Wildberries, Ozon face surge in seller lawsuits after Ukrainian drone strikes on warehouses

Two of Russia's largest online marketplaces, Wildberries and Ozon, are experiencing a surge in seller lawsuits following Ukrainian drone strikes on their warehouses, according to the Moscow Times. Between July 15 and September 15, 599 new lawsuits named Wildberries operator RWB LLC as a defendant, a 53.6% increase compared to the same period last year.

Ozon's main legal entity, Internet Solutions LLC, faced 236 new lawsuits during the same period, more than double the figure from the previous year. Many claims were filed by small businesses selling goods online. The International Association for the Development of Marketplaces and Entrepreneurs estimated that over 400,000 sellers were affected by attacks on logistics facilities, with losses between 600 billion and 800 billion rubles ($7.1 billion-$9.5 billion).

Russia’s Association of Digital Platforms stated that fewer than 1% of active entrepreneurs utilizing marketplaces take their disputes to court. Some lawsuits against Wildberries may be connected to payment delays, according to Mikhail Boldyrev, head of Digitalization practice at Russian consulting firm KSK Group. Wildberries attributed the delays to DDoS attacks on its Seller Balance payment system, while the company claimed most merchants received their money.

However, a survey of nearly 2,000 sellers found that 95.6% did not receive payments for goods sold during the settlement week. Payments problems had been an issue before the attacks on Wildberries' systems.