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Small business in Russia accelerates investments in online trade — Kalinin

The head of the Opora Rossii business association mentioned that "the crisis had demanded an intensified transition to online commerce, including through marketplaces"

ST.PETERSBURG, June 2. / TASS /. Due to the pandemic, representatives of Russian small and medium-sized businesses have accelerated their medium-term plans for communications to online commerce, said the head of the Opora Rossii business association, Alexander Kalinin, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Wednesday.

"We see that the crisis has demanded an intensified transition to online commerce, including through marketplaces. Small businesses are forced to invest very quickly in this area, not postponing for 5-7 years, because if they do not do this, they will lose their business ," said Kalinin at the "Promising sales markets: electronic marketplaces, retail chains, consumer cooperation, tourism" session.

According to him, the association also sees a great interest of small businesses in export. "The threshold of entry to export markets has dropped significantly, through the possibilities of marketplaces, new international logistics," said Kalinin.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum organized by the Roscongress Foundation, is taking place on June 2-5. The topic of this year’s forum is "Together again. The economy of a new reality." TASS is the information partner and the official photo hosting agency of SPIEF.

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