The latest research data from Yandex Pay shows that the number of purchases from China by Russian increased by 3.5 times over last summer while the value of transactions with Chinese retailers on Yandex Pay increased by 3.3 times.
In the past year, the number of Russian customers in Chinese e-commerce platforms increased 2.8 times, individual purchases increased by 20%, overall purchases (including wholesale, etc.) increased 3.5 times, and the size of the average individual purchase stayed stable at 579 rubles (US$10)
It is noteworthy that the number of Russian shoppers peaked in July, and they were concentrated in central Russia, the Volga River Basin, and the Federal Southern District. Most paid for purchases with bank cards, cash, or mobile payment apps.
Analysts from Yandex also looked at search results and buying habits and found that the most popular products were gaming controllers, but sales of these products fell off by 70% in August as the summer heat faded. Behind gaming controllers, Xiaomi phones were the second-most common product and were well-received by Russian consumers all summer.
In June, people purchased large numbers of the Mi-5; by July, they were keen on the Note 4. Analysts believe that the main reason for Xiaomi’s popularity was that its stocks in Russia increased and availability was resumed. The third most popular products were earphones, for which the demand was uniformly high and unaffected by season.
With the end of summer approaching, Russian users’s equipment purchases on Taobao have fallen, and they can only rarely find the exact models of graphics cards and other equipment that they seek. After hitting three-digit sales in July, it’s likely that sales of graphics cards will fall by 50% or more in August.