Alibaba and JD find solace in Russia

Moscow

RUSSIA'S plunging currency hasn't weened consumers off foreign goods. Instead, cash-strapped shoppers are turning to online retailers for imported smartphones, jewellery and clothes, giving an unexpected boost to Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com Inc.

Alibaba's AliExpress site posted a 40 per cent increase in Russian visitors to 22 million in July compared with a year earlier, according to researcher TNS. JD.com, which gets more than half its sales from electronics and home appliances, started its first international site in June in Russia, exclusively offering devices such as Xiaomi Corp smartphones for about US$214. That's less than half of what an iPhone or Samsung Electronics Co model with similar technical specifications costs locally.