Ozon.ru, a leading Russian online retailer, launched a new social commerce application on Facebook yesterday, making its entire catalog available through the social networking site, along with a number of integrative social and viral features. Users can let the app post status messages, notes, photos, and videos on their behalf or opt to keep their activity private.
Advanced filtering functions are also offered to make product search among Ozon’s 1.5 million items easier. After making selections, online shoppers need to go to the Ozon.ru website to finalize their purchase.
The new application comes as Ozon’s second attempt to develop sales through social networks. Last year, Ozon’s products were made available through the Search by Product function on Vkontakte.ru, Russia’s leading social network, which at the time of launch counted over 100 million accounts. Though more specific information on the performance of the application has been hard to come by, East-West Digital News has learned from sources in the industry that the project achieved a significant measure of success, including a monthly turnover ranging in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Vkontakte was required to cancel the Ozon experiment this year, however, as well as practically all its social commerce activities, due to new requirements of new federal legislation on payments adopted in July.
An international ambition
The new application, designed by Magazinga, is available to all e-merchants for free with a per click fee going to Magazinga as well as a fee for each purchase. The app will be deployed on leading Russian social networks Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki in a matter of weeks, Magazinga PR manager Maxim Rossoshanskiy told East-West Digital News. “E-commerce sites can have their offers displayed on any other type of website too.”
Magazinga has located its solution in Amazon’s cloud to ensure scalability and efficient database updates. The company has plans to offer its app on foreign markets as well, including those of Russia’s former Soviet neighbors and markets in Asia and Latin America, as soon as next year.
One of the first social commerce applications provider in Russia, Magazinga – formerly known as Emegamall – received funding earlier this year from Softline Venture Partners.
