ECOMMERCE IN RUSSIA: NATIONAL FEATURES
by Yuri Savva
Russia experiences surprising time. 10 years ago market relations in Russia
only arose. Today Russian companies are already engaged in introduction of
technologies eCommerce and B2B. However economy of Russia has the specificity.
Therefore at introduction of Internets - technologies in the business the
Russian companies collide with additional problems. In this clause we shall
consider features Russian eCommerce.
The mass Internet - market in Russia only begins the existence (to develop).
But his(its) development goes by fast rates. So, if in 1999 we, on statistics
of electronic payment system CyberPlat, had only 20 Internets - shops, now
them 115 and still about 120 are at different stages of connection.
Revolutions in this system quickly grow also: if by October, 1999 they made
only 20 000 USD per one month, in February, 2000 they have exceeded a boundary
50 000 USD per one month.
However level of the incomes of the population in today's Russia is much
lower than in USA, Europe and other advanced countries. The average size of
the incomes per capta of the population makes 30-60 USD a monthly. Therefore
paying capacity demand for services eCommerce at the given moment rather low.
The base of the clients of the Russian Internets - shops is made some by(with)
tens thousand the man. Hence, existence eCommerce in Russia is connected,
first of all, to growth of well-being of the population.
Besides eCommerce assumes use or "of electronic money", or plastic cards,
or, even accounts open in bank. But after financial crisis of August, 1998 of
trust of the Russians to banks and other financial institutions is strongly
undermined. The people prefer to make purchases for cash money, that
considerably reduces common number transactions in Internets - shops. It needs
to note, that the prices in Internets - shops rather frequently are above, and
sometimes and much above, than in usual shops, as they include expenses for
delivery of the goods and costs on realization of electronic payments.
Therefore buyers prefer to spend 1-2 hours of the free time and some tens
cents for a road for visiting usual shop. Scalarce of money, instead of time -
that distinguishes the Russian buyers from American and European. The slogan "
time is money " in Russia does not work yet.
And, at last, backwardness of telecommunication structure entails
overestimate of the prices on services the Internet - providers. The absolute
majority of them (excepting Moscow and some largest cities) prefer to take a
payment from the clients during connection to the Internet and in addition -
for volume of the transmitted and accepted information. The similar price
policy at the marked already scalarce of money does not promote increase of
number of the subscribers of the Internet.
All this does not mean, that the situation in Russia with eCommerce is
hopeless. The planned recently positive tendencies in the Russian economy
promote overcoming of the specified problems.
Besides there are some segments of the Russian market, where eCommerce
became is much more favourable than traditional trade and where the meaning of
the above listed negative factors is not so great. Here it is necessary to
note the market of the real estate in large cities, and as trade in
automobiles, computers, home appliances. On passed November of this year in
St.-Petersburg --The Third Russian conference on eCommerce-- the results of
research devoted to revealing of interest the Russian users of the Internet to
eCommerce were announced. The research is based on the analysis of search
inquiries of the users on a site
www.yandex.ru in autumn of the current year.
Among almost 400 thousand words, which appear in a database of this site, a
word "sale" borrows(occupies) 9 places by quantity(amount) of inquiries, word
"shop" - 25 places, "to buy" - 72, "to sell" - 151, and "purchase" - 343
places. In a combination a word "sale" there are following words (in
decreasing order) more often: "automobile", "real estate", "the railway
tickets", "books", "computers", "currency, "mobile telephones",
"videocartridge". For finding - out of popularity of search inquiries
appropriate to specificity of different groups of the goods, the groups of key
words having relation to those or other electronic shops were analysed.
Distribution of these groups on popularity the following: automobiles both
motorcycles and spare parts to them, products, audio- , video- and
photo-goods, souvenirs, furniture, home appliances, the writing goods,
cosmetics, toy.
At the same time full-function and successful systems eCommerce in Russia is
still absent. It is explained first of all by presence of break between
methodologies and technologies of construction of systems eCommerce. Quickly
mastering new technologies the Russian companies practically do not use
methodology ERP, EDMS and others, becoming already by standards in western
companies. Thus, the Internets - shops did not become while logic development
of business - processes of the Russian companies simply because these
processes are in a stage of formation.
Certainly, with purchase of own experience and study of achievement of the
leaders eCommerce this lack will be overcome. This will promote, in
particular, and specialized exhibition "eCommerce", which will pass in Moscow
in territory Oll-Russian Exibition Centre in December, 2000. The organizing
committee of an exhibition consists of state structures (Ministry of economic
development and trade, Ministry of education, Ministry on communication and
information, Ministry of an industry, science and technologies) and Commercial
and industrial chamber of Russia, which show the large interest in progress of
the perspective projects and new technologies. During realization of an
exhibition the seminars on urgent themes of development eCommerce in Russia
will be carried out. Besides at this exhibition the projects for formation of
an official delegation of Russia on CEBIT-2001 will be selected.
And still, the prospects Russian eCommerce first of all are connected to
successes of the Russian economy - without of the paying capacity buyers even
the best projects will stay only by projects.
Yuri Savva
E-mail: yurisa@ostu.ru
Orel state technical university Orel, Russia Senior lecturer of faculty of
Information systems
Yuri B. Savva is the Senior Lecturer of Faculty of Information Systems of
Orel State Technical University (Russia), Main Expert on Information
Technologies of Orelgipropribor Inc., Independent Expert and Consultant on
CS, DM, KDD, DSS. After graduating from study of Sebastopol State Technical
University and Postgraduate in Institute of Problem of Control of Russian
Academy of Sciences he has 25 years of systems development and integration
experience. He can be reached at yurisa@ustu.ru
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