The Impact of Parallel Imports on the Activities of Russian Marketplaces

The phenomenon of parallel imports is a logical response of the economy to the changes taking place in it: a reduction in goods and supplies, a rise in demand, and an increase in prices. The current situation in the Russian market has led to changes in the legal sphere, in the activities of Russian sellers, and in the life of the consumers. There has been a massive departure of a large number of brands familiar to consumers from the Russian market, which has caused a shift in consumer demand in many segments of goods towards e-commerce. Marketplaces have taken a special place in the retail sector. In addition, parallel imports, which were officially authorized by the government of the Russian Federation in the spring of 2022, gave a new impetus to the development of electronic platforms. Now this retail segment is an oligopoly with clear, dominant leaders. Parallel imports also affected the level of competition of retail platforms and revealed the need for positioning marketplaces and adjusting their strategy. The study of the phenomenon of parallel imports on Russian marketplaces is the key purpose of this article. The main method of research is content analysis of open sources of information: official websites and other open sources of information. The result of the study is the formation of parallel import directions on Russian marketplaces. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.