Three Quarters of Russians Don’t Use RuStore
According to a survey by VCIOM, commissioned by the Russian Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment (RATEK), three out of four respondents have never used the domestic mobile app store RuStore. For most, having RuStore pre-installed on new devices is seen as an unimportant feature.
The survey was prompted by a bill submitted to the State Duma that would require RuStore to be pre-installed on all smartphones sold in Russia. Many believe that if this law passes, it could lead to a ban on selling Apple devices, since Apple’s security policy prohibits installing apps from third-party sources on iOS/iPadOS.
Potential Impact on Apple Users
A ban on selling iPhones without RuStore pre-installed could become a problem for 16% of Russians—the percentage who own Apple smartphones, according to VCIOM’s July survey. For comparison, Apple ranked third in popularity after Xiaomi (20%, including Redmi and Poco) and Samsung (18%).
RuStore Lags Behind Google Play
RuStore is significantly less popular than Google Play. While 40% of respondents use Google Play to download apps, only 10% use RuStore. In fact, 74% said they have never used the Russian app store.
Because of this, most Russians don’t consider having RuStore pre-installed on a new smartphone to be important. With varying degrees of certainty, 77% gave this answer. Only 16% said it was “rather or very important.” Among iPhone owners, the numbers are similar—79% said it was unimportant, while 16% considered it important.
Uncertainty About Apple Device Restrictions
Overall, Russians have a poor understanding of the difficulties Apple users might face if a law bans the official sale of Apple devices without RuStore pre-installed: 15% see no difficulties, and another 36% were unsure how to answer.
Among the potential problems mentioned were: higher prices (18%), risk of being scammed when buying (15%), inconvenience when purchasing, and lack of warranty (14% each).