According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade,

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In addition to the fact that marketplaces as a virtual showcase are used mainly by small and medium businesses, more than half of the pick-up points in the country are run by local entrepreneurs, notes Sokolov from AKIT. "In regions where online trading companies open distribution centers, local businesses begin to develop more actively - for example, logistics services or pick-up points," he explains. "This is also beneficial for local businesses that trade on the platform, since logistics become cheaper for them, since they do not have to transport goods to a warehouse in another region."

there are over 1.2 million czech republic whatsapp number database sellers on Russian marketplaces, 80% of whom are small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. Overall, according to AKIT estimates, about 2 million people are employed in e-commerce. "It is unlikely that the legislator aims to limit people's ability to earn a living by starting their own business, but so far that is exactly what the initiative sounds like," summed up Artem Sokolov.

An enviable share
Marketplaces account for 57% of all online sales in Russia, retail trade with retailers' own online stores accounts for 30%, and classic online stores, which usually sell specialized goods, account for 9%. The remaining share is occupied by cross-border companies, AKIT estimated. In monetary terms, the marketplace market at the end of 2022 amounted to 5.7 trillion rubles, at the end of 2023 - about 7.4 trillion rubles, Kutepov cited figures.

Wildberries and Ozon account for about 80% of the marketplaces, according to the FAS. "A dominant position in itself (including market share in the online trade segment) is not a violation," the FAS press service explained to Forbes. But abuse of a dominant position is a reason to take action. However, from March 2022 until the end of 2024, a moratorium on inspections of companies that are in one way or another related to the IT sector is in effect. The FAS is working to remove antimonopoly control from the moratorium. The agency received more than 600 complaints from both consumers and sellers of goods on marketplaces in 2023. In half of the cases, citizens complained about paid delivery, the inability to refuse a product, the imposition of payment for the delivery of low-quality goods, etc. The other half of the complaints are from entrepreneurs about marketplaces abusing their dominant position (imposing unfavorable contract terms, inflating prices for logistics and storage, charging fines for the dimensions of goods, for the lack of labeling, for hacking sellers’ personal accounts, etc.).

Wildberries, Ozon and Lamoda declined to comment. Yandex Market did not respond to Forbes' questions.