts with a company trends
and/or operator. According to Russian E-Commerce Association, the average
fee ranges from $1 to $1.5 per parcel. Q. What documentation is required? • Online consumers: Key
For customs clearance, the sender is required to present all the data about facts and trends
the contents of a parcel: the names of items enclosed, their SKUs, weight,
price, and quantity; and about the recipient: their full name, contact details, • Local and international
TIN, and passport details. players on the Russian e-
commerce scene
• From offline to
omnichannel
• Investing in Russian e-
commerce: private equity
deals, joint ventures,
M&A prospects
http://ewdn.com/files/russian_ecom_part1.pdf
What do you observe in local consumer trends and expectations as a private
shipping provider?
Russian e-commerce market is growing fast: according to expert estimates, its
volume to reach or exceed $30 billion by 2020, including both the domestic
and the cross-border segment [see trend analysis and forecasts in Part 1,
Section1].
We believe cross-border purchases will grow especially fast, and here is why.
The most popular categories of goods among the Russian e-shoppers are
electronics, clothing and accessories, cosmetics, dietary supplements and
vitamins. The product range for all these categories is far wider in western
online stores [see Part 1, Section1]. So far domestic Russian sites haven’t been
able to offer such a variety of goods, as well as promotion and discounts. So
Russian consumers greatly benefit from cross-border opportunities and will
increasingly do so in the future.
Alex Krasnov, commercial director Another important thing for foreign e-tailers to know is that, according to
surveys, Russians value higher quality products. When the shipment comes
at boxberry International: from a Western country, it is perceived as a guarantee of quality while there is
still a lack of trust in domestic e-merchants.
“When A shipment comes from a Western To illustrate this point, let me cite the example of a renowned UK fashion site,
which, after years selling to Russia in cross-border mode, switched to in-
country, it is perceived as a guarantee country operations. Everything was supposed to be simpler, but they faced
suspicion from consumers: these showed much less trust in a parcel coming
of quality.” from Russian than in the same one coming from the UK! The UK site had to
explain all the time that the products weren’t not fake – and ultimately moved
back to the cross-border selling mode.
Another notable characteristic of Russian consumers is that, when it comes to
choosing a delivery option, they tend to choose pickup offices and parcel
lockers rather than courier delivery as is the case in most Western countries.
Alex Krasnov: “When A shipment comes from a Western country,
it is perceived as a guarantee of quality.”
Why such a preference? The difference can be substantial. For example, the sales volumes of another
renowned UK fashion site grew by 200% on a yearly basis after they offered
In Russia, if you're not home, the courier usually has nowhere to leave the
different delivery options and returns to their buyers through Boxberry. (Their
parcel. Mailboxes are not adapted to this, and any parcel left in front of the
previous yearly growth rate was around 30%.) Thus, even though most
door is likely to disappear in a mere few hours if not minutes.
retailers are initially reluctant to integrate self-pickup as a delivery option,
In addition, a substantial share of the packages, up to 60-70%, are usually they do it once they see it’s an opportunity to increase sales. Plus, we offer
delivered to the two largest cities – Moscow and St. Petersburg. The pace of API integration, so these changes are easily achieved.
life in these two major cities is very fast, people work until late. So it is difficult
for e-shoppers to know in advance when he or she will get home and will be
able to meet the courier. Do these different delivery options correspond to specific consumer types?
Pick-up offices, in contrast, have several advantages. At Boxberry we store They correspond to both consumer types and item price. Since a substantial
packages for 14 days for free. We have developed a large network of pick-up part of cross-border e-commerce in Russia are inexpensive goods purchased
offices: almost 3,000 across Russia, plus thousands of self-pickup points from Chinese online retailers, it doesn’t make much sense to opt for
through our partner PickPoint. These developments have allowed us to expensive delivery. So, for this type of goods, customers usually choose
reduce the proportion of couriers in the delivery mix. postal delivery. Delivery time is unpredictable, from one week to more than a
month. Sometimes the package may even get lost, but this is a risk that
Note that the average delivery cost to a parcel office or locker is lower, since
customers seem ready to take.
courier delivery is more expensive to run than pick-up points.
Another type of goods are good quality brands in the middle price segment.
This preference for pick-up office is noticeable not only in Russia, but also in
Such goods are purchased mostly by consumers from the middle class. These
Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. In Kazakhstan, however, online customers
consumers normally want their order to be delivered from abroad in a few
more often opt for courier delivery.
days – which is typically what Boxberry does. Our standard transit time from
Europe and the USA is 5-6 and 6-7 days respectively.
Do Western online retailers, which are used to courier delivery, easily The wealthiest consumers (those who buy Gucci at Farfetch, for example)
integrate this pick-up delivery option? have high expectations in terms of speed and service. Those will probably
choose DHL.
Not always, I must say. Sometimes we have to explain to them how different
is consumer behavior in Russia, including the importance of pick-up points. If
they're reluctant, we need to make tests first, which demonstrates that more
delivery options just mean more sales.
What is the actual difference between Boxberry and DHL in terms of delivery Do customers like to provide their passport details?
time?
Two years ago, 15-20% were reluctant to do so; now it is less than 1%. We
We are slower than DHL because they have a permanent and intensive flow achieved this result by evangelizing customers. Plus, everyone who purchases
of air freight to Russia. However, the difference does not exceed one or two from foreign online retailers is already used to providing passport details. It
days from Europe, or three from the USA. does not make sense not to do it – in that case the order you’ve already paid
for simply won’t be released from customs.
Many international e-merchants fear Russian customs procedures. How do

