In a commentary for Vedomosty daily, Laura Nakoryakova, Director of the Gaidar Institute's Center for Evidence-Based Expertise (CEBE), spoke about the possible economic implications which might be brought about by key measures of the new marketplace regulation.
In October 2025, the CEBE carried out a study on the regulation of marketplaces in which both Russian and international experience was analyzed. Experts also assessed how the profitability of the business on marketplaces would change after the introduction of new rules.
According to the study, the annual revenues of almost half (42%) of the owners of order pick-up outlets (OPO) did not exceed Rb500,000 in 2024. Another quarter of entrepreneurs earned from Rb500,000 to Rb1 mn, 19% of OPO owners – from Rb1mn to Rb2 mn and 14% of OPO owners received over Rb2 mn in revenues. On average, the annual income of an OPO owner in Russia (regardless of the number of outlets) was equal to Rb900,000.
At the same time, sellers on marketplaces show significantly higher incomes. The average annual revenues of individual entrepreneurs and LLCs selling goods exclusively through marketplaces amounts to Rb 37.5 mn, which is about 37% of their total turnover. The self-employed, who sell only their own products through marketplaces, earn an average of Rb880,000 per year. There are restrictions for them: a ban on the sale of other people's goods and an annual income limit of Rb2.4 mn.
The CEBE study of August 2025 included a series of quantitative monitoring surveys: more than 1,000 interviews with OPO owners and the same number of interviews with sellers on marketplaces. The respondents represented all federal districts, including both large cities and small settlements. The largest share was made up of participants from the Central Federal District (18%), Privolzhsky Federal District (15%) and Southern Federal District (13%).
The findings of the study have also shown that, on average, one owner manages two OPOs: 43% of respondents run two or three OPOs, 20% of respondents operate four or more OPOs and 38% of respondents own only one.
According to Laura Nakoryakova, most current OPO owners (over 50%) are planning to open one or two more outlets in the coming year. In 2025, the average number of OPOs per owner is highly likely to be more than three. Undoubtedly, this trend has a "saturation threshold", but while platforms are opening up new geographies and strengthening their presence in the trade market as a whole, the limit of growth has not yet been reached, the expert believes.
Further, a large part of OPO owners have additional sources of income: half of them combine this business with other activities, and 8 out of 10 OPO owners run simultaneously another business, as well. Despite the relatively modest current profitability, many entrepreneurs see growth prospects in this area. Experts at the Gaidar Institute's Center for Evidence-based Expertise predict that as early as 2025, the average annual revenues of a single OPO are likely to exceed Rb1.5 mn.