How the «national week off» in Russia affects online businesses: Yandex.Checkout study

April 10, 2020

Last week, Russia had a national non-holiday week off, which demanded strong self-isolation measures from people and businesses. Grocery stores and paid TV providers experienced the largest growth in turnover of online payments. Tourism, entertainment ticket sales, and personal services, in turn, demonstrated the most significant decrease. Yandex.Checkout studied online payments between March 30th and April 5th.

Food

The number of online orders at cafes and restaurants has increased by 78% in the last week off in comparison with the standard working week of February 24th to March 1st, 2020 (we’ll call it the zero week from now on). Last week, the turnover has increased by 26%, but the average transaction value has dropped by 29%: customers order more frequently yet for smaller amounts. Online payments at grocery stores have increased by 58% in comparison with the zero week, the turnover has increased by 43%, but an average transaction has decreased by 9%.

Entertainment education and TV

Last week, the most significant turnover growth was attributed to paid TV providers: 93% in comparison with the zero week. The number of online payments made in favor of such companies has grown by 69%, while the average transaction has grown by 14%. The number of payments to educational platforms (online courses, training, and masterclasses) within the same period has increased by 64%. However, the turnover has increased only by 5%, while the average transaction has decreased by 36%. The reason behind this is most likely the fact that customers chose either low-cost options or free (or almost free) trial periods. Many online platforms offered 1-ruble subscriptions during the self-isolation period. From March 30th to April 5th, gaming services also demonstrated positive upward dynamics: the number of transactions has increased by 29% and the turnover has grown by 19%.

Personal Services

The demand for personal services such as repairs, cleaning, hairdressing, massage, and manicure at home has decreased. The number of transactions on websites offering such services has decreased by 31%, and the turnover has decreased by 52% in comparison with the zero week. Services for property rent have also suffered the decline: 74% in the number of transactions, 65% in turnover. The turnover for platforms selling concert, cinema, and theater tickets has dropped by 65%. The largest decline was observed in the tourism segment, with 85% decrease in the number of transactions and 83% decrease in turnover.

«Generally, the fall and growth of different segments of e-commerce are easily explained given the recent events. Customers cancel their traveling plans and spend time at home, while looking for food delivery services and entertainment content providers. Still, there are some curious trends. For example, the number of transactions towards charities has increased by 13%, with a 27% increase in turnover. In these new circumstances, people still try to help others, which is a remarkable tendency,» says Anastasia Fatkulina, analyst at Yandex.Checkout.

About study

Yandex.Checkout conducted a study of payments made via the service within two time periods: March 30th to April 5th and February 24th to March 1st 2020. As of now, Yandex.Checkout serves 120K websites across the globe.