The share of Russian consumers ordering ready-to-eat meals through delivery services reached 46% in 2025, Kommersant reported on February 6.

This figure represents a sharp increase from the 30% recorded in 2024, as the market shifts away from traditional large-format retail.

Data provided by Nielsen indicates that supermarkets maintained the second position with 44% of respondents purchasing ready-to-eat food in these stores, compared to 37% in 2024.

The growth of delivery and proximity formats has come at the expense of hypermarkets, which are seeing a decline in popularity and foot traffic. Marina Volkova, director of analytics and consulting at Nielsen, noted that while hypermarkets previously attracted customers with prepared food islands, they are now forced to use third-party delivery services to move stock.

The hypermarket segment is contracting across the country, with the total number of stores falling by 1.6% to 1,000 locations during the first nine months of 2025.

Olga Sumishevskaya, a partner at One Story, stated that buyers increasingly prefer small shops within walking distance of their homes.

Retailers are pivoting their business models to capture this online demand. Online retailer Samokat expanded its culinary range by 65% in 2025, while X5 Group (FIVE) expects online sales to account for 20% of its ready-to-eat turnover by 2028.

Total sales in the online ready-to-eat segment exceeded RUB170bn ($1.85bn) in 2025, a 25% increase year-on-year.

Supermarkets remain the largest channel by value at RUB240bn ($2.61bn), while soft discounters grew 35% to reach RUB210bn ($2.28bn).

Mikhail Burmistrov, general director of Infoline-Analytics, noted that despite the popularity of delivery, the online segment currently remains the third-largest channel by total sales volume.

The sector faces future constraints due to a lack of production capacity in remote areas such as the Far East. "Local companies do not have sufficient competencies, and federal chains find it unprofitable to deliver finished products over long distances due to logistics costs," Kommersant added on February 6.