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PRESS RELEASE

Hamburg, January 25th, 2016

B2C E-Commerce in CIS markets to grow despite economic downturn, according to yStats.com

A new report by Hamburg-based secondary market research company yStats.com highlights the development

of online retail in the CIS countries. The publication, titled “CIS B2C E-Commerce Market 2015”, covers the major

markets of the country group, including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, as well as smaller emerging markets such as

Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Uzbekistan. yStats.com’s CEO and Founder, Yücel Yelken, reveals that “despite the

current economic downturn, these countries’ potential for B2C E-Commerce growth in the long term persists, as online

still accounts only for a small share of total retail sales among them”.

B2C E-Commerce is in early stages of development in the majority of the countries in the Commonwealth of Independent

States (CIS). In the most advanced of the online retail markets in this country group, Russia, B2C E-Commerce still accounts for less

than 5% of total retail sales. This indicates that with support of the rising Internet and online shopper penetration and increasing use

of Internet-enabled mobile devices, B2C E-Commerce sales in the CIS markets can be expected to grow further, despite the current

economic downturn challenging many of the region’s countries.

Russia is the leader in CIS in terms of B2C E-Commerce sales, followed by Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In local currencies, online

retail sales in these countries have shown strong double-digit growth rates over the past two years, with Kazakhstan leading the

pack in terms of growth. The rise of mobile commerce is a common characteristic among those markets, together with the popularity

of the clothing and shoes product category, purchased by more than 50% of online shoppers in Kazakhstan, close to half of online

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PRESS RELEASE

shoppers in Russia and over a third of online shoppers in Ukraine in 2014. Of these three markets, only in Ukraine was clothing topped

by electronics as the product category most purchased online.

In Belarus, B2C E-Commerce is also developing rapidly. According to some official surveys, around half of Internet users

already made purchases over the Internet in 2015. Other CIS countries, such as Armenia and Azerbaijan, cannot boast such online

shopper penetration rates, but likewise they are expected to see rapid growth of online retail off a low base.

As B2C E-Commerce continues to evolve, prominent local market players have emerged. Some of them, such as online clothing

retailers Wildberries and Lamoda operate in several of the CIS countries. The home-grown B2C E-Commerce companies in these

markets, however, are challenged by the growing popularity of Chinese E-Commerce websites. Both Aliexpress.com and JD.com have

opened websites targeting Russia, while also in other CIS markets many users browse these websites in search of the best prices.

For further information, see: https://www.ystats.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/20160113_Product-Brochure-Order-Form_-CIS-B2C-E-

Commerce-Market-2015-by-yStats.com_.pdf

Press Contact:

yStats.com GmbH & Co. KG

Behringstrasse 28a, D-22765 Hamburg

Phone: +49 (0)40 - 39 90 68 50

Fax: +49 (0)40 - 39 90 68 51

E-Mail: press@ystats.com

Internet: www.ystats.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/ystats

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ystats

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ystats

About yStats.com

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, yStats.com is one of the world's leading secondary market research companies. We

are committed to providing the most up-to-date and objective data on Global B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment markets to sector-leading

companies worldwide.

Our multilingual staff researches, gathers, filters and translates information from thousands of reputable sources to synthesize accurate and

timely reports in our areas of expertise, covering more than 100 countries and all global regions. Our market reports focus predominantly on

online retail and payments, but also cover a broad range of related topics including M-Commerce, Cross-Border E-Commerce, E-Commerce

Delivery, Online Gaming and many others. In addition to our wide selection of market reports, we also provide custom market research services.

We are proud to cooperate with companies like Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. Given our numerous citations in leading media sources and

journals worldwide, including Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, we are considered one of the most highly-reputed international secondary

market research companies with an expertise in the areas of B2C E-Commerce and Online Payment.