Sales of sporting goods on Wildberries’ website jumped by 111 percent as compared to the year-ago period after Russia President Vladimir Putin backed a proposal by the head of Russia’s health watchdog to introduce a 10-day no-work holiday from May 1 to 11 to help prevent a surge in new coronavirus infections. As a percentage of the population, Russia has had the third-highest number of Covid-related deaths in the world, after the U.S. and Brazil.
Other than this exceptional work holiday, most other restrictions across the country have already been lifted and life in Moscow, which has been the epicenter of the country’s outbreak, and most other regions has almost entirely returned to normal.
The demand for running shoes jumped by 206 percent during the 10-day holiday period, said Wildberries, which is Russia’s biggest online retailer. Sales of Nordic walking poles increased by 91 percent and those of sports bottles went up by 136 percent. Orders rose by factors of 27 times for running heart rate monitors, five times for running backpacks and three times for sports gloves.
Other sports categories, including team sports, registered strong increases as well. The demand for football boots doubled. Purchases of basketball baskets soared by a factor of 36 times and baseball bats by a factor of 5 times. Sales of tennis and badminton products jumped by 50 percent. Items for yoga and Pilates rose by 45 percent, while martial arts in general experienced an increase of 145 percent.
Russians also spent much more than a year ago on visiting leading summer tourism destinations like Krasnodar Krai and the Sverdlovsk Oblast.
