Yandex Shop will open dark malls in Moscow and St. Petersburg

The growing demand for online grocery delivery while this business remains unprofitable is forcing services to look for opportunities to improve the economy. Thus, Yandex Shop will open dark malls, or “dark supermarkets” with an expanded assortment, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the area of ​​which is three times larger than that of ordinary dark stores. This should increase the average check, but may complicate management and increase delivery times, experts say.

The Yandex Shop express delivery service will open a new warehouse format throughout Moscow and St. Petersburg – dark malls with an area of ​​up to 500 square meters. m and with an assortment of up to 6 thousand items, the company told Kommersant. The area of ​​regular darkstores of the service is two to three times smaller. More than 30 Yandex Shops dark malls are already operating in Moscow; the first such facilities will appear in St. Petersburg in 2024.

According to a representative of the service, the speed of delivery of goods from large warehouses remains at the level of conventional facilities, and the number of incoming orders is growing by 15%. “Previously, in terms of assortment, we were more like a convenience store, but now we are similar to supermarkets,” they say at Yandex Shop. In the future, the service plans to convert up to half of the premises in Moscow and St. Petersburg into the dark mall format. They added that they intend to continue opening regular dark stores, and the warehouse area depends on the density of orders in a particular area and the availability of premises. According to Infoline, at the end of 2022, the turnover of Yandex Shops grew by 60.7% year-on-year, to 43.5 billion rubles, which corresponds to seventh place among online grocery delivery operators.

General Director of Infoline-Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov notes that express delivery services are under pressure due to the worsening shortage of couriers, which may be especially acute during the upcoming New Year’s season of high demand. According to the expert, Yandex Shop’s decision to focus on expanding the range and area of ​​warehouses should allow an increase in the average check, which will improve the cost of one delivery.

As stated in the Infoline study, in the second quarter of 2023, the dominance of express delivery in less than two hours over bulk purchases increased. But, analysts point out, for most players this direction remains unprofitable and is supported by investments in marketing. Thus, the total net loss under RAS of Yandex Shops and Samokat operating under a similar model in 2022 increased by 8%, to 14 billion rubles, according to the Infoline review.

Irina Bolotova, a partner in the service for organizing the retail space “Pro.Stori”, notes that expanding the range, including through exclusive goods, allows online delivery services to form a loyal group of consumers. But, the expert points out, expanding the assortment matrix is ​​fraught with difficulties in operating activities. A wider range of goods in warehouses can increase the duration of assembly and delivery, confirms Mr. Burmistrov.

DNA Realty CEO Anton Belykh notes that competition for premises between e-grocery market players is intensifying, but there is no shortage of space in Moscow. According to the expert, online services can use almost any site for such warehouses, including basements or former factory premises. It is important to provide convenient access for trucks to unload goods, he points out. Based on the results of the first half of 2023, NF Group estimated the share of vacant space in the street retail segment in Moscow at 14.3% versus 15.7% a year earlier, in St. Petersburg at 7.7% versus 8.4%.

Director of Brands and Communications at Samokat, Elizaveta Emert, says that the range of dark stores of the service corresponds to the classic matrix of a “convenience store” and contains about 2.5 thousand items, including goods under its own brand. The company did not answer the question about expanding the area of ​​the facilities. Vkusville says that the network’s dark stores already occupy more than 900 sq. m. on average. m, and some objects – up to 1.5 thousand square meters. m with an assortment of over 10 thousand items, and the company is looking for smaller premises.

According to Infoline, in the first half of 2023, online food sales grew by 36.5% year-on-year, to 404 billion rubles; by the end of this year, the figure may increase by 44–48%, to 900–925 billion rubles.

Alina Savitskaya