The development of Russian e‐commerce: the case of Ozon

Abstract

E‐commerce in Russia is in an early phase of development. The online bookseller, Ozon, is one of the earliest and best‐known examples of business‐to‐customer e‐commerce in Russia. In developing its business, Ozon has faced and dealt with many difficulties present in the Russian economic and business environment. The development of Ozon’s business has required it to resolve many challenges that are likely to be faced by other online retailers in Russia. These challenges, and Ozon’s solutions to them, are presented. The case of Ozon is illustrative of the challenges faced by many Russian e‐commerce firms, and can be used to draw some initial conclusions about what tactics could employed to deal with the peculiarities of doing business online in Russia.