Is It Time to Launch Your Own E-commerce Website in Russia? (2026)

Independent sales and multichannel e-commerce strategy for brands after the Wildberries warehouse disruptions

For brands looking to sell online in Russia, Wildberries and Ozon have long been among the most important sales channels. Their built-in customer traffic, extensive delivery networks and developed logistics infrastructure make it easier for new brands to reach the Russian market.

Events in 2026, however, prompted brands operating in Russia to reassess their sales strategies.

Drone attacks on Wildberries logistics centres in July and August caused serious damage at some warehouses, operational interruptions and delivery problems. Ozon’s logistics infrastructure was also affected.

According to Reuters’ report of 26 August 2026, a Wildberries logistics centre in the Tambov region was completely destroyed by fire.

These events brought into focus the risks faced by sellers that rely on a single marketplace and its logistics network.

Does that mean brands should leave Wildberries or Ozon?

No. The more practical response is to keep marketplace sales while developing an independent e-commerce website and inventory operation, creating a multichannel sales model.

Figures for 2026 also point to renewed interest in independent online stores in Russia.

This guide examines what the warehouse disruptions mean for brands, the benefits of owning an e-commerce website in Russia, the platforms available and the steps involved in building a sustainable multichannel strategy. For a broader overview, see our guide to e-commerce in Russia.

In summer 2026, Wildberries’ logistics network was seriously affected by drone attacks in several regions.

A Reuters report dated 7 August said that, after attacks began on 18 July, at least 20 Wildberries facilities had been targeted and about 1.18 million square metres of warehouse space had been damaged or rendered unusable.

A second Reuters report on 26 August said that more than 20 logistics facilities belonging to Wildberries and Ozon had been affected.

The consequences went beyond physical damage to warehouses. Marketplace logistics, order fulfilment and some pickup points were also disrupted.

Risks for sellers

The lesson from the 2026 events is not that a particular marketplace can no longer be trusted.

The broader lesson is that a company’s sales and inventory systems need enough flexibility to withstand unexpected disruption.

A brand can sell on Wildberries and Ozon and run its own e-commerce website at the same time. But if all of its products remain inside the same logistics network, it has not built a genuinely independent sales operation.

Diversifying sales channels matters, as does knowing where inventory is held and how it can be allocated across those channels.

The growing interest in independent online stores in Russia cannot be explained by the 2026 warehouse disruptions alone.

Marketplace commissions, advertising costs, intense price competition and limited control over customer relationships are also leading brands to consider additional sales channels.

According to an INFOLine forecast published by Kommersant on 1 October 2026, independent e-commerce in Russia is expected to reach 5.75 trillion roubles by year-end.

That would represent forecast growth of 25.8% compared with 2025. The research also projects that independent e-commerce could account for 34.9% of total online retail.

These are forecasts, not final year-end results. They are nevertheless useful for understanding the direction of the market.

Do brands need to stop selling on marketplaces?

For most brands in Russia, the better approach is not to leave Wildberries and Ozon, but to add their own website to the sales system. The two models are strong in different areas.

Wildberries and Ozon can help brands reach new customers. An independent website can strengthen the brand experience, develop customer relationships and provide a direct sales channel. It is healthier to plan the two as complementary channels than to treat them as alternatives.

The main advantage of an independent website: control over the brand

On marketplaces, customers often compare products by price, reviews, delivery time and competing offers. This can be effective for sales, but it leaves little room for a brand to tell its own story.

A company can present its products more fully on its own website. A cosmetics brand, for example, can combine product listings with skincare routines, ingredient information, usage advice and complementary products. A clothing brand can present seasonal collections, size guides, outfit ideas and its brand story.

This is especially useful for manufacturers that want to rely less on price competition and build brand value.

Customer relationships and repeat sales

Marketplace rules limit how a seller can reach and communicate with customers. On its own website, a company can manage customer relationships more directly, provided it meets applicable personal-data and marketing-consent requirements.

