Summer sees sharp drop in new sellers on Russian e-commerce platforms

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry reports that new seller sign-ups on Russian online marketplaces dropped 27% from June to August compared with the same period last year, and the data service MoySklad recorded a 53% decline. The chamber estimates roughly 800,000 sellers on Russian platforms, while the Federal Tax Service puts the figure at 850,000. Individual platforms give mixed signals: Wildberries’ parent RWB says its seller base grew 12% since January, Ozon claims 750,000 active sellers with no decline, and Yandex Market notes growth especially in clothing, home goods and children’s products.

Experts link the slowdown mainly to market saturation, rising competition and costs, and cooling consumer demand, noting that Ukrainian drone attacks on warehouses affected about 400,000 sellers and may have deterred new entrants. The share of “fulfillment by seller” models rose sharply on Wildberries and Ozon, and Yandex KIT saw a 59% jump in new independent online stores in August. Despite fewer newcomers, online retail turnover reached 8.4 trillion rubles from January to July, up 18.4% year-on-year, with expectations of another 20% growth by the end of 2026.