The volume of the Russian online trade market in 2022 was 4.98 trillion rubles . This figure includes both private entrepreneurs and large feral stores. The article compares the most popular platforms for promoting online stores so that you can choose the optimal strategy.
First, let’s look at what’s happening in the e-commerce market and what trends are influencing it.
Since 2017, the number of online shoppers in Russia has doubl . At the same time, 60% of residents ag 16 to 55 pay for goods and services online at least twice a year, and a third buy online every week.
Distribution of product categories in e-commerce, according to the Association of Internet Trade Companies
At the same time, over the past year, the picture of platforms through which brands are promot online has chang dramatically. This happen for several reasons:
Foreign brands that left the Russian market vacat niches that domestic producers immiately began to occupy. Many local producers appear in the regions.
Instagram (own by Meta, an organization recogniz as extremist and bann in Russia), which promot small private and local brands, was block in the country.
Due to restrictions on cross-border trade, marketplaces have focus on logistics, thereby attracting buyers and new sellers.
Due to high competition, more and more companies are creating their own websites – this helps develop a brand and differentiate themselves from competitors.
Online store customers are more likely to refuse expensive online purchases in favor of inexpensive ones. Due to this, the number of orders and the average check in online stores are increasing.
Currently, e-commerce companies are actively promoting themselves on three types of platforms, which we will consider:
Social networks have help hundrs of entrepreneurs promote their products. They can be us to develop a brand and sell a product at the same time, but they should not be the only sales channel. Social networks are fragile third-party platforms with their own rules, where sellers are tenants of the sites. Your page can get bann, or, as everyone saw last year, the social network can be block for violating the laws of the country. Any force majeure – and sales will stop. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of social networks in e-commerce.
Advantages
Direct contact with the audience. In social networks, you can directly communicate with customers, see the most popular requests from them, and work through the negative in the comments. Customers have the impression of a one-on-one conversation with the brand, and interest in it grows. Customers who interact with the company on social networks have a 15% higher loyalty level , while such brands have an average 5-10% higher turnover.
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Easier to get feback. A third of buyers trust reviews on social networks rather than retailers. When you interact directly with customers, it’s easier to get feback — if subscribers like the product, they’ll write a few words of gratitude in the comments or share their experience in stories.
Flaws
The audience is limit by the platform. In each of the social networks, the audience is segment (data provid by the ppc.world platform ):
Algorithms may not work in your favor. Some of your posts may be hidden due to the algorithms, and for violating the platform’s policy (it is unlikely that everything will be taken into account), publications will be delet.
It is difficult to promote b2b. This channel comparison with International Brands generally requires an individual approach to promotion, but it is the most difficult to advertise business products in social networks – they simply will not be look for there. Although there are exceptions.
In social networks, you can get closer to your audience, learn their preferences, and improve your product bas on them. This promotion channel works great, but as an additional one, not the main one — the number of restrictions still outweighs the advantages.
Marketplaces
A marketplace is like a shopping mall, only online. Essentially, you rent a site, a “shopping point,” and place your products there. The aggregator takes care of the logistics, and you pay the commission, packaging, and delivery costs.
Advantages
Low entry threshold and quick launch — when the budget is very limit, launch a line on the marketplace. Registration is free, and all you ne is to create an account, sign a contract and upload a product catalog.
Wide geography and large audience. Marketplaces have taken almost half of the market – judging by last year, they have become almost the driving force of e-commerce, improv logistics and expand geography. Is there a person who would not order anything on Ozon, Yandex Market or Wildberries?
No ne to think about storage and delivery to the buyer. The platform will take care of everything or delegate it to transport companies. In any case, minus one reason to worry.
Convenient interface. Marketplaces operate 24/7, regularly updating applications and websites to help users find the necessary products.
Flaws
Commission and delivery costs. They can withhold from 1 to 25% of the revenue from each unit of goods. Also, platforms can charge fines for late deliveries to the warehouse or for errors in documents. Each marketplace has its own conditions.
High competition. Last year, the number of sellers on marketplaces increas threefold . Because of this, it is almost impossible to differentiate phone number qa yourself from competitors in a competitive niche – there can be hundrs of sellers in one product category. In addition, marketplaces have separate blocks “similar products” or “found cheaper” with products from your competitors.
No direct contact with customers. Unlike social networks, marketplaces do not allow you to directly interact with users and form a loyal customer base. Let’s say a customer bought a mug from you – the next time they ne a mug or something else, they can contact another seller.
Own website
Having your own online store with products clearly wins over marketplaces and social networks – this is your personal space, over which you have full control. The site will allow you to organize a sales funnel from attracting a client to repeat purchases.
Advantages
Freom of action. If a marketplace is like a retail outlet in a shopping mall, then a website is your personal shopping mall. It can be dicat to one brand, reveal the advantages of the product and fully capture the attention of users. At the same time, they will not be distract by competitors, as happens in social networks and marketplaces. And with a website, analytics is only in your power. You can study the preferences of the audience and build a client profile.
