Briefing: Emerging market e-commerce: Online could offer growth in challenging Russia

High demand for home grocery deliveries in large Russian cities and the success of such services in Western countries are helping create a buzz around online grocery retailing in Russia. But complexity and high cost of operating this model in Russia means few retailers have so far launched online sales channels. Online grocery stores that do exist tend to limit their deliveries to Moscow or St Petersburg, and emphasise their offline locations.