OREANDA-NEWS.The volume of purchases of Chinese sales agents - Daigou - in Russia by 2023 could reach 174 billion rubles. Such a conclusion is made by experts of the research group of the Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the transport and logistics company Woodbag, which specializes in working with China. In the course of the study, Woodbag provided the working group with data for the Chinese dealers' accounts, which made it possible to conduct surveys and identify that at least 20,000 daygos work in Russia (12,000 in Moscow and St. Petersburg and 8,000 in 13 million cities), and the turnover of one Russian daigow per month is about 175 thousand rubles.

As a rule, daigow are Chinese who live abroad, said Ivan Rastgeayev, general director of Woodbag. Daigou sell imported products to its compatriots through the WeChat mobile application, which is simultaneously similar to the messenger, social network and payment system. But, he noted, unlike the usual social networks, subscribing to a profile in WeChat is possible only through an invitation from a friend. The seller isn't a complete stranger, Rastegayev explains.

The appearance of the Daigou in Russia was a consequence of the devaluation of the ruble at the end of 2014. Then, due to exchange rate differences, goods in Russia became much cheaper - the Chinese began to come to the country for global brands, Rastegayev said. Over time, the trend has changed: today, the Daigow channel is designed primarily for products of the mass market segment, and its main consumers are young people aged 20-30, Rastegayev said. Mostly they are guided either by the desire to try new products, or to buy something cheaper, he said.

Now the bulk of Daigow purchases in Russia is accounted for by cosmetics and health products (dietary supplements, organic food, etc.), Nekrasov told the media. They also resell jewelry, clothing, baby food, but the share of these products in the sales structure is much smaller, he explained.