{
  "id": 5531661,
  "title": "Groceries and alcohol make up a growing share of spending at Russian malls",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/groceries-and-alcohol-make-up-a-growing-share-of-spending-at-russian",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-04T09:37:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/09/04/groceries-and-alcohol-make-up-a-growing-share-of-spending-at-russian-malls"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russian shopping malls are increasingly driven by grocery and liquor sales, according to a report from the business daily Kommersant. Data from Sampa, the operator of Sberbank's malls, shows that grocery stores' share of visitors' spending increased from 22% to 24%, while non-food purchases dropped from 8% to 5% over the past year. Food-service outlets' share of spending fell to 6%. This trend is corroborated by Russia's state statistics agency, Rosstat. Experts quoted by Kommersant suggest that the rising grocery spending reflects declining consumer purchasing power and a shift towards essential categories. A side effect of this shift is a decline in overall mall turnover, including at grocery stores. Meduza, the outlet behind this story, adheres to strict editorial standards and employs AI tools to ensure accurate and timely reporting. For more exclusive English-language content, readers are encouraged to subscribe to Meduza's newsletter.",
  "summary": "Grocery stores and liquor stores account for most of the money spent by visitors to large shopping malls in Russia’s European part, the Russian business daily Kommersant reports.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}