E-commerce company valuation: regional features

Russian e-commerce market shows positive trends with regard to its core aspects that define market size and performance. To consummate e-commerce market transactions in a proper manner, as well as to select a further growth strategy for a company, one needs to correctly determine the market value of e-commerce companies. The market value is affected by such factors as the company’s location and regional presence. The purpose of this paper is to research into the possibilities of taking due account of regional specific features when determining the market value of e-commerce companies. The paper also analyzes Russian e-commerce market performance and trends in its evolution, as well as changes in customer dynamics in e-commerce, as illustrated by the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation. The paper proposes a plan for how one should take due account of the specific features of regional e-commerce market, through the example of a company engaged in e-commerce business in Volgograd Region. The article also includes an overview of currently available approaches to company valuation in e-commerce, as well as the methods of existing risks assessment. The following growth drivers have been identified for the Russian e-commerce market: “side effects” of networks, complementarity of various Internet trade components, and low operating costs. Consequently, the key aspects of company valuation in e-commerce, as identified and segmented region-wise, are further being translated into the key factors that have a direct impact on the total value of the companies under valuation. Such impact factors include the number of potential customers in the region, change trends with regard to retail turnover in the region, and e-commerce market share depending on the population size of the region.