The Russian Central Bank reports that in the first half of 2018, the period of January till June 2018, Russian consumers spent over 5.19 billion U.S. Dollars in the foreign online stores. The total spending for 2018 is expected at the level of $ 11 billion U.S. Dollars. In 2017, this figure totaled  $ 8,9 billion. Russian retailers complain about the challenges in competing with e-platforms and foreign online stores. The growth is continuing despite the weak Russian currency exchange rate which had been progressing from 56 roubles for 1 U.S. dollar in the first quarter of the year 2018 to the current 65-67 roubles per 1 US dollar. One of the reasons for the rapidly increasing sales of foreign online stores is the substantial investments in the logistics infrastructure of major players such as Alibaba and Joom in the recent years. Furthermore, foreign stores do not pay VAT, customs duties and they do not have to conduct certification of goods that are designated for personal use. The main commodities that Russian consumers are buying in the online stores are:consumer electronics, apparel and shoes with the average amount of purchase that equals to 22 Euros. The relatively low purchase value is explained by a relatively low purchasing power of the Russian consumers. Russian Ministry of Finace is going to impose additional duties on the purchases in the online stores starting January 2019 on any purchase over 500 Euros. (Currently, this limit is 1000 Euros). Another proposal made by Russian Customs is to impose a 20% customs duty on any commodity purchased through a foreign online store.

The total market size of E-commerce is expected to be $ 19,8 in 2018 and by the year 2023 the market will grow up to $ 53,4 billion according to the forecast. UAE based companies especially in the beauty and consumer segments can enjoy the strategic position of Dubai as a re-export hub and become the part of the main e-platforms to promote their commodities both in the wholesale and online retail format.