Russian e-commerce will lose $4.8 billion to the drone campaign against its warehouses, analysts estimate
Analysts cut a whole year's growth forecast for Russian online retail by a fifth, and blamed the strikes alone.
Russian e-commerce is projected to suffer a loss of $4.8 billion due to Ukrainian drone strikes on the warehouses of the country's largest online marketplaces, according to research firm Data Insight. This equates to a loss of 400 million orders and 400 billion rubles ($4.8 billion) in revenue for the year. The impact extends beyond the companies directly affected, as sellers are reducing their presence on the platforms and Wildberries is experiencing payout delays, causing some sellers to exit.
Ukraine's drone campaign has expanded from targeting military installations to infrastructure that supports the war effort, and major online marketplaces are caught in this crossfire. Analysts estimate that Wildberries will lose a fifth to over half of its network and main hubs, with damage potentially totaling 147 to 280 billion rubles ($1.7–3.3 billion) for the company that operates Wildberries.
Sellers have provisionally lost 445 to 507 billion rubles ($5.3–6 billion). The market's growth forecast has been reduced by 20% to 9.6 billion orders and 15 trillion rubles ($178 billion) in sales. The strikes began on Wildberries' warehouses on July 18 and on Ozon's on August 25, causing delays and cancellations of orders. Wildberries' founder noted that standard insurance policies do not cover drone-strike risk, and Ozon has informed sellers that losses from military action are an entrepreneurial risk not covered by insurance.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