you manage them?
There’s nothing that frightening there. The process can be started even
before the package leaves the country of origin.
To prepare the necessary documentation, we get information on the
customer, including his or her passport details and tax payer ID. Since the
retailer collects such information in less than 10% of cases, it is usually our
part of the job.
We store customer data in our own database, being legally entitled to do so.
It means that every e-shopper served by Boxberry has his or her passport
details stored in our system – which allows us to retrieve information about
him or her in more than 70% of delivery cases.
In the case of first-time customers, we contact them to get the necessary
information. And, in 80% of these cases, we collect all the information
required for the customs clearance in the first 24 hours after we receive the
information on the order from the retailer.
A Boxberry pickup point in Krasnoyarsk. Photo credit: Boxberry
What about returns? Boxberry offers B2C and C2C services as well, delivering goods from Russian
and foreign online stores, advertising and auction websites, parcels and
Boxberry was the first carrier in the Russian market to offer international
letters from individuals.
returns – we realized that returns can give a big boost to sales, especially if it
is free. Needless to say, returns are crucial in the fashion segment. From our The number of shipments grows by 64-68% annually; this year we expect it to
experience, the growth of sales after offering returns can reach 200% on a reach 77%. We have plans to extend operations to serve retailers from Latin
yearly basis! America and South-East Europe; we’re also preparing to provide last-mile
delivery services in new Eastern European countries.
Today, customer loyalty is everything. That’s why Boxberry makes this process
simple and smooth – you simply need to make a return request on the
website and then drop the package in one of our parcel offices accepting
What objectively distinguishes Boxberry from other providers?
returns. Boxberry will take care of the rest.
Our network of parcel offices is particularly strong, and we are still developing
it actively. We select locations in the most passable areas in various cities and
Please tell us a bit about Boxberry make sure that opening hours are convenient to customers with a range of
additional services. The process of issuing and dropping off parcels is very
The service was founded in 2010 as a division of the Ural-Press group, which
simple and fast, so there are no queues at the offices.
had been delivering periodicals for over 25 years. This group’s experience,
together with an optimized logistics scheme, were among the factors of our Another strong point is the way we have simplified the delivery procedure for
success. Since the very beginning, one of the main advantages of Boxberry foreign online retailers.
has been its network of parcel offices and its wide geographic coverage. Now
We can also assist our partners with promotion in Russia – which is very
Boxberry has almost 3,000 offices in almost 500 Russian cities, and their
important especially for foreign players that are still little-known in Russia
number is growing weekly. We also cover 100% of Russian territory by courier
We’re a reliable partner for any online retailer, regardless of its size and
delivery.
geography.
(July 2019)
What is your vision of the Russian self-pickup point market?
Self-pickup as an e-commerce delivery method appeared in Russia later than
courier and postal delivery: it became an important channel only around 2013
– even though PickPoint pioneered the market in 2010. Initially, online
retailers tried to build their own logistics, but their resources were not
sufficient to reach all their customers, so third-party operators emerged to
address the new market needs.
Self-pickup points have been deployed mostly in cities with an active online
consumer population. (PickPoint, the market leader, has 540 cities covered.)
Today, the average distance between two self-pickup points in Moscow and
the surrounding area does not exceed 1.2 km. In other large Russian cities
(one million inhabitants or more), the distance is around 2 km, and 3 km in
other cities. Therefore, more than a half of the population can use parcel
lockers to pick up their orders from online stores.
PickPoint founder and CEO Nadezhda There are several types of lockers currently being used or tested in Russia.
The cell size – 60x60x60 for PickPoint’s largest type of locker – poses a
Romanova: “Whether you’re a domestic or physical limit: not all goods can be delivered in that way. For example, we
won’t deliver large equipment and furniture. Fresh food is also problematic,
foreign player, you can’t overlook we don’t deliver it either.
self-pickup in Russian e-commerce” Are lockers all of the same type?

There are variations. PickPoint’s lockers offer a complete functional range,
from delivery to return, and all types of payment including cash, bank cards,
and online payment means. The lockers of our partner, QIWI, have a more
limited functional range and accept only cash payments. The OZON smart
boxes deliver only pre-paid parcels. Recently, Yandex Market launched
technologically-advanced lockers. Users can manage them via a mobile app –
instead of a screen on the locker.
Nadezhda Romanova: “Whether you’re a domestic or foreign player,
you can’t overlook self-pickup in Russian e-commerce”
Do self-pickup points work in Russia in the same way as in other countries? As for unredeemed orders, lockers offer one of the lowest rate among
delivery methods: 6% on average. It varies according to product types – from
Unlike those in most other European countries, Russian lockers are generally
around 4% for household appliances to some 11% for fashion items.
installed inside buildings – typically a store or a public transport venue. This is
to protect them from vandalism and extreme temperatures. At bottom, lockers function as a multifaceted instrument for interaction
between online retailers and consumers – involving also, in a sense, brands
Self-pickup is not yet as widespread in Russia as it is in certain other countries.
and manufacturers. We regularly develop and integrate useful options and
In Germany, Poland and Spain, 30%-35% of e-shoppers use lockers. The
tools, conduct joint marketing campaigns with retailer, etc. All this contributes
proportion reaches 20%-25% in the Baltic States and 35%-40% in the US,
to establish self-pickup as the closest, safest, most reliable and modern
while just around 14% of Russian e-shoppers use them.
delivery channel.
Should foreign players retailers consider self-pickup points as a delivery

