"Научный аспект №1-2019" - Гуманитарные науки

Comparative Analysis: AliExpress, EBay, iherb

Дюрик Анна Михайловна – бакалавр по специальности «Гостиничное дело» Российского экономического университета имени Г.В Плеханова.

Боровская Елена Алексеевна – бакалавр по специальности «Торговое дело» Российского экономического университета имени Г.В Плеханова.

Фоминых Наталия Юрьевна – кандидат филологических наук, профессор кафедры Иностранных языков №1 Российского экономического университета им. Г. В. Плеханова.

Аннотация: Настоящая статья посвящена анализу трех наиболее известных иностранных сайтов, поставляющих свою продукцию в Россию с огромным успехом. AliExpress, eBay и Iherb завоевали российский рынок и продолжают расти.

Abstract: This article is devoted to the analysis of three foreign and most known websites, supplying their products to Russia with a tremendous success. AliExpress, eBay and Iherb have conquered the Russian market and continue to grow.

Ключевые слова: AliExpress, EBay, iherb, электронная коммерция, сайт, интернет-магазин.

Keywords: AliExpress, EBay, iherb, e-commerce, website, online store.

The 21 century became the age of scientific and technical discoveries and breakthroughs. However, our time is recognized as the era of consumption. Today, the main part of humanity no longer faces the need of elementary survival. However, by means of all available media and communication, modern market civilization makes a person believe he is obliged not just to live, but to live well. It is considered right in a mass consumption society for a person to own a certain set of material values. In this case, the consumer is required not only to have this set of benefits, but to be engaged in its constant multiplication and updating. One can observe it in a seasonal change of collections in clothing stores, frequent launches of new «ultra-modern» models of mobile phones, tablets, computers, home appliances, cars every 3 to 4 weeks. The rate of supply is growing, consumers desires become more and more sophisticated every year.

Therefore along with traditional shops the so-called electronic sales platforms (online stores), appear websites, which are direct competitors to regular boutiques and shops.

For example, AliExpress, E-Bay, Iherb. These online stores have gained tremendous popularity.

AliExpress is an online store which was created in 2010 and owned by Alibaba Group. At the moment, it is successfully operates and expands. AliExpress is a global virtual marketplace, providing opportunities to buy various goods produced in China. Goods are sold retail and small wholesale. Items information is automatically translated into different languages.

According to Alexa¹, 21.8% of website visitors are from Russia. Next in terms of number of visitors are the following countries: Spain - 4.6%, Brazil - 4.5%, USA - 4.3%, Poland - 3.2%.

AliExpress holds the 34th place in the list of the most visited web resources in the world according to Alexa.

eBay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce corporation that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. The company was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995, and became a prominent success story of the dot-com bubble. As of 2011 eBay is a multibillion-dollar business with operations in more than 30 countries, as of 2011.

The company manages eBay website, an online auction and shopping website where people and businesses can buy and sell a wide variety of goods and services worldwide. The website is free for buyers, but sellers have fixed member of items to be displayed with chargeable option for extras.

Starting from February 23, 2010, «international shopping center eBay» began its operation in Russia. In Russia representative office of Ebay was opened in June 20, 2012. The position of the head of the Russian office took Vladimir Dolgov, who since 2005 was the head of Russian department of Google inc., and in 2000-2005, he held various senior positions in online store Ozon.ru. At the moment, the position of the head of the Russian representative office is Ilya Kretov.

Iherb has been operating since 1996 and operates through a variety of distribution centers located in the States of California, Kentucky, Illinois and Pennsylvania. The company is a world leader in the sale of goods made of natural raw materials at reasonable prices to buyers from around the world.

During the ten years of its existence, the resource is continuously developing, improving and becoming closer to the user. Currently, the website is famous for supplier of natural foods, supplements, minerals, vitamins, herbs, Superfoods, cosmetics, home care and sports products.

Each company has a history of development and, importantly, to this day has its own clientele and continues to work and develop. However, in terms of popularity, in Russia AliExpress holds the first place because there you can find literally everything and at a various price. The price can range from surprisingly low to adequately high. It is possible to choose a supplier with better prices, which, of course, will be the main reason for choosing a seller (supplier). According to statistics, in 2018 20 million Russians shopped on AliExpress.

In Russia, more than 25 thousand entrepreneurs sell their products through eBay. Furthermore, 850 thousand of the Russian people consider themselves active buyers. In total at the moment there are 1.2 million ads on the Russian platform.

According to the analytical Agency SimilarWeb, the total global traffic of the iherb website is about 22.5 million people per month. Russia accounts for 22% of this volume. According to Efim Aldukhov, CEO of OMNI Solutions, behavioral characteristics of Russians are fantastic. On average, each visitor spends 8 minutes on the website.

In October 2018, more than 6 million Russians visited the website; the average check was about 2.5 – 3 thousand rubles. Moreover, 95 – 100 thousand orders from Russia are made on the website monthly.

In conclusion, online store have become strong competitors. Many people make choices in favor of virtual shopping that proves e-commerce importance in our modern world. Nowadays, an online store opening can be more successful than opening of a regular store.

One can say that these trading platforms have a significant difference, but never the less, the principle of placing an order and its payment, as well as the protection of the buyer are very similar. It is impossible to say which of the trading platforms is better. The key factor in choice process is, of course, preferences and habits of a buyer.

As for the Iherb website, it cannot be compared with AliExpress and eBay, since Iherb is attached to the specific industry and products. This website is popular in Russia, but in terms of volume, it cannot be compared with the two above-mentioned giants.

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¹Alexa Internet, Inc. is an American web traffic analysis company based in San Francisco. It is a subsidiary of Amazon.

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