Russia

AliExpress has opened its marketplace to welcome non-Chinese sellers. The Alibaba-owned business-to-consumer marketplace has changed its business model to better compete with Amazon. Online retailers from Spain, Italy, Turkey and Russia now have access to the Chinese platform.

Online fashion retailer Wildberries.ru is the number one in a list of Russian ecommerce websites ranked by sales volume, number of orders and average order value. Just like in 2016 and 2017, the fashion website leads the ranks.

Russian footwear retail chain Obuv Rossii has announced a new project with DPD, the largest commercial operator of express delivery in Russia. The two companies have completed a trial of pickup points in Obuv Rossii's shoes stores. The pilot was launched with about 20 shops, but in the future, 150 more stores will be connected.

Russian tech platform Yandex has launched two new services aimed at ecommerce. It now provides an online marketplace, called Beru, and offers Bringly: an ecommerce platform that is dedicated to enhancing cross-border shopping for consumers in Russia.

Ecommerce in Russia was worth over 14 billion euros in 2017. This corresponds to an increase of almost 13 percent compared to the situation one year before. For this year, it's forecasted that ecommerce in Russia will grow again with a similar percentage, so it will be worth 15.9 billion euros.

Ecommerce in Russia is showing an active growth. Last year, it was worth 13.7 billion euros and for this year it's predicted to be worth 17 billion euros. And by 2023, the Russian ecommerce industry is predicted to grow to almost 46 billion euros. This would mean an increase of 170 percent in the next five years.

Ecommerce software provider CS-Cart has released a new edition of its marketplace software, called Multi-Vendor Plus. The solution, aimed at lager marketplace businesses, has several new features for both online marketplace owners and vendors.

Mail.ru, one of the largest internet businesses in Russia, has announced the launch of an online pharmacy. The announcement of Mail.ru's online pharmacy All Pharmacies follows just four months after a new telemedicine law came into effect in Russia.

Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba will launch its online b2c marketplace Tmall in Russia, sources say. Currently, the service is in test mode, but it should become fully operational somewhere next month. It will be launched within the AliExpress platform.

Ecommerce in Russia was worth 498 billion rubles, or 7.2 billion euros, in the first half of this year. This is an increase of 22 percent year-on-year. The Russian online retail industry is expected to be worth 15.99 billion euros at the end of this year.

Ulmart, the biggest online retailer of Russia, has announced it has plans to start accepting bitcoin as one of the payment methods. When things go through, the popular crypto currency will be accepted on Ulmart starting the first of September later this year.

NopCommerce is not a very well-known provider of ecommerce software. Still, the company has clients such as Volvo, BMW and even the unmatched singer Céline Dion. Ecommerce News Europe interviewed Alexandra Lykova, the marketing manager of this Russian ecommerce software solution.

The ecommerce industry in Russia was worth 920 billion rubles, which is about 14.85 billion euros, in 2016. This is an increase of 20 percent when compared to the year before. Estimates are ecommerce in Russia will reach 1 trillion rubles (16.14 billion euros) at the end of this year.

The Russian Export Center and express carrier SPSR Express signed a partnership agreement, which is meant to open up opportunities of logistics services for Russian exports. Also, an ecommerce platform will be created for listing products across online marketplaces and stores.

The president of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov, and the CEO of Russian Post, Dmitry Strashnov, have signed an agreement for the rail transport of mail and small parcels between China and Europe. The project should help reduce the time parcels are on its way, while also reducing transport costs for online retailers.