Page 105 - RusRPTJun20

9.1.7​ TMT sector news
The volume of orders for grocery deliveries online surged in April and could more than triple this year​, according to the data released by e-commerce consultancy INFOLine, release on May 13. INFOLine’s data for the first quarter this yea and April’s trading results estimate surging 3.3x to RUB135bn ($1.8bn) in 2020, with express delivery channel to top RUB30bn ($406mn), almost quadruple the RUB700mn of sales in the same period a year ago. “In March-April, the demand for online food shopping surged after lockdown restrictions were imposed, while client acquisition costs diminished. Express delivery mimics the service of the convenience format and was particularly popular in densely populated areas. The key players saw April sales comparable with 1Q20, while leading players Yandex.Lavka and Samokat reached comparable turnover of RUB850-900mn, according to the agency,” reports VTB Capital (VTBC) in a note. “In the medium term, e-grocery could be the most rapidly increasing segment of e-commerce, but turnover of RUB135bn in 2020 would still represent only 0.8% of the food retail market. Within online FMCG goods, INFOLine notes the leading position of Ozon in 1Q20, with turnover of RUB6.1bn. Gur roadmap for the e-grocery transformation is presented in our E-Grocery sector - Quarantine canteen, of 8 April,” VTBC added.
Russian government has provided a list of rules and licensing for the online sale of over the counter (OTC) medicines, ​bringing the the development of online pharmaceuticals retail closer. As reported by ​bne
I n t e l l i N e w s , ​ ​ o​ n l i n e s a l e s o f m e d i c i n e c o u l d d e v e l o p i n t o a s o l i d t r e n d ​ a m i d COVID-10. Russia's largest traditional retailer and largest e-grocer ​X5 Group previously said online sales of pharmaceutical goods are also on the agenda and, once the regulations have been clarified and restrictions lifted, the company is considering operations in the segment. Apteka.ru online platform of large pharmaceutical distributor Katren ​already made it to the top ten of Russia's largest e-commerce players in 2019​. "The online sale of medicines had been discussed for over three years before finally being approved on 2 April 2020 (with the lockdown measures having speeded up that process)," VTB Capital commented on May 19. The commercial pharmacy market was worth RUB1 trillion in 2019, equally split between the OTC and RX categories, the bank reminds, noting that the latter could also join the broader online channel. "This initiative is a new growth pillar for both pharmaceutical chains and food chains,which have been entering into pharma retail," VTBC believes.
105​ RUSSIA Country Report​ June 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com