How did PickupPoint start a decade ago? And how did it reach this leadership
channel in cross-border e-commerce?
position?
Whether you’re a domestic or foreign e-commerce company doesn’t really
I discovered these machines in 2009, while visiting the Post Expo exhibition in
make a difference: you cannot overlook lockers in Russian e-commerce, they
Hanover. They were developed by KEBA and deployed by Deutsche Post.
have become so familiar to online consumers! Online stores often come to
They triggered my interest because there was no automated delivery method
work with us because their customers ask to be delivered through a self-
in Russia at that time. Self-pickup lockers had an obvious potential.
pickup point. Some may give up on making their purchase if there is no such
pickup location nearby. In July 2010, we launched our company under the PickPoint brand name. It
took us six months to adapt the system and install the first lockers in Russia.
The success of this type of delivery reflects certain changes in online
consumers’ behavior. These lockers provide a single-standard level of service, Launching a totally new logistics service – unknown to most Russian e-
full pick-up time flexibility and convenient nearby locations. Plus, Russians like commerce companies and online consumers at that time – required to
to use new technologies and gadgets in their everyday life, and many people address certain issues. We redesigned the lockers so they integrate payment
had rather use a locker than have a stranger ring at their door for a delivery. functions by cash or bank card. Payment on delivery, not pre-payment, was
the rule at that time due to low user trust, and it has remained so today to a
PickPoint's service satisfaction index has been maintained at 86% for the past
large extent.
four years. Note that, in just three years, our user base has more than
doubled to 7.5 million people in May 2019. More than 96% (up to 99% We began installing our lockers in shopping malls, supermarkets and
depending on the season) are delivered in time. Here is a fundamental point: hypermarkets in order to ensure constant temperature and ensure their
consumers want to see their order at the time they expect it, not earlier and physical protection.
not later. Otherwise, both the online store and we, as a logistician, expose
ourselves to a negative perception.
Nadezhda Romanova: “Whether you’re a domestic or foreign player,
you can’t overlook self-pickup in Russian e-commerce”
Foreign companies were among our first clients (Yves Rocher was the very o Nadezhda Romanova is an expert in the logistics sector, consumer and e-
first one). They had experience with lockers in other countries, setting the commerce markets with 18 years of experience in logistics companies.
example for Russian online retailers. Some five years later, self-pickup points Prior to founding PickPoint in 2010, she held the position of Deputy
had become a standard in e-commerce delivery. Several big e-commerce General Director of SPSR-Express. In 2017, Mrs Romanova was
companies, especially in the fashion and beauty segments, began considering distinguished as "Top Manager of the Year" by Standard Chartered Rating
us as a strategic partner since our lockers accounted for roughly half of their GmbH Germany and International Rating Association. In 2018, she
deliveries. received the "Businessman of the Year" award from the Economic
Development Council, Euro Consulting and Business Rating agencies for
her contribution to the development of the Russian economy.
Tell us about your client portfolio.
We serve more than 5,500 online retailers, including 1,500 on a daily basis.
Among them are TMall, Mango, BonPrix, ASOS, iHerb, La Redoute, OZON,
Yves Rocher, Reebok, Puma, Adidas, La Roche-Posay, KIKO Milano and many
others.
The fashion category accounts for 38% of the number of deliveries, while
beauty products and children’s goods account for 26% and 5%, respectively.
Who owns the company? Did you receive external funding.

Let me keep this information confidential.
Do you have any international expansion plans?

We are currently expanding to Russian-speaking countries under a franchise
model. The first lockers have already been deployed in Belarus; we also
target Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and some other countries, where we see as
clear interest in our solutions.
(June 2019)
Monobrand with taste:
How brands and manufacturers
create compelling B2C online stores
This Expert content is offered by

