EVOLUTION OF A RUSSIAN CONSUMER:  HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CONFERENCE “AEGIS MEDIA AUTUMN SESSIONS 2012” HELD BY AEGIS MEDIA RUSSIA ON THE 24^TH OF OCTOBER 2012

Source: Aegis Media Russia

·         The conference consisted of 2 parts: the first was about the latest trends of the Russian advertising market and the second was about the successful Russian brands.

·         One of the most interesting presentations was made by Simeon Marinov, Integrated Communications Director Aegis Media Russia. It was about the myths about Russian consumers.

Myth 1: Russian consumers prefer luxurious brands because they want to show off. In fact, since 2007 the share of Russian consumers, who would buy whatever goods in order to look more respectable, decreased from 61% to 55%. The share of those, who prefer the latest fashion goods also decreased: from 47% in 2007 to 42% in 2012. At the same time, there is at least one category, where Russian consumers are willing to overpay for prestige: Automobiles. 42% of consumers choose the brand first when it comes to a new car purchase (a 2% increase vs. 40% in 2010). More than 2/3 of consumers want their car to stand out – the same % as in 2010.

Myth 2: Internet absorbed TV. Internet penetration has reached 90% among the young audience (12-30) in Russia (vs 39% in 2007) while TV viewing has changed insignificantly during the same period: from 96% in 2007 down to 89% in 2012. Mobile internet penetration is not a threat for TV as well: only 8% of the adult population in Russia use smartphones for internet surfing and only 2% use tablets, which is much lower than in US and many European countries. However it may change soon – the biggest cellular companies in Russia invest a lot in order to make mobile internet faster.

Myth 3: Ecommerce has a great potential in Russia. There are some barriers. For example most of the Russian consumers prefer cash: although they have debit or credit cards, they use them mostly for withdrawing money from ATM. Most of the e-shops receive cash when the goods are delivered to their consumers. A very small % of goods is prepaid by credit cards online and then delivered to the consumers in Russia. At the same time the % of Russian consumers, who buys goods online, increases constantly. Postal services are not good as well – another barrier for such giants like Amazon and eBay.

Myth 4. There are more people in Russia, who are ready to donate, than 2-3 years before. There were very good examples of people getting together to fight with forest fires in 2010. 74% of the Russian consumers claim that they would prefer to buy goods produced by the companies, which donate for charity – vs. 68% in 2010. At the same time, only 6% are ready to transfer some money if they receive a personal call for help, even if it is motivated. More than 2/3^rd of the Russian consumers are confident that they will be cheated if they donate some money