The largest Russian online retailer Wildberries studied the purchases of Russians between November 6 to 12 and noted a more than two-fold increase in demand for goods for home holidays compared to October of this year, the company said in a research report made available to TASS on Saturday.
“Between November 6-12, compared to the same week in October, the number of orders of goods for home holidays on Wildberries increased by 148%. The most dynamic growth in demand was for artificial Christmas trees (an increase in the number of orders by almost 23 times) and Christmas tree decorations (by 7 times in the Moscow region, the number of orders for holiday trees increased by 22 times, and in St. Petersburg by 14 times. The most popular models to order are the ones that cost between 8,000 and 15,000 rubles, and 150 to 180 centimeters in height,” the company said.
The demand for portable karaoke microphones increased by 95% and for music speakers by 84%. Acoustic systems became 83% more popular in a week. The company attributes this increase in sales of holiday goods to the restrictions imposed on the operation of clubs, bars and restaurants due to the coronavirus.
“To create a festive atmosphere in an apartment or house, Russians chose floodlights (+ 90%), garlands (+ 437%) and balloons (+ 51%). Holiday sets became more popular by 103%, pinata sales went up by 100%, decorations for bottles and dishes by 328%,” according to the analysts.
Between November 6-12, Russians also actively ordered dishes and accessories for the festive table. Sets for making cocktails became more popular by 162%, for making rolls – by 100%, for fondue – by 121%, decanters for wine – by 71%, ice buckets – by 128%, dishes – by 81%, and glasses – by 77%.
Wildberries operates in eight countries: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. According to the analytical agency InfoLine, Wildberries (the leader of the Russian Internet trade) in H1 2020 ranked seventh among all retailers in Russia in terms of revenue. Wildberries turnover in the first nine months of 2020 increased by 104%, to 285.6 bln rubles.
