The volume of parcels from foreign online stores grew by 25%

According to the Post of Russia, in January, the number of parcels from foreign online stores that were delivered by this postal operator increased by 25% over the same period last year. In quantitative terms, this is 35.9 million shipments, according to RBC.

A year ago, the growth was less active and amounted to 22.5%, rising from 23.5 million in 2017 to 28.8 million in 2018. “The high dynamics of January is explained by the increase in the duration of the peak period, which earlier fell at the end of November and December, and today covers three months - from November to January,” said the spokesman for the Post of Russia.

The volume of mail from abroad is growing despite the twofold decrease in the threshold of duty-free importation of foreign parcels. In addition to the Post of Russia, representatives of the international service DHL Express (the company delivers, in particular, from popular Farfetch, Net-a-Porter, Amazon, ShopBop) also speak about increasing the supply of foreign goods. According to statistics from DHL, the growth of overseas shipments in January 2019 was 20% compared with January 2018.

It is worth recalling that since January 2019, duty-free import into Russia is valid for foreign parcels costing up to 500 euros per month. Previously, the limit was 1,000 euros per month. Package weight should not exceed 31 kg. After the unlimited threshold is exceeded, the duty starts to work, its size is 30% of the excess amount and not less than 4 euro per kg.

In 2018, according to the Federal Customs Service, more than 341 million international postal items were issued. Most - and this is about 70% came in the package with small appliances, gadgets, clothes and shoes. Parcels with an average check from 10 to 22 euros account for 64% of all parcels. From 22 euros to 50 - 21%, from 50 to 150 - 11% and from 500 to 1000 euros - 1%. The percentage of more expensive parcels is low - about 0.4%.

It is worth noting that when the threshold of duty-free import of foreign parcels was raised, it was predicted that buyers would gradually switch to domestic online stores. But citizens of the Russian Federation spend a lot in Russia anyway, the fact is that in foreign online stores Russian buyers spend significantly less money. According to Aleksandr Ivanov, President of the National Association of Distance Trading, the average cross-border purchase check is only $ 9.

Russians respect the duty-free limit even when making purchases in those foreign stores that sell expensive goods. The average parcel check, according to Farfetch, in the third quarter of last year was about $ 584. In Yoox, Net-a-porter and even less - about $ 386.

At the same time, Russian buyers are not going to refuse foreign online shopping. The fact is that in any case, online shopping is cheaper for customers. In offline retail the number of intermediate chain links is much more than online. If even for parcels from the Internet you have to pay 30% more, anyway purchases in the foreign segment of the network will be more profitable in the end.

The regulator plans to simplify the payment of the fee. Since January 9, Russian Post and the Federal Customs Service have introduced a pilot project for collecting fees online. More than 90% of foreign marketplaces are planned to be connected to this project. According to the Post of Russia, this decision makes it possible to collect customs duties at the time of purchase.

Now, according to representatives of domestic online stores, including the premium segment, there is a significant influx of buyers. This, in particular, said the representative of the Central Department Store Anna Dubrovina. She said that the company noted an increased interest in its online store at the beginning of the year. This is due to the increase in the number of new customers who refuse to order on foreign online sites due to worsening conditions: higher prices for goods due to fees, a longer waiting time for goods and additional inconvenience - the need to pay the duties on their own, ”she explained. This is a significant increase in customers - orders received four to five times more than the average for the year.