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bne Tech
March 15, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 24
Russian e-commerce could reach $43bn by 2024
Russian e-commerce market could reach RUB2.78 trillion ($43bn) by 2024 according to the study by the Gaidar Institute published on March 13 and cited by RBC business portal. This would bring online sales to 8.5% of all Russian retail market, up from 3.5% in 2017 and 4.1% in 2018.
In absolute terms this would almost double the e-commerce market estimated in 2018 at RUB1.5 trillion ($22.8bn). Gaidar's forecast is a conservative one at that, with Morgan Stanley expecting RUB3.5 trillion market by 2024, RBC reminds.
Gaidar's study notes of rising rates of internet penetration in Russia to about 70%, but notes that in the past three years the share of those involved in e-commerce plateaued at 35-43% of the population or 41mn-51mn people.
The further growth of the e-commerce market is seen mostly fuelled by the growth of an average receipt and purchase frequency. Currently average Russian internet shopper is most likely to buy food online (8.4 times a year on average), followed by children’s' goods (4.6 times), and household appliances (1.5 times) and mobile devices/ accessories (1.4 times).
Last month the East-West Digital News (EWDN) has published 10 key takeaways regarding the current state of Internet usage in Russia, accord- ing to which internet penetration stands at 76%.
There are currently 109.6mn Internet users in Russia. The vast majority of them (75%) live in urban areas, where there are more opportunities to engage in e-commerce.
Russian Yandex.Taxi considers introducing guaranteed minimum income for drivers
Russian mobile taxi service Yandex.Taxi considers introducing a guaranteed minimum income for its drivers, Kommersant daily reported on March 13 citing industry sources.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, the competition in Russia’s online taxi hailing business has become cutthroat and the leading companies are looking for ways to distinguish themselves. Most recently Yandex.Taxi introduced a rating system for drivers, which was seen as putting additional pressure on those deciding to work for the platform.
Yandex drivers in Moscow make similar complaints to those of drivers in OECD countries: low fares, bad customer behaviour, as well as a lack of support for drivers from the platform companies.
Now the joint venture of Russian internet major Yandex (59.3%) and Uber (36.9%) reportedly considers to guarantee either a fixed daily income or a minimum fixed income for a number of
rides a day/hour to its drivers. The model is being tested in selected Russian cities, such as Voronezh, Volgodonsk, and Kazan.
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