The largest share of Russians preferred to do grocery shopping in convenience stores, or minimarkets, as per 48 percent of respondents in 2021. Other popular types of shops for buying food were next-door groceries and hypermarkets. Online purchases were the least common method, with only two percent of survey participants shopping for food products on the internet.
Grocery retail in Russia
The grocery retail sector in Russia has displayed a
consistent increase since 2009. In 2019, figures exceeded 16 billion Russian rubles. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the online grocery segment
experienced significant growth in 2020, with Russian customers getting more accustomed to digital shopping while revenue of traditional hyper- and supermarket stores slightly declined. In 2020, despite an increase in grocery retail prices,
customers bought more food products than over the previous year - reflected by a notable basket size growth.
X5 Retail Group
The X5 Retail Group was the
major player in the food retail sector in Russia, making up nearly 13 percent of the market as of 2020. Roughly 18 thousand stores under brands Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, and Karusel, each representing a different store type, were operated by X5 that year. The group was also dominant in the online grocery segment. The popularity of its stores and an increasing amount of shopping locations placed X5 Retail Group among the
highest-earning companies in Russia in 2019.