What did we know until now about the advancement of e-commerce in Russia? Nothing, or almost nothing, but since June of last year, we can know much more. This was ensured by the Russian eMarket Participants National Association (NAUET), collaborating with the European agency eMarket Services Research, which published the first up-to-date information in this field. These do not yet constitute a comprehensive report, but they contain concrete examples in the B2B, B2C, and B2G segments.
B2B – Business to Business
In this segment, trading platforms are mainly being developed. In 2003, their number increased significantly, particularly in the energy and metallurgical sectors. On most of them, buyers and sellers place their offers and proposals, and analytical information is presented. The only exception is the B2B-Energo platform, which also allows for changing auction prices. The eMatrix platform, on the other hand, specializing in computer equipment trading, has slightly less functionality than others, but a huge number of buyers and sellers. Examples of the largest trading platforms operate in heavy industry (see table).
There are also other electronic platforms created by large Russian enterprises, for example in the fields of medicine, agriculture, steel, and petrochemistry. The total value of electronic transactions via platforms reached over 300 million dollars in 2003.
What most hinders faster and much wider reach of using electronic trading platforms? There are several reasons:
• insufficient promotion and encouragement from their organizers among market participants
• low level of usability of these systems, expressed in insufficiently precise product classifications, supplier and recipient registers and codes, and search functions
• legal problems, especially difficulties with authenticating electronic documents via electronic signature
• lack of infrastructure enabling user identification
• lack of transaction confidentiality
B2C – Business to Consumer
• legal problems, especially difficulties with authenticating electronic documents via electronic signature
• lack of infrastructure enabling user identification
• lack of transaction confidentiality
B2C – Business to Consumer
The development of e-commerce and online stores in the B2C segment in the last few years has received a new impulse in the form of increased consumer demand, supported by credit facilities. The total estimate of the value of e-commerce turnover in the B2C segment in 2003 amounted to almost 500 million dollars, which accounted for about 10-15 percent of the entire retail trade turnover.
E-commerce most often includes goods such as computer equipment, audiovisual equipment, books, video products, and music.
The article comes from the magazine “e-Fakty” 1/2005.