What is the difference between monobrand and regular online store?
A monobrand store sells goods of a single brand produced by one
manufacturer. From the consumer’s viewpoint, this arrangement implies the
shortest distribution chain along which the goods travel from producer to
buyer. In most cases, of all distribution chain elements, it is the brand owner or
manufacturer who enjoys the strongest trust and loyalty. A monobrand online
store makes sense for well-known manufacturers whose products appeal to
consumers. Other brands hardly need this type of store, unless it is kept for
future purposes, in order to create this perception of a unique product.
If the brand is at the top of the loyalty hierarchy, it also entails the most
responsibility. Errors that are pardonable when made by a distributor, reseller
or retail outlet will be unforgivable for the manufacturer. They can cause
considerable damage to brand image and customer loyalty. We believe this is
fair, so we aim to offer end users the level of service they would expect from
the brand.
create compelling B2C online stores What are the manufacturer’s options of building own monobrand shop?
By Aristos ceo Andrey Khromov There are three standard online store models:
Who is ultimately
Model responsible for the success
Aristos, a company based in Russia and Netherlands, provides
of the online store
brands and manufacturers with end-to-end online-sales
outsourcing support. The company’s General Director Andrey In-house solution Manufacturer
Khromov shared his views on the different models for
Via an existing distributor Distributor or reseller
manufacturers to sell online and on the blockchain future of
or reseller
online retail.
Outsourcing IT service provider
49 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Expert content: Monobrand with taste
The main difference between these models is where responsibility lies. Who As a matter of fact, human activities are rarely formalized in a natural way, so no
controls the order generation process? In the first model, it is an employee or contract can ever have all participants in the process efficiently respond to
department from the brand or manufacturer’s organization. In the second and challenges as a team. This is because none of the contractors feel they own the
third ones, it is the reseller or the outsourcer. process. The owner, in turn, has no full levers to influence it.
The second issue lies in ownership twist. Let’s use the same metaphor. The
client of the restaurant enters into a service agreement with the owner of the
Let’s go through the details of each model. How does the in-house model
restaurant. However, this agreement is performed by other parties that have
work?
never entered in any agreements with the visitor. He or she is not their client
The in-house model implies that the manufacturer has developed its own retail at all. This is approximately how all public services work. Employees of the tax
expertise. Whether it is needed or not is up to the manufacturer; but it is service, for instance, or the pension fund, ministries and departments have no
important to keep in mind that this is never an instantaneous process: you can’t contract with the people they service. Their client is the government.
avoid making mistakes that will affect your budget or customer loyalty.
Under this model, contractors are motivated to receive payment from the
This expertise is generally held within a dedicated department or unit shop owner rather than from the online store customers. This is not to say
established for this purpose – which makes it vulnerable, especially if this that such model is not viable: governmental pension funds work somehow.
department is small. And it will be certainly small because, in most cases, the They rarely make their customers fully happy, though.
manufacturer won’t be ready to rent warehouses, hire couriers, purchase
vehicles, set up the call center etc. Many or all of these activities are generally
outsourced. What are the consequences of the responsibility split and ownership twist?
You receive a package that is damaged. When you specify that to the courier
of the logistics contractor, you will most likely hear something like: “You
What’s wrong with that?
should contact the store, I’m just here to deliver the parcel.” Then the shop
There may be two issues. First, responsibility is split between independent can also come up with an excuse: “It’s our partners who let us down, we will
parties. Let me use a metaphor to explain this. You’re a restaurant owner and make sure that your feedback is delivered.” You’re not their client. Why
you decide to implement the in-house model engaging outsourcing agencies. should they talk to you?
You’ll be at the center of responsibility – but won’t actually control much of the
operations. One contractor will provide the kitchen team, including the chef;
another one will engage waiting staff (with a replacement guarantee); the third What are the advantages of the model that relies on existing resellers or
one will be responsible for cleaning; the fourth one will undertake advertising; distributors?
the fifth one will run the IT and so on. It is clear that this restaurant is not viable.
The fact that the partner already exists. The partner already has product
Especially if you, the owner, are not present on site every day.
expertise. Besides, there are probably goods in the warehouse already...
But? The franchise analogy is clear, but the franchise is usually purchased…
There may be no ‘but’ – but usually it doesn’t work exactly that way. If the The question is: who should pay whom? It’s simple: the party that pays is the
reseller or distributor has no expertise in online retail sales, they won’t do a one that provides less value than the partner. If both parties generate equal
better job than the manufacturer, and we already saw the issues that can value, nobody pays anyone. And the online store is self-reliable. This is the
arise. If the reseller or distributor does have the expertise, where did it come case with most of our mono-brand store projects. Such online stores are
from? This kind of partner is likely to have their own online store, in which different from regular ones primarily because they have to develop and
case the manufacturer’s monobrand store will be launched using the same change continuously. Skills in architecture design and successful addition of
capacity, i.e. some or all resources will be split between these two businesses. new features to the existing functionality is an indicator of the online seller’s
Also, it’s likely that the official monobrand store should communicate other expertise.
values and/or provide a different level of service. And that will be very hard to
implement within the same business processes. Just like a taxi cannot provide
both business and economy class services in one and the same car. It’s not easy to stand out nowadays, as many things are easy to replicate…
It’s also worth noting that, in most cases, official stores use official prices. It It is important to stand out with stable performance, i.e. providing the
will be difficult to explain to the consumer why the price is different if stipulated level of service at all times, steadily low rate of failures,
everything else is the same. The consumer must feel that the added price is compensating customers for inconveniences etc. In today’s world,
justified by an added value. commodities look very similar. When everything looks similar, it’s often
enough to be 1% better to become the best.
What abouth the third model? Does it also have significant flaws?
How do you achieve that?
Speaking of outsourcing online sales – I mean responsibility over the entire
process, not just some parts of it – its closest analogy is franchise. The We do what we call end-to-end online-sales outsourcing for manufacturers.
producer outsources online sales to the contractor in the same way they This means that we build the online store’s website, buy and store items, pick
would grant a franchise. And the franchisee becomes the proper process orders, deliver orders using our own service, carry out promos to attract traffic
owner with the same or similar restrictions as those entailed by brick-and- and trade marketing activities to increase conversion, post sales, customer
mortar store franchising. What issues can arise here? The same issues: wrong support — in other words, anything it takes to make the producer proud of
choice of partner, the partner’s lack of experience, misunderstanding on the their store.
brand’s values – or, conversely, a misunderstanding from the manufacturer’s
Our partners are large companies with a reputation. Their names must be
side about the partner’s values... If the producer is capable of avoiding these
used with due respect – and that’s what we do.
issues, everything should work well. Or at least the cooperation model per se
is fundamentally healthy.
How consumer goods manufacturers
create compelling online stores
What about the cost? What will online sales look like 30 years down the line? Can other models
emerge in the future?
We are the seller of the goods and owner of the process. We are motivated
to sell the manufacturer’s products rather than to sell services to the Given the spreading of blockchain, we can assume that consumers entering
manufacturer. Our cooperation model assumes that all costs are covered by into a smart purchase contract will automatically enter into several
the frontal margin – and we achieve this result immediately or within a subcontracts with the contractors performing the task. Apart from the price of
reasonable time. We invest in projects as much as the manufacturer does. the product, a specified percentage or amount will be automatically charged
by the courier service, insurance company, consultancy company, affiliate for
providing the lead etc. It depends on the number of participants and their
So the manufacturer doesn’t receive profit from online sales? contributions. The more value, the higher the price.
They don’t receive profit from the retail margin – but manufacturers usually Such smart contracts may well include penalties and, for example, late
don’t receive such profit. And they wouldn’t necessarily receive it if they tried delivery may deprive the carrier of part of the payments. And there’s nothing
to build online sales on their own. So a more accurate way to put it would be: personal about it: it’s just robots that make agreements and share the profit
it is the consumers who receive what they expect to receive: maximum and costs. Airbnb and other similar sites already indicate their fee separately
assortment, qualified advice and support and the level of retail service, and the consumer knows exactly which parties to the transaction get how
corresponding to the manufacturer’s brand level. much out of the booking price they pay.
What could possibly make the manufacturer even happier?

