13 July 2020 Moscow, Russia. M.Video-Eldorado Group (PJSC M.Video, MOEX: MVID), Russia's largest consumer electronics retailer by revenue and part of the SAFMAR Group owned by Mikhail Gutseriev, saw a spike in demand for electric personal transporters in June 2020. Their sales grew by 25% in volume and 70% in value terms year-on-year, with electric kick scooters, hoverboards and unicycles, and e-bikes representing 77%, 22% and 1% of purchased vehicles, respectively. This category has been gaining traction among adults as a green and mobile alternative to cars and public transport, which is mainly attributable to a growing range of products and uses, greater affordability, and development of urban infrastructure.
Personal transporters are becoming a mass market as they turn from an entertainment into an integral part of urban transport systems. Just like in 2019, June saw the strongest demand, with sales at M.Video and Eldorado adding a quarter in volume and 70% in value terms and the average ticket reaching RUB 18,200. iconBIT, Mizar, TRIBE, Ninebot by Segway, and HIPER were the Top 5 brands that month.
With a 77% share in the total sales of personal transporters, electric kick scooters were the most popular product among M.Video and Eldorado customers. A year ago, they accounted for 60%. Good for short and long rides alike, these easy-to-use, safe and compact vehicles can go at speeds of up to 25 km/h and travel for over 20 km without recharging.
Robust performance in the segment of electric kick scooters is driven by greater affordability and new additions to the assortment suitable for various uses. For example, Russian customers have shown keen interest in models with large air-filled tyres that can be used to travel rough roads, as well as scooters with seats. Another product type to demonstrate positive results цуку children’s scooters, which weigh 4-5 kg, can take up to 50 kg and go at up to 6 km/h. They come with a number of safety features.
A further 22% of sales was generated by hoverboards and electric unicycles (EUCs), with the former becoming a niche segment as it suffers from a weaker demand due to the product’s limited functionality and a lack of innovative solutions. Now, hoverboards are purchased primarily as a gift for children or teenagers so they can have fun outdoors. Designed for adults, EUCs operate in a way similar to hoverboards, but are better at manoeuvring and handling rough roads, faster, and have batteries with a higher capacity. In this segment, we are seeing growth in the number of more affordable models for leisure, while e-bikes, thus far accounting for around 1% of sales, have a great potential, and are likely to enjoy an increasingly strong demand in the coming years.
Vadim Eremin, Head of Gadgets and Innovations at M.Video-Eldorado: ‘The market for electric personal transporters in Russia continues to develop at a fast pace, gaining more and more traction among people who want to speed up their urban travel without much strain and protect the environment at the same time. Customers can choose from a number of vehicle types according to their budget and needs, with design and technical properties becoming the main criteria. The most popular product now is electric kick scooters used by people to commute to work, cruise through parks, or even perform their job duties as couriers or in places where they need to cover long distances throughout a day. As the traffic created by rideables grows, users also increasingly focus on safety, driving up the sales of protective equipment, lights and other accessories’.