Chinese websites accounted for 52% of total cross-border trading e-commerce transactions in Russia in 2016 according to Russia E-Commerce Association.
Transactions of Russia cross-border online trading totaled US$5.1 billion, among which the total online purchases from Chinese online shopping websites were US$2.6 billion. 90% of cross-border delivery packages were from China.
The retail industry in Russia saw decreasing sales in the recent years but its online shopping grew rapidly with a growth rate of 21% reaching 920 billion rubles (US$16 bn) in 2016. It’s estimated to grow by at least 25% and reach 1.2 trillion rubles (US$21 bn) in 2017.
Russia’s light industry is not developed; and, products such as key chain, mobile phone cases, lighting and other large quantities of goods are from China. Smartphones and laptops from Xiaomi, Huawei, and Lenovo have become very popular in Russia.
The most popular e-commerce platform in China among Russian buyers is Alibaba’s AliExpress in 2016, according to Russia’s Independent.
Chinese goods attract Russia consumers only because of the low prices; but, the quality is not high. This may become the obstacle for China’s online shopping platforms to further expand.
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China is really a big market