As Chinese players are making their move into Russia’s booming cross-border e-commerce scene, AliExpress, the B2C platform of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has become Russia’s most visited e-commerce platform and one of the country’s top 10 most visited websites.
This past July, the site attracted no fewer than 15.9 million users of 12 to 64 years of age from Russia – almost doubling the next most visited player Ozon.ru, according to TNS, a market research firm that is part of Kantar.
Since January 2013, the retailer’s Russian audience has increased five-fold, while more than 20 million packages from AliExpress sellers were sent to Russia in 2013.
The platform partly localized its offering in 2012, seeing surging expansion on the back of strong demand for low-cost products since. A wide array of goods in the lowest price segments, partnerships with several key Russian payment providers, and a strong social media presence have boosted AliExpress to its present heights.
Also contributing to the platform’s success has been its buyer protection program, alleviating consumer concerns regarding Chinese product quality.
One of the primary obstacles to improving the shopping experience for Russian consumers has been the complex search tools on the site and the vast product range on display. The company launched an array of new search options in 2013 to help ease this process, but translating and integrating the offerings of Chinese merchants quickly and clearly remains a challenge.
Slow shipment via the Russian Post is another issue, with parcels taking weeks or months to reach their addressee and cases of loss or theft. The Russian and the Chinese postal operators recentlyexpanded their partnership to enhance deliveries. Meanwhile, Aliexpress is considering striking a deal with Pony Express, a major Russian delivery operator, as reported by online e-commerce news site Oborot.ru.
According to a research study by East-West Digital News, the Russian cross-border e-commerce market reached an estimated $3 billion last year. It is set to almost double this year, remaining largely unaffected by international tensions. AliExpress and eBay dominate the market with up to 80% combined market share, according to expert estimates.
This article first appeared in East-West Digital News, the international online resource on Russian digital industries.