Internet trading (Kazakhstan market)

Main article: Economy of Kazakhstan

2023: E-commerce penetration rate in overall retail rose to 12.7%

The e-commerce market Kazakhstan in is scaling at a rapid pace. This development was facilitated by support states for digitalization, a change in consumer habits of the population] and infrastructure optimization financial , the Wunder Digital digital hub reported in August 2024.

As of September 30, 2023, the Super App Kaspi.kz averaged 13.5 million monthly active users. This indicates the high popularity and demand for the application among consumers, which also affected the financial results of the company: for 9 months of 2023, net profit amounted to $1.27 billion, revenue - $2.83 billion.

Financial infrastructure plays an important role in the growth of e-commerce.

• 20.9% of the population use credit cards, another 60% - debit cards.
• 66.6% pay online purchases, 50.6% - bills.
• 47.2% make mobile money transfers, 38.1% buy using a mobile phone.

As noted above, Kaspi Store is the absolute leader among electronic trading platforms. Kaspi.kz has been widely popular over the past years and since 2021 has confidently bypassed its competitors. According to Wunder Digital estimates, the high concentration of the market is due to the formed ecosystem of financial and e-com products, which makes the platform the preferred choice for most Kazakh consumers.

Data for the period from 2019 to 2023

In the first half of 2023, the number of transactions in e-commerce increased from 30 to 36 million units, and the amount of sales increased from 848 to 896 billion tenge. According to analysts, these data confirm the steady growth of the market and indicate increased financial involvement of consumers.

E-commerce penetration in overall to trade retail continues to grow, to 12.7% in 2023. In monetary terms, this amounts to 2.4 trillion tenge. At the same time, the share of sales from marketplaces in the first half of 2023 decreased to 84% compared to 89% in 2022. Annual sales growth from marketplaces was 83%, while sales from online stores almost tripled. The largest share of sold goods on marketplaces falls on phones and gadgets - 28%, household appliances - 12%, computers and - ON 10%, auto goods - 8%.

The Kazakhstan e-commerce sector introduces innovative logistics solutions, optimizes routes, offers real-time tracking, and increases the number of delivery points. International companies are opening fulfillment centers, warehouses, points of issue here - this becomes an additional impetus for the development of e-commerce through the logistics segment.

Overall, e-commerce penetration in overall retail in Kazakhstan continues to grow, according to Wunder Digital. Most of the sales in this category are in marketplaces, which provide a platform for numerous sellers and buyers. In 2024, the share of sales among large players such as Wildberries and Ozon is expected to decrease, with an increase in the share of Pinduoduo, Taobao and Trendyol marketplaces, as well as small and medium-sized online stores. These platforms make it possible to sell goods of Kazakhstani origin, which contributes to the development of local business and increase sales.

2022: Retail e-commerce market volume grew by 30% to KZT1,349 bn

Data for the period from 2019 to 2022

2020: Retail e-commerce market volume grew by 82% to KZT 596 bn

By the end of 2020, the volume of the retail e-commerce market in Kazakhstan reached 596 billion tenge, which is 82% more than a year earlier, when the indicator was measured at 327 billion tenge. This is stated in a study conducted by PwC Kazakhstan together with the Association of Digital Kazakhstan (ACC).

In dollars, the Kazakhstan online trading market for 2020 rose by 72%, to about $1.4 billion. Experts attribute less high growth rates in the American currency than in the national currency to the devaluation of the tenge.

It follows from the report that the number of transactions when buying online increased by 20%, and the average check in this segment rose by 52%.

According to analysts, the lack of the ability to purchase goods in physical stores provoked players to improve their platforms, services, payment and delivery processes. This affected the growth of consumer confidence and served as a faster development of e-commerce and an increase in demand for the purchase of goods in online format, the researchers say.

A new consciousness is formed that determines our daily habits and needs. We are all observers and participants in a new stage, when humanity is transformed from a society of consumption into a society of conscious consumption. The pandemic provoked not only serious economic shocks, structural changes in the lifestyle and health of people, but also made it possible to accelerate the development and adaptation of digital services everywhere, - commented on the results of PwC Kazakhstan partner, head of retail e-commerce market research in Kazakhstan Natalya Lim.

Transactions increased not in proportion to sales growth, meaning people began to order more or more expensive items in one check, which can be explained by the fact that people had more confidence in online purchases. This is reflected in the growth of the average check in tenge from 15 thousand in 2019 to 23 thousand tenge in 2020.Analysis of retail e-commerce market in the Republic of Kazakhstan

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