Ecommerce Website Success Checklist For Russia

Ecommerce is becoming a favorite business model for companies around the world and Russia is no exception to it as well. Even though the world has seen the substantial growth of eCommerce, Russia is still a bit behind when it comes to the retail eCommerce industry. However, the internet penetration rate in Russia is as high as 85% and smartphone usage is over 66%.

Thanks to this rise of the internet, eCommerce in Russia, as per Statista, has effectively penetrated at a rate of 50.2% & will generate about $31 billion in revenue by 2025. Building an eCommerce store is not that easy and not that hard if you know what things to consider. And this article perfectly delves deep into providing you the much-needed information to start a successful eCommerce website in Russia.

Ecommerce Website Success Checklist For Russia

Here, we have presented a step-by-step guide for businesses who want to expand in Russia or are looking to start a fresh eCommerce website in Russia. So, without further delay, let’s get started.

1. Gather Market Insights:

In the last few years, eCommerce has been on the rise because Russian consumers took a little longer to adopt the trend of online shopping. This low adoption rate is attributed to a low level of consumer trust, poor delivery network, preference to Cash on Delivery mode over online payments, & difficulty in returns.

The millennial generation in Russia was the early adopters of the online shopping trend. However, the pandemic has changed the scenario and now a broader range of consumers are shopping online. Due to that, the previously forecasted eCommerce growth rates have been upgraded. So, you must take note of these trends and forecast about Russia, and based on that mold your eCommerce business plan.

2. Find Your Niche:

Finding your niche is the most crucial step many entrepreneurs fail to consider. You must not choose a niche that has a too broad audience or has zero interest of consumers. The ideal niche for starting an eCommerce website is one that’s trending but isn’t popular yet. Also, consider starting an eCommerce venture in a niche that you have some knowledge or are passionate about.

Another approach to finding a niche is to take a data-driven approach where you find a problem for which people desperately need a solution. Find such a problem for which an easy solution is not available & people can spend a bit money to have a proper solution. Once you find a product or service that solves it, what you now have to do is convince your target audience that your offerings will put an end to their troubles.

Other than that, you can also go for evergreen niches like diet & weight loss, fitness, self-development, making money, gaming, etc. You can narrow down these niches further by using keywords and find specific sub-niches for starting an eCommerce business.

3. Establishing Your Brand:

Once you are done with finding a niche for your eCommerce website, next thing is to establish your brand. This involves coming up with a memorable & relevant name to designing a logo & registering your company.

There are several ways to decide what’s your brand name going to be. You can name your brand after your or your loved one’s name if it sounds great. But if you want to get creative with naming your eCommerce brand, then consider making a list of brand names with words that relate to your niche & choose the one that best suits it.

After taking care of the brand name, now it’s time to design a logo for your brand. The logo must be designed in a way that represents your brand & how you want customers to see it. The last thing to do in this step is to register your brand. Doing so will legally secure the personal & business assets of your brand.

4. Building Your eCommerce Website:

Since you have decided on the brand, it is obvious that the brand name will become the domain name for your website. Purchase the domain name with .ru extension for your brand from online domain registrars. Consider purchase .com only when you plan to expand your business to other regions of the world.

Once that is sorted, the next thing to take care of is finding a hosting provider to host your website on servers. This is an essential step as your hosting environment will govern how your website is accessed by users and how long does it take to load. So, find a reliable, safe & secure hosting provider in Russia.

After taking care of that, also find a reliable eCommerce development agency to turn your website into an online store. You can outsource the development work or find a local company whichever works best for you.

5. Sourcing Your Products:

Until now, we have decided the niche for your eCommerce website, establishing the brand, and building it. But we are leaving out the essential part here. And it’s the products that you would sell on your eCommerce website. Do you plan to manufacture your own products, or will you source the products from a supplier?

You can take the matter into your hands to manufacture the products as it gives you better control over the quality of the product being produced. Also, this option can be cost-effective if you sustain your business for the long term. But you have to deal with production limitations, scalability & other factors.

If you can’t manufacture products on your own, then the next best option is to find manufacture or supplier for the same. You can even source the products from outside your region like India or China which can cost less. However, sourcing your products, in general, can be a pricier option. So, you must decide which option is it going to be, manufacturing on your own or sourcing it from other manufacturers.

6. Receiving Payments

Your store now is up & running for customers to purchase the products you are selling. But when it comes to purchasing, receiving payment is a vital part you need to take care of. As mentioned, consumers here have a low level of trust, so you must offer payment methods like Cash on Delivery to build & gain the trust of consumers in your brand.

Cash on Delivery is the most preferred option in Russia over other online payment methods. Still, you must integrate other options like bank cards & digital wallets. It’s important to provide your consumers with options to choose from & decide their preference on their own. Not offering the most preferred options in a given market will be like the exclusion of a certain proportion of the market resulting in low sales and revenue generation.

Final Thoughts

The world of the internet is getting bigger and bigger day by day. Thanks to this expansion of the internet, it has become easier for brands to expand into any region of the world including Russia. As the eCommerce penetration in Russia is expanding gradually, it presents a perfect opportunity for brands to reap the benefits. But starting an eCommerce business in Russia & be successful in it is not that simple. That’s why we provide you with an eCommerce website success checklist for Russia.

Need to develop an eCommerce website for the Russian Market? M-Connect Media is a one-stop solution to hire for all your eCommerce website development needs. We have a team of apt developers with ironclad proficiency to render immaculate eCommerce solutions that aids to start your online venture. Contact us to discuss things further and kick start your project with us now.