Race to become Russia’s Amazon is heating up

Employees preparing packages at an Amazon.com Inc fulfilment center in Kegworth, UK. Russia has more Internet users than Amazon’s No. 2 market, Germany. Yet entrenched consumer habits and logistical challenges have stymied e-commerce in the country and discouraged foreign companies like Amazon from doing business there. — Bloomberg

Covid-19 has driven a projected 10 million more Russian consumers online, accelerating the race to become the country’s answer to Amazon.com Inc.

The chance to dominate e-commerce in the world’s biggest country is still very much up for grabs. Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, controls only 13% of the market, even after its sales doubled in the first nine months of the year. By contrast, Amazon accounts for about half of the US market.