A customer who buys a skincare product could later receive information about complementary products. Brands can also communicate new collections, restocks or loyalty programmes.

That creates the potential to rely less on fresh advertising spend for every sale. Repeat purchases still depend on product quality, customer experience and an appropriate marketing strategy.

Which e-commerce platform should you use in Russia?

Choosing the right platform is an early step in setting up a website. Design, themes and launch costs are not enough to make the decision. Payment services, local logistics, catalogue management, inventory integrations and technical support should be assessed together.

InSales

InSales is one option for e-commerce operations in Russia. A brand can build an independent website and connect it to Wildberries, Ozon and other marketplaces through selected integrations. Product, price and stock synchronisation, order processes and connections to accounting or warehouse systems can be planned.

There is an important technical detail in the InSales integrations with Wildberries and Ozon. Official documentation says that FBO stock can be displayed, but the integrations do not manage every FBO operation. When selecting an integration, verify that it supports the specific tasks the business needs, rather than relying only on the marketplace name in a feature list. See the official Wildberries integration guide and Ozon integration documentation.

Yandex KIT

Yandex KIT is another option to consider for an independent online store. It offers storefront, payment, delivery and product-management capabilities. The platform lists integrations including Yandex Pay, payment and fiscalisation services, Yandex Delivery and other delivery providers. Brands planning to use the Yandex ecosystem may want to evaluate it alongside other platforms. See the official Yandex KIT site and its quick-start guide.

1C-Bitrix

1C-Bitrix may suit projects that need more customisation, a large catalogue or enterprise integrations. Development, maintenance and technical-management costs can differ from those of ready-made platforms.

Shopify

Shopify needs careful evaluation for Russia. Russia is not among the countries listed as supported for Shopify Payments. Availability of third-party payment providers, commercial restrictions and integration requirements should be checked separately. A global brand should not assume that its existing Shopify payment and operations model will work in Russia unchanged. Check Shopify’s current list of countries supported by Shopify Payments.

What steps are involved in setting up the website?

A sustainable e-commerce operation in Russia needs several workstreams to be planned together:

Russian consumer rules, product certification, personal-data requirements and tax obligations also need to be considered. An independent website does not remove applicable EAC, Chestny Znak or other product requirements.

The goal is not simply to launch a functioning website; it is to build a commercial system that can accept orders and deliver products.

One of Wildberries’ and Ozon’s biggest advantages is their existing customer traffic. A brand launching its own e-commerce website must build that traffic from scratch or use its existing brand awareness.

Technical setup and digital marketing budgets should therefore be planned together. Four channels stand out in the Russian market.

Yandex SEO: long-term organic traffic

Yandex is an important search channel for reaching people looking for products and services in Russia. Brands with their own websites can optimise product and category pages for Russian-language search intent.

A cosmetics brand can target searches by product type, ingredients and intended use, not only its brand name. An auto-parts seller can prepare product pages around OEM numbers and vehicle compatibility.

A sound SEO programme includes organising category pages, writing unique product descriptions, improving mobile performance, carrying out technical SEO checks, monitoring Yandex Webmaster and publishing useful guides.

SEO results usually take time to build, so it should not be treated as the only traffic source at launch.

Yandex Ads: reaching shoppers with purchase intent

Yandex Ads can reach people actively searching for relevant products. Well-structured campaigns can send ad traffic directly to product or category pages.

Campaign success should not be measured by visits alone. Ten thousand visits do not represent commercial success if they do not convert into sales.

Key measures include visitor-to-order conversion, customer acquisition cost, average order value, contribution margin after advertising and repeat-purchase rate. These measures help direct budget toward products with genuine sales potential.

VK Ads: brand awareness and customer acquisition

VK Ads can be considered for fashion, cosmetics, personal care and other consumer products. Brands can introduce products, collections and campaigns to selected audiences.