The manufacturer receives all the benefits of an almost direct interaction with
consumers. It also gets comprehensive sales stats, a high level of control,
more freedom in decision making, the possibility to carry out promotions and
communications. So, a monobrand site is like a benchmark. This is a signal for
the market: “We know how to sell products online and we are excellent in
doing it.”
Summary: 8 reAsons for manufacturers …AS EXEMPLIFIED BY These brands*
to opt for integrated outsourcing…
1. The manufacturer may trust the development of their store to a professional
team of experts who have many years of experience in implementing complex
e-commerce projects.
2. Thus, the manufacturer doesn’t need to hire employees to control and

coordinate business partners. Furthermore, there is no need to hire employees
to create an in-house unit responsible for creating, supporting an online store,
as well as marketing, logistics, sales and customer support.
3. The manufacturer still receives full operational feedback from consumers,

analyze customer needs and implement their own marketing and management
decisions.
4. When working with marketplaces and nationwide multi-brand players, these

opportunities are practically cut off, and price manipulation becomes the only
marketing tool. In the case of an official, mono-brand online store, the
manufacturer receives more opportunities to work with their end customer in
the most flexible and adapted way.
5. In the sales hierarchy, the consumer perceives the official online store as an
opportunity to buy products directly from the manufacturer. In this case, the
customer believes he or she receives first-class service, including consultation,
delivery, trouble-free warranty service and after-sales support. This service
cannot be provided by multi-brand players and marketplaces.
6. An official online store supports the maximum product range of the

manufacturer – which no multi-brand online retailer can afford.
7. There are industries with a high proportion of fakes and counterfeit products,
which severely affects brand reputation and loyalty. For consumers, official
online stores are one of the few channels to purchase original brand products.
8. There is no fixed fee for operations. The outsourcing partner – interested first
and foremost in selling the brand’s products will carefully study the
*from Aristos
manufacturer’s market and customer characteristics. Based on this, an
individual and flexible approach is a arguably the most convenient approach.
client portfolio
http://aristos.online
SECTION 3:
Taxes,
customs
& legal
Research partner:
VAT IN CROSS-BORDER E-COMMERCE
B2C cross-border online purchases via mailing are not subject to VAT. A
foreign seller has no obligation to register as a VAT payer; a Russian private
purchaser is not imposed with import VAT duties. The Russian business
media periodically reports discussions at the government level to impose
cross-border online purchases with VAT. Three options are on table:
registering foreign retailers as Russian VAT payers; imposing customs fees for
the amount equivalent to VAT; combining both options.1
However, there is no strong sign that the authorities would confirm the
introduction of such tax in the near future. Not only do they currently seem
unwilling to restrict cross-border e-commerce too severely, but the VAT
mechanism could be technically hard to apply. While it could be agreed with
large international companies, the Russian authorities would lack enforcement
instruments to cover all e-merchants worldwide.
Cross-border e-commerce taxation VAT ON B2B SALES

