Yandex.Money Studied Changes in Russians’ Summer Spending

September 9, 2015

Yandex.Money compared how the online spending habits of users this summer and the previous summer. We analyzed tens of millions of payments made on the more than 75,000 Russian and non-Russian sites that accept payments via Yandex.Money or using payment methods via Yandex Payment Solution.

Russian users have always had a keen interest in Chinese online stores. This summer that interest has grown even bigger. Last summer, customers placed an average of four orders in the period from June to August, whereas this summer that figure rose to five orders for the same time period. Altogether, the number of payments made via Yandex Payment Solution on the Chinese sites has increased elevenfold.

The pattern is similar for Russian online stores. Compared to last year, the average number of orders placed per user rose from two to five for the summer period, while the average payment amount decreased by 10% to 1,400 rubles for payments via Yandex.Money and Yandex Payment Solution.

Despite ruble depreciation, the majority of users have not given up on traveling. The number of users who bought train or plane tickets using Yandex.Money from June to August rose by 50%, and the number of tickets bought increased twofold. The average bill remained unchanged and amounted to 9,500 rubles for a plane ticket and 3,400 rubles for a train ticket.

Russians paid traffic fines, state duties, and tax debts in the summer much more actively than in the spring. Both the number of payers and the number of payments via Yandex.Money increased. The number of traffic fine payments grew by 50%, the number of tax payments increased fourfold, and the number of customs duties paid by individuals doubled compared to the previous summer period.

Russian users also actively paid off their loans. Three times more Yandex.Money users made payments on their loans to banks this summer than in the same period the year before. The average loan payment increased as well: from 3,150 rubles to 4,600 rubles.

This research was conducted based on payments made by Russian users via Yandex Payment Solution. Payment methods included in the Yandex Payment Solution are e-wallets, bank cards, mobile phone accounts, the online banking systems of Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, and Promsvyazbank, and cash via ATMs and mobile retail outlets. The total number of users that pay for goods and services via Yandex.Money and Yandex Payment Solution has increased 2.3 times since the previous summer.