On a marketplace, shoppers often search for a product; on social media, they may encounter the brand for the first time. VK campaigns can therefore support customer acquisition, brand awareness and retargeting, not only immediate sales.

Telegram: community and customer relationships

Telegram can support brand communication and customer relationships in Russia. Brands may use it to introduce new products to existing customers, build a community or communicate with B2B prospects.

However, collecting followers by itself does not guarantee commercial results. The audience needs to be relevant, and the channel’s contribution to acquisition or sales should be measured.

Why combine traffic sources?

Putting the entire marketing budget into one channel can create a risk similar to dependence on a single marketplace. If all sales come from paid Yandex campaigns, rising ad costs can reduce profitability.

A healthier mix is SEO + Yandex Ads + VK Ads + CRM + repeat sales. Paid advertising may account for a large share at the start, while the longer-term goal is to grow organic traffic and sales to existing customers. That way, the website does not sell only while advertising spend is active.

After the 2026 warehouse disruptions, inventory management is one of the most important issues to consider when launching an independent website.

Owning a website does not automatically mean that a brand can access its products independently. If all stock is at Wildberries warehouses, the brand may need a separate inventory and fulfilment plan to fulfil orders from its own site.

At Russia Market Entry, we see centralised inventory with controlled allocation as an important part of a multichannel sales model.

Example operating flow

Central inventory pool → ERP / WMS / order management → Wildberries + Ozon + own website + B2B → channel-appropriate fulfilment and delivery.

With this model, products are monitored through a central inventory view and allocated in quantities that fit each sales channel. Fast-moving SKUs can be sent to marketplace warehouses while some stock is held at an independent location. Orders from the brand’s website can be fulfilled from that location.

This can prevent a disruption at a marketplace warehouse from automatically stopping all of a company’s orders.

Can FBO and FBS be used together?

FBO/FBW and FBS offer different advantages in marketplace operations.

An independent website can fulfil orders from central stock through suitable logistics integrations. The choice of model should depend on product category, sales velocity, warehouse costs, order volume, delivery performance and inventory-security goals.

One central warehouse can also become a new point of dependence. Brands seeking to reduce risk should consider alternative stock locations, insurance coverage and business-continuity plans in proportion to their operations.

Why inventory automation matters

If a product is available on Wildberries, Ozon and the brand’s own website, stock information needs to stay consistent. Showing 100 units as available on each of three channels when the central warehouse contains only 100 units creates a risk of overselling.

With the right integration, businesses can track on-hand, reserved, available-for-sale, in-transit and returned stock separately. The e-commerce platform needs to exchange data correctly with the ERP or WMS.

The real advantage of multichannel e-commerce comes from managing the channels through the same operating system, not from the number of channels alone.

Brands often consider moving beyond marketplaces because of commission costs. But avoiding a marketplace commission does not guarantee higher net profit. An independent website has its own costs:

The comparison should account for total costs.

Illustrative sales scenario

The figures below illustrate a calculation method only. They are hypothetical and are not current marketplace tariffs or industry averages.

In this example, the independent website produces a higher contribution. If its advertising cost rises from 750 roubles to 1,500, the remaining amount falls to 1,000 roubles. The advantage of direct sales can shrink when advertising costs are not controlled.

The table does not separately model the accounting effect of corporate taxes and VAT. A real pricing analysis should compare both channels using the same tax assumptions.

Why customer acquisition cost matters

Marketplaces attract customers to their own platforms. With an independent website, the brand has to acquire those customers. One of the website’s potential advantages is the opportunity to develop the customer relationship.

A cosmetics brand may spend on advertising for a customer’s first order. If that customer later makes a repeat purchase through organic search, a direct visit or consent-based CRM communication, the need for new advertising spend may decrease.

Profitability should therefore be assessed not only on the first order, but, where appropriate, over the customer’s lifetime value.

An independent e-commerce website can create its greatest value through a long-term customer relationship, not only the first sale.

