Russia E-commerce Intelligence

Ozon's press service announced on 4 September that it will bring in third-party logistics (3PL) operators across 29 Russian cities: partner sorting centers will receive and sort goods, hand them to couriers and process returns, with some sites forwarding seller shipments to Ozon's logistics centers in other regions. The site requirement is warehouse space from 1,500 sqm, and Ozon said fees for sellers will not change, framing the move as diversifying its logistics network and adding drop-off points. The backdrop is damage to Ozon warehouses and sorting centers in Saratov, Belgorod and other regions from drone strikes since 22 August, which temporarily restricted shipments. What it means for Chinese sellers: more drop-off options and less exposure to any single damaged hub, with no added fulfillment cost for now — but with sorting and returns handled by third parties, confirm handover acceptance standards and loss liability in advance.

RWB's press service told RBC on 4 September that Wildberries' first partner receiving points (PRP) for sellers have gone live in the Central, Southern and Siberian federal districts. Under FBW the points accept goods for onward shipment to company logistics sites; under FBS they act as an intermediate link, with the seller dropping goods off and the parcel going straight to the customer's pickup point. PRPs also handle temporary storage of returns — if returns sit more than three days, Wildberries pays extra for storage, while site owners are paid per box accepted. Volume at one pilot point has already exceeded 10,000 units; opening requires premises of at least 100 sqm with vehicle access, parking and CCTV. What it means for Chinese sellers: intake capacity is being pushed out into a franchise network, letting FBS sellers hand over stock locally instead of trucking it to a distant warehouse — but note the three-day threshold before extra return-storage fees kick in.

On 4 September the Federal Antimonopoly Service said it had signed agreements with 12 oil companies covering fuel supplies, under which retail prices at filling stations must not rise faster than inflation. The measure is meant to prevent a price blowout while the diesel export ban remains in force and some refineries have been hit. What it means for Chinese sellers: fuel is the most volatile cost component in Russian trunk and last-mile delivery, so capping the retail end helps stabilize September–October shipping quotes — but the deal only constrains pump prices, so wholesale rates and carrier quotes still need weekly monitoring.

According to the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) national index, by Friday 4 September versus the previous Friday Premium-95 fell 2.78% to RUB 73,139/tonne and Regular-92 fell 2.48% to RUB 68,805/tonne, with summer diesel down the most at 8.76%, while jet fuel rose 3.52% against the trend. What it means for Chinese sellers: trunk trucking runs mainly on diesel, so a near-9% weekly drop in summer diesel will gradually feed through to freight quotes in the second half of September, easing logistics cost pressure on Q4 stocking — but absolute prices remain high and strike and export-policy uncertainty persists.

Deputy PM Alexander Novak said at the Eastern Economic Forum on 4 September that the diesel export ban for producers runs to 30 September; if stocks build up to the point of oversupply risk, the government may lift it before or after that date, though the Energy Ministry currently sees fit to keep the restriction. The earlier supply disruptions touched 80 regions, and Russia has also been importing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from friendly countries. What it means for Chinese sellers: lifting the diesel export ban would divert volumes abroad and could push domestic transport costs up, so it is not an unambiguous positive — it has to be read alongside fuel prices; keeping the ban through September actually supports stable inland logistics costs.

Deputy PM Dmitry Grigorenko told RBC at the Eastern Economic Forum on 4 September that the government is working out a mechanism to further cut the administrative burden on organizations and civilian infrastructure damaged by drone strikes — specifically cancelling scheduled and unscheduled non-tax inspections, with the normative act already drafted. The relief covers not only marketplace infrastructure but other damaged civilian facilities as well. In late August the government approved support for RWB (Wildberries) sellers: a one-year deferral of VAT, profit tax, simplified-tax and insurance contributions falling due between August 2026 and July 2027, plus a suspension of tax audits through end-2026. What it means for Chinese sellers: those operating through a Russian legal entity whose goods were destroyed in marketplace warehouses will face markedly lower tax and non-tax inspection pressure over the coming year — but risk-indicator inspections and preventive visits remain, so the compliance floor has not been lowered.

