Russia's e-commerce turnover reached RUB7.2 trillion ($90.8bn) in the first half of 2026, up 18.7% year on year, Vedomosti reported on August 11, citing the Association of Internet Trade Companies (AKIT).

The growth extends a longer boom in Russian online retail as sanctions and import-substitution push more shopping onto domestic platforms, with regional markets now expanding faster than Moscow and St Petersburg, traditionally the industry's core.

However, the growth trend may take a severe hit in the next quarter’s result after Ukraine launched Operation Wildberries, targetting the country’s largest e-commerce player that accounts for almost 10% of Russia’s entire retail turnover by itself, or 3% of GDP. More than 20 of its warehouses have alredy been destroyed in repeated attacks that have put the privately-owned company’s survival as a business in doubt.

The rest of the e-commerce sector has so far been spared from Ukrainian drone attacks. Russian online stores and platforms accounted for RUB6.9 trillion of first-half turnover, while cross-border e-commerce added a further RUB245.8bn ($3.1bn), AKIT said. Online retail's share of total Russian retail sales rose to 22.2% in January-June, from 20.9% a year earlier.

In 45 of Russia's regions, the online share of retail already exceeds the national average, led by the Arkhangelsk region at 52.9% and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug at 38.8%. Regions outside the two capitals accounted for almost 80% of total e-commerce turnover in the first half, versus a combined 20% for Moscow and St Petersburg.

"E-commerce is particularly in demand where traditional retail primarily meets everyday needs," said AKIT president Artem Sokolov, who cited expanding online access to goods otherwise unavailable outside big cities as the main driver of regional growth - an effect he said was most visible in Siberia and the Far East.

Turnover grew by more than 30% in Tyva, the Nenets and Jewish autonomous okrugs, Chechnya, Dagestan, the Trans-Baikal territory, Kalmykia, and the Kaliningrad and Amur regions - all starting from a low base. Moscow remained the largest single regional market by volume, with a 15.4% share, down from 16.5% at the start of the year.

By category, home goods and furniture led online sales with a 15.8% share, followed by clothing and footwear (15.1%), food (14.8%), electronics and appliances (13%), and beauty and health products (6.8%). Digital goods grew fastest, up almost 40% y/y, while pharmacy, pet-shop and craft-supply turnover rose about 30%.

Marketplace operators pointed to the same regional dynamic. A Wildberries representative said expanding pick-up-point networks was cutting delivery times and widening access outside big cities, while Ozon said regional online orders were already growing faster than in Moscow - partly reflecting Moscow's much higher existing online-penetration rate of 45.5%, against 19% in rural areas.