Launching an independent website does not require scaling the entire operation at once. A more measured approach is to start in a controlled way, collect data and expand in stages.

First 30 days: prepare the platform and operations

Start by preparing the commercial model, platform, product catalogue and logistics system. Review the brand’s existing marketplace products and select the products that are suitable for sale on its own website.

Key tasks include choosing InSales or another platform, preparing a Russian-language catalogue, setting up local payment services, planning delivery and returns, preparing stock integrations and establishing the basic SEO structure.

The goal is not just to publish a website, but to have a system ready to fulfil the first order reliably.

Days 31–60: test the first sales and advertising

Begin controlled traffic and advertising tests. Assess Yandex Ads, VK campaigns for suitable products and SEO together.

Focus on questions such as: Which products attract the most interest? At what point do visitors abandon their purchase? What is the customer acquisition cost per order? Are there problems with payment or delivery?

Rapidly increasing the advertising budget without these answers can be risky.

Days 61–90: optimise and grow

Use the initial results to refine the strategy. Prioritise products with stronger conversion rates, reallocate advertising budgets and compare the inventory and profitability of the own website with marketplace sales.

Develop appropriate CRM processes for customers with repeat-purchase potential.

The 90-day goal is not to cover the entire Russian market. It is to create a system that can measure whether the brand’s own sales channel works economically and can be scaled.

Owning an e-commerce website in Russia means more than creating a new web address.

When set up well, it can help a brand diversify sales channels, strengthen customer relationships, manage inventory more carefully, develop new marketing channels and reduce dependence on marketplaces.

But the website, payments, logistics, inventory, advertising and finance processes all need to work together.

At Russia Market Entry, we look beyond setting up a marketplace store. We consider e-commerce platform setup, InSales and suitable alternatives, marketplace integrations, product and inventory management, ERP connections, Yandex/VK advertising, SEO and local operations as parts of one integrated sales model.

We see an opportunity for brands to develop their own e-commerce website alongside their Wildberries and Ozon sales, where the product and operating model make it suitable.

Conclusion: the future of e-commerce in Russia is multichannel

The Wildberries warehouse disruptions in 2026 reminded brands in Russia of an important operational reality:

**Depending on one platform for all sales and inventory can create risk for sustainable growth.**

At the same time, growth expectations for independent e-commerce point to a new opportunity for brands that want to develop their own sales channel.

The strongest brands of the future will not necessarily be those selling on the greatest number of marketplaces. Companies that can build their own customer base, manage several sales channels together and plan inventory for different scenarios can create a more flexible business.

> The goal in Russia is not to leave Wildberries and Ozon, but to build a brand and operation that can grow without depending on them alone.

Russia Market Entry supports brands planning to launch their own e-commerce website in Russia or turn existing marketplace sales into a multichannel operation, including market entry, technology, logistics and sales operations.

To build your own sales channel in Russia and connect it with your marketplace operation, contact our team.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Does a company need to be established in Russia to open its own e-commerce website?

Requirements vary depending on where the company is incorporated, whether sales are local or cross-border, and the payment and import arrangements. It is not advisable to give a definitive answer before choosing a local or cross-border model.

Can I move my products from Wildberries and Ozon to my own website?

Product data can be transferred through suitable APIs, integrations or catalogue-import methods. Check image rights, pricing fields, stock relationships and each platform’s data-use terms.

Can InSales manage Wildberries and Ozon together?

Some product, price and stock synchronisation is possible, but the scope of supported operations differs between integrations. Check the relevant technical documentation, especially for FBO and FBS workflows.

Is an independent e-commerce website more profitable than a marketplace?

Not always. Marketplace commissions may be lower or absent, but advertising, payment, logistics, technical platform and customer-service costs remain. Compare actual contribution margins by product.

If I have my own website, do I still need a Wildberries warehouse?

No. However, marketplace warehouses may be useful for Wildberries sales depending on the chosen fulfilment model. A separate fulfilment system can serve orders from the brand’s own website.

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