Porn is one of the most profitable ecommerce niches and is a business with an interest in innovation. Adult workers understand the importance of technical changes and search trends, especially since emerging markets and revenue opportunities can lead to new business. In this piece, I hope to pull back the curtain on a region that may not be thought of as a potentially lucrative destination for porn traffic, but is in fact an area ripe for business.
ADULT TRAFFIC FROM RUSSIA
There are five types of payment cards represented in the Russian market: Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, Maestro and local payment system Mir.
According to SimilarWeb, in 2020, Russia's tube site consumption was similar to that in other areas of the world. Russians gravitated towards XVideos in the No. 1 spot, followed by XNXX, Pornhub and xHamster. Popular search terms from Russian traffic over the past few years include “anal,” “Russian,” “Overwatch” (a popular Activision Blizzard game with beloved characters), “mom,” “hentai,” and “stepsister.” Other more recently popular terms from 2020 include “sex tape,” “Russian big girls” and “Russian sex tape.”
Amid the rise of independent producers creating content for the likes of OnlyFans, there has been an increase in traffic for amateur content, and this is especially true among Russian users. They have demonstrated preferences for reality-based homemade porn, as well as clips with Russian dialogue. Perhaps surprising to some, women comprise 28% of viewing audiences. And while the pandemic brought a massive spike in traffic to porn sites, in the Russian market, piracy decreased.
It should be noted that Russia constitutes the 12th greatest source of traffic for adult content. The average length of a Russian user's visit to a single porn site is eight minutes and 35 seconds, with 48% of Russian users consuming porn via mobile. The average age of male viewers is 34 years old, while Sunday proved to be the most popular day of the week for Russians to consume porn. The most-visited camming sites included Chaturbate, MyFreeCams, BongCams, LiveJasmin and Streamate.
THE LEGALITIES OF ADULT IN RUSSIA
Some internet sources may suggest that the camming business is stringently prohibited in Russia, but it’s not the truth. Let’s clarify some crucial details about Russian laws regarding the industry: shows performed in cam studios, behind-the-scenes and one-on-one between a model and consumer, are not illegal in Russia. Since cam shows are not recorded on tape or other similar media, they’re completely allowed. Also, "erotic" films are legal to create, even if shows on Russian TV have some limits. Making "erotic" content is not considered the same as making "hardcore" adult content, but there’s really no legal line between the two, and homemade sex tapes have no limits when it comes to production.
PAYMENT PROCESSING IN RUSSIA
MasterCard Europe President Mark Barnett has been quoted as saying Russia is a very progressive, modern and efficient market. According to Statista, between Russian and foreign online stores, Russian purchases in 2020 added up to 3.221 trillion rubles, which is 58.5% more than the same period the previous year. The majority of Russian consumers, especially those between the ages of 20 and 40, utilize online banking and contactless payment services to complete their transactions. Sberbank Online (one of the most popular bank services) remains the leader among online payment services, while YooMoney (formerly Yandex.Money) is the next-highest-ranked and Google Pay accounts for about a third of contactless payments.
In 2020, according to the latest data from Mediascope, 50% of Russians used desktop computers, while 70% browsed the web via mobile phone, with a third of online traffic coming from users who access the internet exclusively via mobile. Meanwhile, Google Play and Apple Store reported that dating apps Tinder and Mamba were among the Top 10 most paid-for apps in 2020 among users.
CREDIT CARD STATS FOR 2020
There are five types of payment cards represented in the Russian market: Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, Maestro and local payment system Mir. Ecommerce comprised 67% of payments in Russia, while credit card use was 46% Visa, 38% MasterCard, 8% Mir and 6% “other” for online transactions.
As for Certus Finance, in both verticals (web and dating), Visa became the leader in the number of transactions. The average approval rate among our customers is 63%. Additionally, we had very low chargebacks and refund requests, with less than 1% of transactions in 2020.
In conclusion, the Russian market is closer to being within your grasp than you might think. Sometimes, an information gap or fear is all that’s stopping us from making good decisions and moving forward with exciting prospects. Business can be risky, but who knows what new markets may open before us in the fast developing future?
Ilya Firsov has a background in the automotive, finance and various adult industries, with experience in sales, affiliate marketing and IT projects. He is currently the Head of Sales for Certus Finance and responsible for marketing and branding.
