1,100 new discounters and convenience stores opened in Russia in 2009

2010-08-09

In 2009, major retailers opened a total of approximately 1,100 new discounters and convenience stores in Russia. According to the information agency InfoLine, 85% of these new stores are operated by four of the major retailers present on the Russian market: Magnit, which opened more new outlets than the remaining three together (639 stores opened in 2009), Pyaterochka (191), Kopeyka (56) and Dixy (54). Importantly, while shopper numbers at supermarkets and hypermarkets were falling, numbers for convenience stores and discounters were on the rise. Another trend observed in 2009 was that of owners of smaller-format retail outlets narrowing the range of products stocked and lowering their margins.
According to the PMR report Retail in Russia 2009, the economic crisis brought with it an increased propensity to save. The means by which these savings were achieved varied according to the different sectors of the retail market, however, the practices of looking for the best price on a certain product and considering cheaper alternatives were both more common than they had been before the crisis. Another trend related to saving while shopping was found in the increased popularity of open-air markets in Russia. These became more popular due to their basic, and often cheaper, range of products sold at such locations. Other trends related to consumer efforts to save money include a decline in customer traffic at stores and a decline in the average transaction value.