By Artyom Berlin, Associate of Transactions If a Russian company makes purchases on an international online retail site,
& Corporate Law practice, Borenius Russia the transaction is subject to VAT, which is due by the Russian buyer. (The
foreign online retailer is not involved in tax relationships, because it has no
tax payer status or any other tax-related status pertaining Russian tax system.)
The buyer must pay VAT at the standard 20% rate, based on the customs
value in the course of the customs procedure. VAT deduction may be applied
further, depending on the use of the imported goods.
1. The option of applying VAT could be structured similarly to the existing ‘Google tax.’ Introduced on
January 1, 2017, this value-added tax applies to foreign companies operating in Russia for the e-
services they provide. Such services may include the transfer of rights to use programs, web
advertising, website support, storage and processing of information, website analytics, hosting
services, access to search engines, etc. Should such VAT be applied to international online retailers,
these would register as VAT payers in Russia, directly charging and paying VAT from goods sold to
Russian customers.
56 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players SECTION 3: Taxes, customs & legal
Cross-border e-commerce taxation
CUSTOMS TAX THRESHOLD FOR TAX-FREE ORDERS Another issue for applying the customs tax is that the only method to control
the cumulative value of weight in multiple postal shipments is to record and
As of Jan. 2020, online cross-border B2C purchases are exempt from any
compare addressees’ names – while these may be spelled in various ways in
customs taxes if their value (per package) does not exceed €200 and their
English.
weight (per package) does not exceed 31 kg.2
The situation differs for items delivered by private courier services (e.g. DHL).
Purchases above this threshold are subject to a 15% customs fee (applied to
These are required to collect Russian purchasers’ taxpayer identification
their fractional value above the threshold), with a minimum of €2 per 1 kg of
numbers and disclose them to the customs along with the shipping details.
weight exceeding the threshold.
This mechanism helps the customs monitor the cumulative value of items
These thresholds are well above those practiced in the EU, where B2C cross- delivered through such channel.
border online purchases are imposed above €30. The threshold is at around
The seller (foreign online retailer) is not involved in the settlement of the
€150 in Ukraine, €200 in Belarus, €250 in the United Arab Emirates), €700 in
customs tax in any of these cases. (See details about tax settlement by the
Australia. Russia’s domestic retailers have been lobbying for lowering Russia’s
customer in Section 4.)
threshold closer to EU standards – with little success so far.
(June 2019, updated Jan. 2020 for the customs tax)
Not only is Russia’s threshold exceptionally high, it is not always applied. For
postal shipments, there is no efficient way to control the thresholds and apply
such tax. Private parcels and small packages are passed through customs
o Artyom Berlin is Associate of Transactions & Corporate Law practice and
control freely, unless a customs officer would have reasonable doubts Dispute Resolution practice at Borenius Russia. He advises clients on issues
pertaining to their content or value/weight as regards the customs tax related to the employment and tax law as well as international private law. He
thresholds. works on projects on structuring and supporting procedures for optimizing
Hence, only items clearly undervalued (e.g. an expensive laptop with a companies’ organizational structures. He also represents Russian and foreign
declared value of €100) or looking like commercial shipment (e.g. 10 phones in companies in Russian courts and international commercial arbitration: the
a single shipment) are imposed de facto with customs duties. International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Russian Federation Chamber
of Commerce (ICAC), the International Court of Arbitration at the International
Chamber of Commerce (ICC Court). Mr. Berlin’s experience includes
contractor and distribution disputes, corporate conflicts, challenging unlawful
actions of public authorities. You may contact Mr Berlin at
[email protected].
2. The tax-free threshold was progressively lowered: from €1,000 to €500 in Jan. 2019 and from €500 to
€200 in Jan. 2020. But it then applied per month, not per package.
PERSONAL DATA STORAGE LAW 1
According to this law, which came to force in September 2015, a company
must ensure that personal data of Russian citizens is initially stored and
otherwise processed with the use of databases located on Russian soil.
Personal data may be transferred outside Russia only afterwards; but it is
unlawful to initially store the data abroad and subsequently transfer it to Russia.
While many businesses — including Alibaba, AliExpress, Apple and Google —
have managed to transfer user data from foreign data centers to Russia, others
refused or failed to comply.
As a consequence, the authorities blocked access to certain sites from Russia,
as was the case with LinkedIn in 2016 following two court decisions
(https://bit.ly/2F1q9tG).
Personal data laws LEGISLATION ON PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION, USE AND

TREATMENT
By Aleksei Gribanov, Senior Associate This legislation includes a variety of provisions. Foreign online retailers should
pay particular attention to the following ones (but not limited to):
and Head of the Intellectual Property • Written consent of the data subject
& Information Technology practice, Companies are required to obtain the written consents of users to various types
Borenius Russia of use of their personal data. Such consent may be provided in electronic form
but using an electronic signature.2
1. See white paper by EWDN and EY (https://bit.ly/2WTm84P)

