Page 35 - CBM16

~ Boxberry International ~

1. New Year by 517%! As ‘healthy lifestyle’ is a popular trend, those
Let’s start with the main winter holiday — New Year, who sell related items might consider running a special
which is celebrated on December 31st and January 1st and campaign for February 23rd. However, any online store that
can be compared in popularity with Christmas in Europe. has a product range for men can benefit from this Russian
The Russian Public Opinion Research Center found that holiday: it is a great idea to make a page with a selection of
96% of Russians celebrate New Year, while Orthodox goods that are destined to be gifts for February 23rd.
Christmas is only celebrated by 77% of Russians. It takes
place on January 7th and is also widely celebrated, but has 3. March 8th — International Women’s Day
a strong religious implication, and generally, no gifts are Women also have their day on March 8th. Officially, it is
given for Christmas. called International Women’s Day, but in Russia it has lost
nearly all its historical meaning, becoming a day simply
New Year and Christmas public holidays in Russia are honouring women and feminine beauty. Men are used to
consolidated, so Russians enjoy more than a week of rest giving presents to women in their lives, so the holiday is
from work and study. The winter season might be the associated with high sales. According to Forbes, Russian
greatest in terms of sales in Russia, just like in Europe, so marketplace Ozon noted that average daily sales grew by
do not hesitate to put significant effort into winter holiday 60% during the weekend prior to the holiday in 2019.
campaigns. According to 2019 Nielsen research, 71% of Another Russian marketplace, Wildberries, notes that
Russians were going to buy gifts for their significant others turnover is usually twice as high as average a couple of days
for New Year 2020, 68% for their parents, 52% for their before March 8th. Beauty items, jewellery, and clothing
friends, and 38% of Russians were even going to buy a retailers are those who can benefit most from March 8th
present for themselves! A little less than half of New Year’s in Russia. However, electronics, health items, sports and
budget accounts for gifts. Each year, Russians are getting hobby items are in demand as well. A selection of gifts
closer to European customers’ gift budgets (roughly half of on your website is also a good way to stimulate holiday
the whole holiday budget). purchases.

What about shopping preferences — where and how do 4. May 1st — International Workers’ Day
Russians spend their money on New Year’s Eve? According International Workers’ Day or May Day is celebrated in
to 2019 Deloitte research, a third of Russian customers many countries around the world; however, Russia has a
prefer to buy New Year gifts in foreign online stores. specific way of celebrating it. May 1st is a public holiday,
Brick-and-mortar shops are becoming less and less popular, usually followed by two or three additional weekends.
as customers like the opportunity to compare prices and Hence, Russians like spending these spring weekends
choose the best one. 74% of Russians believe that online abroad, or at the country house or camping. This period
stores offer better prices than offline ones. 85% of Russian is also associated with high sales in specific product
customers are convinced online shopping for New Year categories: camping items, goods for the country house,
gifts saves time and is generally more convenient, and 74% holiday items (e.g. swimwear, cosmetics), so retailers
find the prices in online stores more appealing than in should keep that in mind. It is better to launch a campaign
offline stores. associated with countryside leisure time or a holiday at sea
with plenty of time before the holiday season so that orders
The most desired gifts for New Year in Russia are the can make it just in time for the beginning of the long
following (excluding cash): 39% smartphones, 37% weekends.
cosmetics, 33% laptops, 29% jewellery and watches.
To sum it up, the best advice we can give is to launch
2. February 23rd — Defender of the Fatherland Day holiday promo campaigns in advance — at least a month
(Men’s Day) before a holiday and run the campaign continuously,
Another couple of holidays are specific to Russia and reminding your customers to take action. This is especially
are widely celebrated. The first is on February 23rd and relevant if we’re talking about New Year campaigns. The
is called Defender of the Fatherland Day. Alongside its end of autumn and the beginning of winter is a high season
original meaning, this holiday is traditionally called Men’s for all e-commerce actors. An enormous quantity of parcels
Day: women give small gifts to their husbands, fathers, is processed by first-mile operators, customs, and last-mile
brothers, male co-workers, no matter if they served in the operators. That is why it is best to take possible delays in
military or not. A great number of men receive socks and all links of the logistics chain into account. ••
cosmetics as a gift; however, the situation has started to
change recently. Russian marketplace Ozon notes that
over 14-19 February 2020, the sales of fitness trackers
and sports watches grew by 325% compared with the
average number, and the sales of electric toothbrushes grew

35