Sadovod CEO Alexey Negashev told RIA Nedvizhimost that the market is opening a dedicated 20,000 sqm expo zone by the Moscow Ring Road, with the first project focused on outdoor recreation, tourism, fishing and hunting goods opening on 5 September, involving 250 suppliers and manufacturers from Russia, China and other countries and more than 300,000 products. From next year Sadovod plans quarterly industry expo festivals, each devoted to a single category, with the strategic goal of becoming Russia's largest B2B platform. What it means for Chinese sellers: this is an offline B2B entry point to Russian wholesalers and retailers outside the marketplaces, letting Chinese factories in outdoor, fishing/hunting and seasonal categories test wholesale sales, gauge demand and find distributors at a far lower cost of failure than launching a storefront and ad spend.

In a joint RBC TV and Radio RBC broadcast on 4 September, book market players said they cannot walk away from marketplaces. Rabbits and Books head Anton Kozlov said he had fully stopped supplies to Wildberries and limited Ozon to the 'safest' warehouses, while 80% of the publisher's turnover came from the platforms. Svetlana Zorina, president of the Book Distribution Association, estimated more than 13.5 million books destroyed, with marketplaces accounting for about 30% of the book market. Rosman chief Boris Kuznetsov warned that switching to FBS because of strikes on Wildberries warehouses would push book prices up. Brick-and-mortar shops complain about unequal terms, with platform commissions for small shops at 'around 40%' versus very different terms for large chains. What it means for Chinese sellers: for low-ticket, loss-sensitive categories such as books, stationery and printed goods, the risk of keeping all stock in one large marketplace warehouse is now obvious — spread shipments across FBS and multiple warehouses. Russian publishers are also pushing for a preferential 5% VAT, which, if granted, would erode the price advantage of cheap imports.

Opening the 8th Russia-China Energy Business Forum on 4 September, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said settlements between Russia and China are conducted almost entirely in national currencies — rubles and yuan — with the yuan's share of China's international payment operations rising from 2% to 53% over the past 15 years. He added that locking in national-currency use requires fine-tuning clearing infrastructure and correspondent account opening, and that 'on this issue we still count on the help of the Bank of Russia and the People's Bank of China'. What it means for Chinese sellers: the national-currency channel broadly works for large trade, but the bottleneck for small and mid-sized sellers remains clearing and correspondent banking — keep multiple collection channels and a longer buffer for funds to land; if clearing infrastructure improves along the lines described, yuan settlement costs could come down.

At the 4 September close on the Moscow Exchange the yuan stood at RUB 12.7825, down 12.45 kopecks from the previous session's close. From 5 September the CBR cut its official dollar rate by 30.15 kopecks to RUB 86.5857/$ and the euro by 2.87 kopecks to RUB 100.5693/€. The main driver: the Finance Ministry cut its budget-rule FX purchases for September to RUB 2.5bn a day from RUB 6.5bn in August, while the CBR will reduce its corresponding operations for 7 September–6 October to RUB 1.92bn a day from RUB 5.92bn. What it means for Chinese sellers: the yuan is back near 12.8, but analysts still put the dollar at 85–90, so this looks more like a technical rebound driven by lower FX purchases than a trend reversal — no need to abruptly change your conversion schedule, but September can be treated as a relatively favorable window while watching whether the Ministry revises volumes in October.

According to Sampa MC (which manages Sber's shopping centers) based on SberIndex data, in January–August 2026 grocery and alcohol stores accounted for 24% of spending at large malls (over 50,000 sqm) versus 22% a year earlier (Moscow: 18% to 20%), while the non-food store share fell from 8% to 5% and food service dropped 1pp to 6%. CMWP data shows H1 turnover for appliances and electronics down 10–25%, children's goods down 8–14%, and beauty and health down 2–5%, with the food share of spending reaching 33%. What it means for Chinese sellers: the demand contraction in non-essential categories (small appliances, consumer electronics accessories, toys, beauty) is structural — be more conservative with Q4 peak-season stocking and prioritize clearing inventory over pushing new SKUs, while grocery and basic household goods channels are actually gaining share.