Moscow e-commerce sales jump 40% during coronavirus lockdown

The volume of online sales in the Russian capital grew rapidly in March, reaching 16 billion rubles (almost $218 million), according to the official Moscow mayor’s office website.

The figure represents a 38.2 percent increase from February and almost half of the total turnover for the first quarter of 2020.

“Moscow’s e-commerce market is actively developing. Since March 2019, its volume has grown by 6.8 percent to make up almost a quarter of the entire Russian internet trading market, or 24 percent,” said Moscow Deputy Mayor Vladimir Efimov.

Traditional network retailers of grocery and non-grocery goods have launched large-scale online sales and delivery programs in the city since the beginning of April. Statistics show their average daily turnover for the week from April 20 to 26 reached 5.4 billion rubles ($74 million), up 5.6 percent from a week earlier. 

Small- and medium-sized enterprises can take advantage of a special subsidy for the promotion of goods through online trading platforms and online food delivery services.

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