Jewelry Goes Cross-Border: Why Russians Are Switching from Store Windows to Foreign Online Services

Russia's jewelry market is entering a phase of structural change. Against the backdrop of slowing domestic market growth (sales increased 11% in the first nine months of 2025, compared to 28.1% a year earlier) and rising financial caution among buyers, cross-border platforms are seeing a sharp surge in interest in jewelry. In the ten months through 2025, Russian spending on jewelry purchases abroad through CDEK.Shopping quadrupled to 151 million rubles. Current trends show that the purchasing model in the jewelry segment is shifting from offline to cross-border commerce, where assortment is expanding and trust in delivery services is growing.

The online alternative: how cross-border services are capturing demand

Jewelry has become the fastest-growing category among accessories in the cross-border segment. It accounted for 63% of all orders in the accessories category, with watches taking another 33% and costume jewelry making up the rest. The average transaction for jewelry purchases through CDEK.Shopping reached 53,000 rubles—roughly one and a half times higher than spending on watches and costume jewelry.

The growth is explained by a combination of factors that give consumers a sense of security and favorable conditions. In 2025, the strengthening ruble, faster marketplace delivery times, and simplified return mechanisms lowered the key barriers that previously made expensive purchases abroad seem risky. Russian companies also played a major role by establishing procurement relationships with foreign sellers and taking on the logistics. Against this backdrop, the domestic market has begun showing signs of slowdown, and the gap in momentum between online imports and offline retail is becoming increasingly apparent.

Why the domestic market is losing momentum

The slowdown in the domestic jewelry market in fall 2025 resulted from a confluence of financial, psychological, and structural factors. In October 2025, the Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 108 points (down 2 points from the previous reading), returning to summer 2023 levels. With the key rate at a high 16.5%, retail loans and installment plans—which previously accounted for 35–40% of expensive purchases at jewelry chains—became inaccessible to a broad audience. The average consumer loan rate in October–November exceeded 27%, while credit card use for large purchases grew only nominally due to rising debt burdens.

The market has become extremely sensitive to changes in financial conditions, with any rate increase instantly cooling demand. This combination—expensive credit, declining consumer confidence, and limited domestic supply—creates a window of opportunity for cross-border services that offer wider selection and competitive prices, intensifying the flow of demand beyond Russian retail.

Who wins and what risks emerge

The main beneficiaries of this demand shift are logistics operators and marketplaces, which over 2024–2025 have effectively built a parallel channel for jewelry trade. A stronger ruble, faster international delivery, and the emergence of services with return guarantees have made cross-border purchases not only widespread but also safe. According to market data, in 2025 the average delivery time for jewelry from China, the UAE, and Turkey fell from 18–25 days to 6–12 days, while the share of orders with a "quick return" option rose to 42%. Marketplaces are rapidly scaling up sales of jewelry from abroad: the volume of such purchases over the first 10 months of 2025 quadrupled compared to the same period in 2024.

For traditional jewelry chains, this market restructuring poses a challenge. Against a backdrop of declining consumer confidence and rising credit costs, domestic demand is shifting toward budget segments and online, which is putting pressure on margins. According to market participants' estimates, the share of buyers moving to online formats has grown to 24–27%, whereas in 2023–2024 it did not exceed 14–16%.

In offline retail, as of June 1, 2025, the number of jewelry stores in Russia declined 6% year-on-year to 15,300. Due to weakening demand, jewelry chains are cutting back their assortments and investing more cautiously in new collections.

In 2026, the jewelry market may face new risks: foreign platforms continue to intensify competition, especially in the segment of 585-fineness gold items and affordable designer jewelry. If the ruble exchange rate remains stable, purchases through cross-border services will continue to grow, which will increase pressure on offline chains and redirect part of the revenue toward marketplaces and logistics companies.

For offline chains and Russian manufacturers, the only way to hold their ground is to integrate more actively into marketplaces, refresh their assortments, and offer more flexible sales terms. The market is expected to segment: mass demand will shift online, while offline will retain its position in the premium and prestige segments.