E-commerce reshapes Kazakhstan retail as marketplaces displace bazaars

September 4, 2026 at 02:15 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Kazakhstan's retail trade is shifting decisively from bazaars and stores to online marketplaces, with e-commerce's share of retail turnover rising over the past six years. Traditional retail formats are adapting: bazaars focus on fresh produce and small wholesale, while shopping and entertainment centers become leisure and service spaces. Warehouses, pickup points, and fast delivery now form the backbone of the new trade infrastructure.

Key Facts

E-commerce's share of Kazakhstan's retail turnover has grown over the past six years, altering the country's geographic infrastructure.
Bazaars are finding their niche in fresh produce and small wholesale, while shopping and entertainment centers are transforming into leisure and service spaces.
Warehouses, order pickup points, and fast delivery systems now form the foundation of Kazakhstan's new trade infrastructure.
Economist Askar Kysykov notes that new infrastructure construction is increasingly tied to logistics—warehouses, fulfillment, pickup points, dark stores, and delivery services.
Gulshаt Sarieva, head of Cushman & Wakefield Kazakhstan, says marketplaces have significantly changed consumer habits and the retail model, with the pandemic accelerating the shift to online ordering.

Marketplace Advantages

Qazaq Expert Club expert Dilyara Seitnurova states that marketplaces outperform traditional bazaars on several indicators: price transparency, logistics convenience, return options, and buyer guarantees. On a marketplace, a buyer can view ten different offers for the same product and choose the cheapest one. Sarieva explains that the advantages of digital platforms go beyond lower prices: they offer a wide assortment, quick comparison of offers, and convenient order pickup.

Infrastructure Shift

The development of pickup points, parcel lockers, and courier delivery, along with marketplace integration into banking apps and the spread of installment payment systems, has paved the way for online purchases. Kysykov observes that while construction of entertainment centers has not stopped, people now visit them mainly for entertainment and leisure. Sarieva notes that money has not disappeared from the trade sector; it has simply changed direction, with part of the turnover that previously passed through stores and bazaars now moving to warehouse infrastructure, pickup stations, and courier services.