2. An electronic signature may take, for example, such forms as: (a) a unique code sent to the data
subject in an SMS message and then entered by the data subject at a website; (b) an email sent by the
data subject from a certain email address; (c) checking a box by the data subject after the data subject
logins to a website with a password (just checking a box box does not constitute an electronic
signature since it does not prove that the signature was made by a specific person). The employed
mechanism of an electronic signature shall be described in an agreement with the data subject.
Personal data laws
In any way, the written consent must include such information as passport There are no specific requirements to the terms of use or similar documents.
details – which may be problematic to request from hurried online customers. However, these terms must meet the mandatory requirements of Russian
legislation, including the consumer protection law.
Written consent may be required, in particular, for such operations as transfer
of personal data to certain foreign countries – those which Russia considers
not to provide a sufficient level of protection of data subjects’ rights. These WHY FOREIGN ONLINE RETAILERS ARE CONCERNED
countries include the USA, but not the EU, the legislation of which Russia
regards as being satisfactory from this standpoint. Russian personal data laws apply to all companies, including foreign ones,
should their online activity target Russian users. For example, the use of the .ru
If you agree with a third party (e.g. a Russian data center or marketing domain name, the existence of a web page or of an advertising campaign in
agency) to process personal data on your behalf, make sure your agreement Russian language may be sufficient ground to apply these laws to a foreign
with this third party specifies the requirements to the protection of personal player.
data and contain other provisions specified by law. Further, you will have to
Thus, the legislation applies to any online retailer – even those operating from
obtain consent from your users to have the third party process their personal
data on your behalf. abroad without a physical or legal presence in Russia, should their online
resources target users in Russia.
§ Notifying the regulator In April 2019, Roskomnadzor’s head publicly ordered his subordinates to
control the compliance of foreign e-commerce companies with the personal
Companies are required to notify Roskomnadzor, the Internet and telecom
data storage law. “There are lots of money going there, and lots of violations,”
regulator, of their intention to process personal data even before such
he claimed (https://bit.ly/2KFrYQB).
operations actually start. There are certain exceptions: for example, the
notification may not be required if personal data are processed only to Roskomnadzor can start an investigation against any company based on a
perform an agreement with the data subject. In practice, however, single user complaint or based on their permanent online monitoring. This is
Roskomnadzor often requests companies that did not file notifications to why all international online retailers are concerned de jure and de facto by the
provide an explanation of their inaction. personal data legislation, in which ever quantities – even symbolic – they sell
goods to Russian consumers.
§ Customer information
The provisions of Russian legislation on personal data collection, treatment and
A company that collects personal data online must publish its privacy policy. use do not fully correspond to the EU’s GDPR. Hence, compliance with this
The law does not provide explicit requirements to privacy policies, but , legislation might require substantial changes in the company’s IT systems. In
Roskomnadzor offers recommendations on their content. Note that a GDPR- some cases, the foreign company may even have to choose whether to comply
compliant privacy policy will not necessarily meet Russian legal requirements. with Russian data protection law or to comply with the GDPR.
Personal data laws
In certain situations, a company should act differently under Russian data Administrative fines for illegal data processing are relatively low in Russia
protection law and under the GDPR. For example, under the GDPR, a (some fines are up to approx. €1,000). But if cumulated, these amounts may
company’s ‘legitimate interest’ may be enough as a legal basis to process become significant.
personal data for marketing purposes without requiring the data subject’s
However, under a new bill under discussion in the Russian parliament, the
consent. The Russian data protection law construes ‘legitimate interest’ more
fines for failure to comply with the data storage requirements may soon
narrowly and may require a company in the same situation to obtain such
increase to up to approx. €82,000 for the first violation and €248,000 for a
consent.
repeated violation.
In such a situation, the company would have to choose whether to comply
Compensations for damages and moral harm caused by illegal data
with the GDPR and take the risk of violating Russian data protection law or to
processing are usually low in Russia. Some experts judge the amounts of such
comply with Russian data protection law and take the risk of violating the
compensations to be so low that they might just increase the moral harm.
GDPR.3
(June 2019)
PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE
Violations of Russian personal data laws may lead the authorities to block
access to the site from Russia. A company also faces fines or be required to o Aleksei Gribanov is Senior Associate and Head of the Intellectual Property &
pay a compensation for the damages and moral harm caused to data TMT practice at Borenius Russia. He focuses on transactions and disputes in
subjects. intellectual property, the protection of personal data, the regulation of the
Internet and new technologies (cryptocurrencies, big data, etc.) under both the
Blocking a website is Roskomnadzor’s most powerful weapon. LinkedIn has Russian and the EU legislation. Mr Gribanov has significant experience of
been blocked in Russia since 2016. Currently, the regulator is putting pressure handling major court disputes involving leading technological companies.
on Twitter and Facebook so that they move to Russia their databases with Among his clients are large gaming companies, financial and technological
personal data of Russian citizens. The threat of being blocked may apply companies, and renowned software developers. You may contact Mr Gribanov
equally to non-compliance with the legislation on personal data storage (as is at [email protected]
or might be the case with LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook) and non-
compliance with other Russian personal data laws.
3. Under the GDPR, in each situation there is only one correct legal basis for the same data processing
operation. If the correct basis is a legitimate interest but the company relies on the user's consent, the
company violates the GDPR. Thus, the company must carefully choose only one legal basis.
PROHIBITED GOODS
Alcohol, tobacco products, drugs, jewelry, pharmaceutical products,
weapons, spy equipment, and other goods specified by Russian law are
prohibited for online sales in Russia. The same rules apply both to domestic
and to cross-border e-commerce orders if a foreign online retailer targets
Russian users.
The sale of goods prohibited for online sales in Russia may lead to
administrative fines (of up to approx. €560) and seizure of the concerned
goods.
A website used for distribution of prohibited goods may be blocked. We are
aware of the blocking of a .com website used for selling an alcohol.
The Ministry of Finance has recently developed a bill on a step-by-step
legalization of online sales of an alcohol. Under the bill, since 2020, the wines
may be distributed via the internet. To start online sales of an alcohol, a
Product restrictions company is required to be included in a special register of
Rosalkogolregulirovanie (Federal Service for Alcohol Market Regulation), and
& product certification register in the domain zone egais.ru.
By Aleksei Gribanov, Senior Associate

GOODS SUBJECT TO CERTIFICATION
and Head of the Intellectual Property Certification requirements do not apply to international online retailers as
& Information Technology practice, long as they sell goods for individual consumption. Should the goods be
further distributed in Russia (including through the Russian distribution
Borenius Russia centers), they may be subject to technical regulations: such is the case with
perfumes and cosmetics, children’s goods, toys, clothing and shoes, furs,
leather products, sports equipment, locks, etc.
To obtain certification, foreign companies must authorize a partnering Russian

organization to apply for product certification on their behalf. Such
organization submits an application to the certification body which makes
research and agrees, or not, to certify the product.
Product restrictions & product certification
Certification is carried out by accredited certification bodies and testing

laboratories (centers) which are included in the Unified Register of Eurasian
Economic Union.
Failure to get a product certified when it is required by law may entail a ban on
the import of such product as well as administrative fines.
PRODUCT LABELING
International online retailers selling the goods through Russian distribution
centers should check whether these goods are subject to obligatory
identification labeling. For example, perfumes, cameras, and clothing must be
labeled since December 2019 and shoes since July 2019.
(June 2019)
o Aleksei Gribanov is Senior Associate and Head of the Intellectual Property &
TMT practice at Borenius Russia. He focuses on transactions and disputes in
intellectual property, the protection of personal data, the regulation of the
Russian and the EU legislation. Mr Gribanov has significant experience of
handling major court disputes involving leading technological companies.
Among his clients are large gaming companies, financial and technological
companies, and renowned software developers. You may contact Mr Gribanov
at [email protected]
LIABILITY OF MARKETPLACES
E-commerce platforms that allow to buy goods from different sellers are
required to provide their customers with information on themselves and on
these sellers. They may be liable for inaccurate information provided to the
customers – including information on a third party or its offerings if the
information became inaccurate following an action performed by the platform
(e.g. if the platform altered the information provided by the seller).
Thus, e-commerce platforms may be required to pay a compensation for the
damages inaccurate information may cause.
E-commerce platforms are also required to refund pre-payment for goods,
should these be not delivered in time and should the customer withdraw from
the purchase agreement.
Other legal requirements TRADEMARK PROTECTION

