The Habit to Buy Online is Here to Stay

Online Businesses Continue to Grow After the End of Lockdown

Russians continued to pay for various goods and services online even after the containment measures were lifted. Our analytics have studied payments conducted on websites and in apps in March, April, and July 2020. Currently, more than 120K websites across the globe use Yandex.Checkout (the company belongs to Sberbank and is part of its ecosystem).

Positive Experience: food and shopping

It looks like the lockdown helped customers develop a strong habit to order food and groceries online. In April 2020, a weekly turnover of online payments in this segment was by 70% greater compared to the pre-covid numbers in March. After the containment measures were lifted in June, this indicator didn’t change: next month, in July, the turnover of food purchases was still by 70% greater than in March. During the lockdown, the average transaction for food and meal delivery has doubled, from $8.5 in pre-covid January-March to $17 in April. After the end of lockdown, in July, the amount of an average transaction remained the same, $17.

During the stay-at-home period, customers actively ordered goods on delivery, and this trend continued in summer. In July and the first week of August, the turnover in this segment was greater by 41% than in March, while the number of transactions has grown by 30%. However, the amount of an average transaction in online stores was almost on the same level ($36) as before and after the lockdown.

Analytics noted significant increase of first-timers to the e-commerce. Prior to the lockdown, conservative customers preferred to choose goods at the brick-and-mortar stores and then order it online, but now more and more customers experience the full cycle online: from searching, comparing, and making the decision, to order and payment. The spike in demand for online shopping was also noted in the recent DataInsight study: 10M new customers in Russia have tried online shopping for the first time during the lockdown.

Utile cum dulci: education, entertainment, and gaming

During the lockdown, the demand for educational and entertainment content has significantly increased. In July, a weekly turnover in the segment of music and video streaming services was by 8% greater than during the first week of lockdown (March, 30th–April, 5th). The number of transactions has grown by 21%. Overall turnover value in July was by 21% greater than in March, while the number of transactions has increased by 13%. Meanwhile, the amount of average transaction hasn’t changed, still accounting for $10.

Consumers also started to take a keen interest in the online education. The weekly turnover on websites offering courses, trainings, and tutorials in July was by 14% greater than in March. The amount of average transaction at these platforms has also gained 14% and now stands at $50. It’s worth noting that in the first weeks of lockdown, this indicator has fallen, while the number of transactions has spiked. As the safety measures gradually decreased, the number of transactions has slightly declined and the amount of an average transaction has gradually increased and now sits at the pre-covid values. Thus, as the turnover at these platforms has increased by 5–10% in the beginning of the lockdown, the values were remained at the lockdown levels.

Videogames and related content, on the other hand, have lost their popularity after the offline world has reopened. In July, the weekly turnover of gaming platforms was on average by 32% less that in the peak week of April 13th to April 19th. The number of transactions has decreased by a heavy 51%, but an average transaction has seen an increase of 38%, up to $8. In comparison with February and March, this indicator in July is greater by 28%.

As the stay-at-home directives were lifted and people started to return to the pre-pandemic whereabouts, the interest for entertainment events has started to rise up. In July the weekly turnover on websites and in apps selling tickets to such events was by 47% greater than in April. Nevertheless, this indicator is far from the total recovery to the pre-covid levels in February: in July it was smaller by 48%, and the number of transactions was smaller by 47%. The amount of an average transaction for the events tickets hasn’t changed over time and accounts for $31.

Analysts noted that online sales of educational and entertainment content continued to grow after the lockdown was lifted but the growth dynamics suggest that consumers are now more particular about their choices. The segment of offline entertainment events has started to demonstrate the positive trend as well but its recovery has just begun.

About the Study

The company conducted a study of payments made via the service within the following time periods: March 2nd to March 29th, March 30th to April 5th, and June 29th to August 2nd 2020. The first week of lockdown is considered to be the week of March 30th to April 5th in accordance with the federal directives.

About the company

Yandex.Checkout is the leading service for accepting online payments in Russia (37% market share), according to a 2019 survey by MARC, and currently serves 120K merchants from 75 countries. The service provides about 20 payment methods, including bank cards, e-wallets, contactless payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, invoicing, etc. Yandex.Checkout also offers installment payment with instant online issuance, as well as B2B payments for transactions between legal entities. Other businesses include anti-fraud protection service, marketing lead generation business and the Market with various services for the merchants. Since July 23rd 2020 100% of shares of Yandex.Money (parent company for Yandex.Checkout) belongs to Sberbank and is a part of its ecosystem.