The number of smartphones in Russia sold via the Internet is growing, with the share of online sales rising by 3 percentage points to 17% individually and up to 20% in monetary terms, Izvestia writes citing data provided by GfK.
In addition to the fact that the same smartphone models can cost significantly less than in offline stores, consumers are less in need of salespersons’ services and advice, experts explain. However, in general, the share of online smartphone sales is low due to the inertia of consumers and their cautiousness towards expensive online purchases, market players told the newspaper.
“Today, online shopping has become more convenient. In just a few clicks, a user can find a suitable model, compare prices, arrange payment by installments and order a smartphone and home delivery. In addition, retailers are constantly working to improve the logistics infrastructure, which reduces delivery time substantially,” David Borzilov of Svyaznoy told the paper.
Russians appreciate the opportunity to save time and effort, ordering not only smartphones online but also household appliances, food, clothes, household goods and more, the paper quotes TelecomDaily CEO Denis Kuskov as saying. According to his estimates, Russians will purchase about 35% of smartphones online by 2024.
At the same time, most smartphones are still sold in physical retail, because people are accustomed to seeing everything with their own eyes, says Sergei Polovnikov from Content Review. Online shopping is often uncomfortable for the older generation, he went on to say. A certain distrust of online stores plays its role as well. Many potential customers are worried that they could purchase faulty goods or the seller could disappear, the expert explained.