International online retailers should ensure that their domain names, slogans
to international e-commerce companies and other designations they use do not violate third parties’ rights to
trademarks protected in Russia.
By Aleksei Gribanov, Senior Associate
and Head of the Intellectual Property PAYMENT REGULATION
& Information Technology practice, International online retailers should check that the payment solutions they use
while making transactions with Russian customers comply with Russian
Borenius Russia legislation and regulations in this field. In particular, they should make sure
that their payment service providers store personal data on Russian soil as far
as Russian users are concerned. In some cases (e.g. online sales through the
distribution centers in Russia) law on cash registers may apply to international
online retailers..
Other legal requirements to international e-commerce companies
ADVERTISING LAW § Terms of purchase and consumer agreement

Many types of information usually published on websites may be considered The parties may choose to apply foreign law to their purchase agreement;
as advertising under Russian law. It is advisable to ensure that such however even in this case the customer will enjoy protection of his or her rights
information complies with Russia’s advertising legislation under mandatory provisions of the Russian consumer rights legislation.
Hence the purchase agreement should be consistent with the corresponding
PRODUCT INFORMATION provisions of Russian law: in particular, but not limited to, the customer’s right
to withdraw from the agreement within seven days as of the delivery of the
§ On site catalogue ordered product, to demand replacement of defective goods, and to withdraw
from the agreement if the goods are defective.
International online retailers are required to adapt product description/labels
in their catalogue to comply with Russian legal requirements if they target No other specific legal requirements apply to purchase agreements between
users in Russia. Russian customers and foreign e-merchants.
Under Russian consumer rights legislation, the seller must provide the
(June 2019)
consumer with specific information related to the product for sale. This
includes the description of the goods, place of manufacture, warranty, price in
rubles, terms of payment, etc. The relevant information must be provided in o Aleksei Gribanov is Senior Associate and Head of the Intellectual Property &
clear and plain Russian language. TMT practice at Borenius Russia. He focuses on transactions and disputes in
intellectual property, the protection of personal data, the regulation of the
Non-provision of such information may lead to administrative fines, enhanced
liability for defects of the goods, consumer’s withdrawal from the agreement,
Russian and the EU legislation. Mr Gribanov has significant experience of
and enhanced liability for harm to consumers’ life, health and property.
handling major court disputes involving leading technological companies.
However, the enforcement of legal decisions against an online retailer is Among his clients are large gaming companies, financial and technological
made difficult if the company has no presence in Russia. companies, and renowned software developers. You may contact Mr Gribanov
at [email protected]
§ Product information for the customs authorities
No specific requirements on information placed on the package apply to the
international delivery of consumer goods by postal operators or shipping
service providers.

E-Commerce in Russia Part2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

E-Commerce in Russia Part2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

E-Commerce in Russia Part2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

An international study by

Main research partners

UPDATED JAN. 2020

q COPYRIGHT AND REPUBLICATION RULES

q INACCURACIES AND UPDATES

Addressing these issues, we are glad to present this research, which is

Dozens of millions of Russians have tried cross-border online shopping –

Let’s build together a market without borders!

Main RESEARCH PARTNERS

Among Media & distribution partners

Other participating companies

Adrien Henni Asya Kapatsinskaya

Stanislav Matynyuk Vlad Shirobokov

Artyom Berlin Arseniy Dabbakh Ellen Ehrsam Aleksei Gribanov

Alexander Ivanov Sara Lone

Katerina Mikheeva Boris Ovchinnikov

7 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Contributors

8 RUSSIAN E-COMMERCE REPORT / A practical guide for international players Contributors

Most used e-wallet and contactless Payment methods in Russia

Most used payment methods by type of purchase

Payment on delivery also involves such risks as fluctuations in the ruble

2. THEY MAY BOOST YOUR MARKETING

Alternative payment methods can create additional opportunities for

(2) Excepted during a short moment in 2014 (https://bit.ly/2FkhNxu)

§ Delivery time expectations

ü How to organize customs clearance with

Choosing service providers

§ Does it make sense to work through a delivery

§ What about insurance?

Many international e-merchants fear Russian customs procedures. How do

A Boxberry pickup point in Krasnoyarsk. Photo credit: Boxberry

foreign player, you can’t overlook we don’t deliver it either.

self-pickup in Russian e-commerce” Are lockers all of the same type?

Should foreign players retailers consider self-pickup points as a delivery

Who owns the company? Did you receive external funding.

Do you have any international expansion plans?

This Expert content is offered by

What could possibly make the manufacturer even happier?

2. Thus, the manufacturer doesn’t need to hire employees to control and

3. The manufacturer still receives full operational feedback from consumers,

4. When working with marketplaces and nationwide multi-brand players, these

6. An official online store supports the maximum product range of the

Cross-border e-commerce taxation VAT ON B2B SALES

Personal data laws LEGISLATION ON PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION, USE AND

1. See white paper by EWDN and EY (https://bit.ly/2WTm84P)

By Aleksei Gribanov, Senior Associate

To obtain certification, foreign companies must authorize a partnering Russian

Certification is carried out by accredited certification bodies and testing

Other legal requirements TRADEMARK PROTECTION

ADVERTISING LAW § Terms of purchase and consumer agreement

You might also like