MOSCOW, 21 January 2026. The VCIOM Analytical Centre in partnership with Digital Trade Union presents the results of a study on the strategies to search for products and services on the internet.
Important online consumer patterns
Digital environment has considerably transformed traditional models of consumer behavior turning information search into an important stage of purchasing decision-making. The study reveals what strategies respondents use to search for the products and services they want.
According to the findings, nine in ten surveyed Russians who purchase online prefer to compare search results across various online resources, including almost every second respondent who does it regularly (46%).
Respondents pay particular attention to features those services provide: a vast majority of respondents say it is important to have an opportunity to compare different search results on the internet (95%); this is important not only when searching for everyday goods but also rental property or financial services.
Strategies to search for products and services online
Respondents actively use specific apps and aggregators to search for products and services on the internet; 80% use them before taking the final decision. However, search engines are still quite popular among users when they start searching for what they need (27%). An overwhelming majority of Russians who start to search for products and services using search engines continue their search on the website or app of an aggregator/marketplace (96%), including 50% of those who do it often, and 42%, sometimes.
Those who prefer to use search engines say that these tools provide a wide variety of options to compare (52% and 45% of those who start with search engines).
Online search successful formula
Almost every respondent in the target audience says it is important to see immediately all the information about the product or service they are looking for on the internet: price, description, seller and rating (98%), even when they look for property, legal, banking and financial services.
Seven in ten respondents see the difference between causal web browsing and searching purposefully for goods and services on the internet (70%). The reason why many respondents prefer the latter is that consumer expectations are higher: they say that it is more important for them to compare the results across different sources, read reviews and comments of other users than when they just surf online (87% and 88% respectively).
Internet survey was conducted November 17 – December 8, 2025. A total of 1,500 Russians aged 18 + who make online purchases several times per month or more often took part in the survey. Survey method: panel-based online survey using a formalized questionnaire (panel designed by Online Marketing Intelligence (“Enjoy Research”)).
When searching for products and services online do you compare search results (including prices for the same product or service) across various platforms (aggregators/marketplace and/or specific company’s website et cet.), or not? (close-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
I compare them always or almost always | 46 |
I compare them often | 32 |
Half the cases | 12 |
I do not compare often | 7 |
I never or almost never compare | 2 |
Don’t know | 1 |
When was the last time you searched for goods/services online? What platform/resource did you use for that? (close-ended question, any number of answers, % of total respondents) | |
Websites/apps of aggregates/ marketplaces (Avito, Profi.ru, Ozon, Wildberries, Aviasales, hh.ru, Ostrovok, etc.) | 80 |
Search engines (Yandex, Google. Etc.) | 41 |
Websites/apps of specific companies (stores, salons, banks, etc) | 18 |
Social networking sites, including bloggers, channels/groups on messengers (Groupes on Odnoklassniki or Vkontakte, VK Market, Telegram channels etc.) | 7 |
Other | 0 |
Don’t know | 1 |
Where do you start to search for goods or services online? (close-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
Websites/apps of aggregates/ marketplaces (Avito, Profi.ru, Ozon, Wildberries, Aviasales, hh.ru, Ostrovok, etc.) | 64 |
Search engines (Yandex, Google. Etc.) | 27 |
Websites/apps of specific companies (stores, salons, banks, etc) | 6 |
Social networking sites, including bloggers, channels/groups on messengers (Groupd on Odnoklassniki or Vkontakte, VK Market, Telegram channels etc.) | 2 |
Other | 0 |
Don’t know | 1 |
You have said that you often start your online search using search engines. Why do you use search engines to search for products and services (compared to aggregators/marketplaces, websites of specific companies, social networking sites, messengers)? (close-ended question, up to 5 answers, % of those who start searching for products and services using search engines) | |
Because of a large number of options | 52 |
Because you can compare different search results | 45 |
I got used to using search engines | 43 |
Because you can quickly find the official website of a company (bank, salon, store, etc) | 35 |
Because you can have an opportunity to read reviews, and leave a review (of a website/store/company/restaurant) | 31 |
Because you can have find the aggregator/website you need | 27 |
I trust search engines | 22 |
Other | 0 |
Don’t know | 3 |
Does it ever happen to you that you start to look for goods and services using a search engine and then go to a website/app/aggregator/marketplace to continue your search? (close-ended question, one answer, % of those who start to look for good and services using search engines) | |
Yes, often | 50 |
Yes, sometimes | 42 |
Yes, rarely | 4 |
No, it never happens | 2 |
Don’t know | 2 |
Is it important or unimportant for you to see the information about the product or service (price/product description/ seller/rating) immediately when doing online shopping? (close-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
Yes, important / yes, likely important | 98 |
No, unimportant / No, likely unimportant | 2 |
Don’t know | 0 |
Is it important or unimportant for you to compare products and services (for example, prices for the same product) when doing online shopping? (close-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
Yes, important / yes, likely important | 95 |
No, unimportant / No, likely unimportant | 3 |
Don’t know | 2 |
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (close-ended question, one answer per each statement, % of total respondents) | |
1. Searching for goods and services online differs from casual web browsing (not related to purchases, orders, booking, etc) | |
Agree / Likely to agree | 70 |
Likely to disagree / disagree | 20 |
Don’t know | 10 |
2. For online shopping it is more important to have an opportunity to check feedback from other users (reviews, comments) than for casual web browsing (not related to purchases, booking, orders, etc) | |
Agree / Likely to agree | 88 |
Likely to disagree / disagree | 8 |
Don’t know | 4 |
3. For online shopping it is more important to have an opportunity to compare information (search results) across platforms than for casual web browsing | |
Agree / Likely to agree | 87 |
Likely to disagree / disagree | 8 |
Don’t know | 5 |
Author: Lyudmila Karpova