Economist explains whether marketplaces will become shopping mall killers

Muscovite, young doctor Alina, who works a lot, is one of those who has completely switched to marketplaces.

— Firstly, I hate going to shopping malls where there are a lot of people, I start getting a headache, — the girl explained to us. — My eyes run wild: so many things around! Secondly, going to the mall, walking along the hangers and choosing things — it takes a lot of time. That’s why it’s much more convenient for me to sit at home on the couch and browse through the offers of marketplaces. You can see everything in the pictures, and you get the specific thing you need at the moment, and nothing extra.

For example, I needed winter boots now, and I chose six pairs of different models. And there are famous brands on the marketplace. I have a post-payment system. I came to the pick-up point (PP), tried on all the pairs, chose two and paid for them. They are a famous brand. One cost almost 6,000 rubles, the other - 11,195 rubles. I think that you can buy things cheaper on marketplaces than in regular stores. I haven't bought clothes and other items offline for a long time - I only go to stores for groceries.

…For the elderly, marketplaces have also become a real salvation. Those of them who have mastered the computer and the Internet have also switched to electronic shopping, because there is no need to go to different retail outlets around the city for this or that product, everything is concentrated in one place - on the phone or computer, and orders can be picked up almost in your home or a neighboring one (there are now as many points as there are "uncut dogs"), just go downstairs!

This format certainly has its drawbacks, as everyone who uses it knows. Items may arrive in poor condition, torn, broken, etc., and then you have to refuse them, which is very inconvenient. Especially if this or that item, product was needed on that day and no later.

Everyone knows that marketplaces with their clever advertising policies force people to make a lot of unconscious, spontaneous purchases. Sometimes it is very difficult to stop when you are “helpfully” given more and more new products, and it seems that you need this and that... In order to stop, even entire manuals are being developed by psychologists. Marketplaces can very quickly turn a person into a shopaholic. And that is exactly what they want.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, more than 84% of Russians already make purchases on marketplaces (but this does not mean that they only buy there, this is a potential percentage of the audience of marketplace buyers). This trend is especially noticeable in small towns, where the largest marketplaces have come to pick-up points. If before they said: “What is the difference between a village and a village? - the presence of a church. And what is the difference now? - the presence of a pick-up point.” Marketplaces are rapidly gaining a position in the market. Associate Professor of the Basic Department of Trade Policy at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Svetlana Ilyashenko told MK correspondent about this in an interview.

— How has the number of buyers in online and offline trade changed?

— According to the Association of Internet Trade Companies (AITC), from January to September 2024, the turnover of online trade amounted to 6.2 trillion rubles, which is 43% more than for the same period a year earlier, — the expert says. — But still, the vast majority of buyers actively combine offline and online trade formats, the share of which has more than doubled over the past five years and is 81.5% (the remaining 18.5% go only to “pure offline”). And the share of those who make purchases exclusively in regular stores is decreasing every year.

— But still, there are advantages to buying things in regular stores. Which ones would you highlight?

— The key advantage of offline trading is the personal contact of the buyer with the product and the opportunity to thoroughly examine it, and, for example, for clothing and footwear sellers this is especially important, since these product groups have the highest percentage of product returns. If you look at the statistics of marketplaces, the percentage of non-purchase of goods from the clothing and footwear categories is on average 60%, sometimes reaching 80%, since in addition to objective reasons for refusing to buy (the product did not fit in size, style, etc.), the buyer may not like the quality of the materials, the density of the fabric, etc.

In addition, not even the most detailed product card with photos and a thorough description will be able to convey, for example, the texture of the fabric or assess the fit of the shoes on the foot. Only an offline fitting will show how the clothes fit and whether they are the right size, whether the shoes are comfortable to wear.

Also, online buyers often face the situation where they have to order several items of different sizes at once, and after trying them on, return what doesn't fit. This often happens because different manufacturers, with the same size grid, sew items using structurally different patterns, and some manufacturers also take into account the average anthropometric parameters of their target audience in a specific sales region. That's why there are items of the same size that are "small" or "large".

But the buyer will only find out after trying it on.

- But you can also try everything on at the pick-up point...

— If in a regular store it is enough to reach out and take a product of a different size from the shelf, then in online trading the buyer may be faced, firstly, with the need to make an advance payment for the order, and secondly, with the loss of part of the money for return shipping.

For example, the rules for using the trading platform of the largest Russian marketplace state that when a buyer returns or refuses a product of proper quality, he enters into an agreement with the marketplace for the provision of a service for delivering the product back to the seller of the product or to the marketplace warehouse. Moreover, when returning or refusing several units of goods, the cost of such a service is charged for each unit of goods. As a result, the buyer is faced with a virtually paid fitting of clothes and shoes, which, of course, is unthinkable in a regular store.

We would like to add that, for example, many would never buy furniture on marketplaces: in this category it is very important to, as they say, touch, lie down, sit down, and so on.

Svetlana Ilyashenko noted another, perhaps key advantage of a regular store: after all, there is a much lower risk for the buyer to purchase counterfeit or falsified products.

— If an entrepreneur sells counterfeit or low-quality products in a regular store, the buyer can file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor, and the regulatory authorities will begin to look into the situation, to the point that the batch of goods can be seized and trading activities suspended, — she continues. — In online trading, and especially on marketplaces, the buyer is left alone with a product card. How to assess the quality of a product without seeing either the product itself or the documents confirming its quality — the question remains unresolved.

And the main advantage of buying in regular stores remains the immediate availability of goods: come, see and buy. No need to place an order, wait for the delivery of the goods, but you can enjoy the purchase here and now.

The economist also said that nowadays regular stores with sales areas are doing something to lure customers away from marketplaces.

According to a survey conducted by ROMIR in 2024, 40% of respondents noted that loyalty systems have become more important when choosing a store over the past year. In addition to the usual discounts on goods, sellers are trying to attract customers with tools such as coupons, cashbacks, gifts, and gamification (collecting toys for gifts in stores).

However, despite all the tricks, traditional retail has been experiencing difficulties for several years against the backdrop of the rapid growth of online trade, the associate professor notes. Even large retailers are forced to reduce their retail space, especially in shopping centers, due to the fact that they are having difficulty with profitability. Therefore, all market participants have to adapt their strategies to the new realities and take into account changes in consumer preferences. To do this, they have to work with suppliers to diversify the range, improve the quality of service and customer service in the store, and offer customers a unique customer experience.

Here's one example: After a store selling sports and tourism goods installed stands with different surfaces so that customers could evaluate the comfort of trekking shoes, their sales in this category increased by almost 15%.

“So, although marketplaces are called “killers” of shopping centers, offline trade is still fighting for the buyer,” the expert concluded.