New seller influx to Russia’s marketplaces fell 27% this summer, according to Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry

In the summer of 2023, the number of new sellers joining Russian online marketplaces experienced a significant decline, dropping by 27% from June to August compared to the same period in 2022, according to the Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). MoySklad, a firm tracking data from 50,000 companies, observed an even steeper reduction of 53%.

As of early September, the CCI estimated there were around 800,000 sellers on Russian platforms, while the Federal Tax Service reported a figure of 850,000. The marketplaces themselves do not publish data on new seller counts. RWB, the parent company of Wildberries, reported a 12% increase in sellers from January to August. Ozon stated that it currently has 750,000 sellers on its platform and noted no decline.

Yandex Market reported growth in sellers, particularly in clothing, home goods, and children's products categories. The Association of Suppliers of Goods for Trade on Electronic Platforms cited Ukrainian drone attacks on warehouses, affecting approximately 400,000 sellers, which may have discouraged new sellers and prompted existing ones to alter their storage systems.

MoySklad saw new seller sign-ups increase by 23% in August compared to July. Experts cited market saturation, rising competition, costs for sellers, and cooling consumer demand as the primary reasons for the slowdown in new sellers, though the attacks were acknowledged as a contributing factor. By summer's end, the share of sellers on the Russian online retailer Wildberries working under the "fulfillment by seller" model rose from 55.1% to 97.4%, and on Ozon, it increased from 63.3% to 73.1%.

Meanwhile, Yandex KIT recorded a 59% increase in new independent online stores with sales in August compared to July. The e-commerce market itself remains robust, with Russia's online retail turnover reaching 8.4 trillion rubles between January and July, marking an 18.4% increase year over year. Experts predict further growth, with the market expected to reach 15.8 trillion rubles by the end of 2026.