The drug transactions plaguing some Moscow neighborhoods begin in drug supermarkets hidden online in the deepest reaches of the “dark web.” Here, hundreds of eager suppliers compete to satisfy their customers’ sophisticated palettes. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are the legal tender here. In exchange, buyers are issued GPS coordinates to the spot where their purchases await …
Russia’s illegal drug trade thrives in the dark web Read More
After almost three years of fall or stagnation, Western retailers’ sales to Russian online consumers are resuming – in certain cases dramatically. This new trend was discussed earlier this month at the Global E-Commerce Summit in Barcelona in a special Russia round table, where Russian and international players shared their most recent sales data. Thus ASOS …
Western e-commerce companies see cross-border sales to Russia resume dramatically Read More
On June 27-28 DELIVER, an invite-only event dedicated to international e-commerce logistics and European policy making, will hold its second edition in Berlin’s Funkhaus. This even will gather prominent retailers from all continents with a focus on Europe’s largest e-commerce markets (UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Benelux, Nordics). The organizers expect some 800 delegates from 50 …
In the span of six years — from 2010 to 2016 — the volume of the Russian e-travel market grew tenfold, hitting 740 billion rubles last year (nearly $11.2 billion at the average exchange rate), according to research agency Data Insight cited by Hotelier.pro. Online sales of transportation services have been the main growth driver, while …
Russian online travel market reached $11.2 billion in 2016 Read More
Runa Capital, a venture fund with Russian roots operating globally, has just participated in a $4 million seed round for SimpliField. Based in Lille and Paris, France, this startup has developed a SaaS solution which it claims can change “the way retailers sell and deliver great customer experience.” The French investment fund CapHorn also took …
Runa Capital invests in French startup SimpliField to “reinvent retail” Read More
Telegram, the international messenger launched by Pavel Durov in 2013, is now bringing support for payments via chatbots, nearly two years after introducing them. “Imagine a world where you can order pizza, pay for a pair of shoes, hire a cab, or refill your subway pass — all in a few button taps on Telegram,” suggests Telegram …
Illustrating the appeal of the Russian e-commerce market, IKEA Russia has made a substantial part of its assortment available online to the inhabitants of Moscow, Saint Petersburg and their surrounding areas, as well as of several cities of Siberia, the Far East, the Central and Northwestern federal districts. Launched in late April, online sales will be expanded later …
IKEA launches online sales and builds giant distribution center in Russia Read More
AliExpress, the Alibaba subsidiary which has overwhelmed the Russian e-commerce scene with cheap Chinese products, is still expanding aggressively in the country. The Chinese company, which opened its platform to Russian merchants in late 2015, has announced that domestic deliveries will be performed in just one day. At start, the one-day delivery standard will apply …
With one-day delivery, AliExpress competes with domestic Russian e-commerce players Read More
From June 12 to 14 in Barcelona, the Global E-Commerce Summit (GES) will gather hundreds of participants from more 50 countries. The rich conference program (“From ‘Now’ and ‘Wow’ to ‘How’”) will explore how developing technologies, policies and business models can meet consumer expectations and shape the future of digital commerce. On Day 2 (June …
Data Insight, a specialized research agency, and Ruward, a publisher of industry rankings, have released their ranking of Russian e-commerce sites in 2016. Sites are ranked by sales volumes, number of orders and average order value as estimated by the research agency and, in certain cases, confirmed by the companies. Fashion site Wildberries.ru jumps from second place …
Local fashion site Wildberries tops Russian e-commerce ranking Read More
Today the LSE-listed Russian Internet group Mail.Ru Group announced the acquisition of food delivery startup ZakaZaka. This is an all-cash transaction which values ZakaZaka at $20 million. Signed on April 28, the deal is not subject to any third-party approvals. With 2,600 connected restaurants and 126,000 orders in March 2017, ZakaZaka claims to be the number two …
3 deals in 6 months: Mail.Ru Group consolidates Russian food delivery market Read More
As instant messengers tend to integrate more e-commerce and payment functions, Viber is planning to launch in Russia in the course of this year the new commercial and payment functions which are currently being tested in the USA. The news was reported by Evgeniy Roshchupkin, Global Director of Marketing Activations at Viber, in an industry …
Viber’s e-commerce features to be launched in Russia in the course of this year Read More
