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Ready to ship to a nation the size of Western Europe? Kazakhstan's digital marketplace just hit $6.1 billion in 2024 - a staggering 79% jump from the previous year that's making international brands take notice.
We're talking about a country where 14-16% of all retail now happens online, with smartphone-wielding consumers driving this shift across 2.7 million square kilometers of varied terrain.
But here's the thing: those same factors fueling growth create unique logistical puzzles that can make that can break your expansion plans.
From customs bottlenecks at the Chinese border to delivering through -40°C winters, we've identified 6 core challenges that separate successful market entries from expensive mistakes.
Let's break down what it really takes to win in Central Asia's fastest-growing e-commerce market.
E-Commerce in Kazakhstan 2025: A Quick Market Snapshot
The numbers tell a compelling story. Kazakhstan's e-commerce in Kazakhstan has exploded into a $6.1 billion market, with 89% of all online sales happening through marketplaces rather than individual brand websites. This marketplace dominance makes Kazakhstan unique compared to Western markets
What makes Kazakhstan different? For one, mobile-first shopping habits dominate the scene.
With 99% of households owning mobile phones, consumers skip desktop entirely and head straight to marketplace apps like Kaspi.kz and Wildberries. It’s no surprise, then, that marketplaces control nearly 90% of online sales - a level of concentration that would even make Amazon envious.
Meanwhile, cross-border activity is exploding too.
Parcels from China jumped 67% year-over-year, reaching 4.5 million packages in just 10 months. However, the April 2024 de-minimis threshold drop to €200 (from €1000) means more orders now face VAT and duties, making local fulfillment more attractive.
What makes market entry smoother? Importer of record programs can help speed up duty calculations, while merchant of record solutions can handle local currency settlement automatically.
Let’s dive into the 6 e-commerce challenges and break them down one by one.
Kazakhstan E-Commerce Challenge #1: Customs Bottlenecks
Every seasoned cross-border merchant has the same nightmare: watching a perfectly planned shipment disappear into customs limbo for weeks because of a single documentation misstep.
Kazakhstan's new EAEU e-commerce protocols streamlined much of the process, yet compliance gaps still create expensive delays. While properly documented parcels clear in hours, flagged shipments can face weeks of bureaucratic bouncing between agencies.
The compliance triggers that matter:
- Certificate of Conformity (EAC) requirements for electronics, toys, cosmetics - no exceptions
- Dual-use goods screening on seemingly innocent items like drones or thermal cameras
- HS code mismatches between product descriptions and declared classifications
- Incomplete e-invoices - Missing product details slow electronic customs declarations
- Language requirements for origin documentation and safety information
The licensed "e-commerce operator" system introduced by EAEU consolidates thousands of small parcels into bulk declarations, dramatically speeding compliant shipments. But this efficiency comes with a catch - non-compliant goods face harsher scrutiny and longer delays than ever before.
Insider Tip: Customs officers now cross-reference product descriptions against declared HS codes using automated systems, making classification accuracy critical.
Thankfully, professional certification management can help.
It eliminates most clearance frictions by ensuring your products meet technical regulations before they even ship. Plus, compliance auditing catches issues with formulation, labeling, or packaging that could otherwise lead to delays.
In the end, the smartest strategy is to focus on proactive compliance rather than scrambling to fix problems later. That’s why Importer of Record arrangements are so valuable - they transfer customs liability to local specialists who know exactly what documentation customs authorities need.
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Kazakhstan E-Commerce Challenge #2: Last-Mile Delivery Across 2.7 Million km²
Geography shapes everything about logistics in Kazakhstan. We're talking about a country where shipping from Almaty to the western regions covers the same distance as crossing all of Western Europe. That's the reality every delivery network faces here.
The numbers tell an interesting story: 72% of online orders now ship beyond the top three cities, yet infrastructure remains concentrated in urban corridors. This creates a service gap that successful merchants are learning to bridge through mixed delivery strategies
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National infrastructure investments are helping bridge these gaps. QazPost's partnership with China's YTO Express will add a 60,000 m² logistics hub near Almaty by 2026, which should improve capacity significantly.
What really works is a winning approach that combines regional delivery networks with optimized fulfillment operations across both Almaty and Astana. This setup ensures reasonable service levels for urban customers, while also managing the challenges and costs of rural delivery.
Routing tactics
- Dynamic zone pricing: Reflect true delivery costs without subsidizing unsustainable routes
- Consolidated rural runs: Batch remote deliveries to optimize carrier utilization
- Weather-adjusted ETAs: Integrate meteorological data for realistic delivery windows
- Carrier redundancy: Multiple partnerships prevent service disruptions
- Seasonal SLA adjustments: Extend delivery commitments during harsh weather periods
Master Kazakhstan E-Commerce Without the Learning Curve
Kazakhstan E-Commerce Challenge #3: Weather-Proof Shipping
Now let's talk about something that might surprise merchants from temperate climates: Kazakhstan's weather isn't just an inconvenience - it's an operational planning requirement. With temperature swings ranging from -40°C to +40°C throughout the year, businesses face real challenges in maintaining product integrity and meeting delivery schedules.
When it comes to winter, the challenges become even more serious.
For instance, blizzard conditions can repeatedly shut down major highways, with key corridors experiencing 10-15 full closure days annually. These aren't minor delays; they're complete supply chain breaks that can strand inventory for days.
Temperature damage affects multiple product categories:
- Electronics: Battery performance drops significantly in extreme cold, LCD screens can crack
- Liquid products: Cosmetics and supplements freeze and rupture containers
- Packaging materials: Standard cardboard becomes brittle, adhesives fail in cold weather
It’s not just winter that causes problems. Summer heat brings its own set of challenges.
In southern regions, temperatures can climb to +40°C, which can melt chocolates, spoil cosmetics, and warp plastic components during transport. On top of that, desert areas add dust infiltration, while spring mudslides create routing headaches.
But how can businesses tackle these challenges? Smart inventory management is key.
Positioning stock in regional warehouses before winter hits can eliminate the need for cross-country transport during severe weather. Quality assurance protocols are also essential to catch temperature damage before products reach customers.
Additionally, spreading geographic fulfillment across northern and southern regions acts as operational insurance - when weather blocks one route, inventory remains accessible via alternatives.
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Kazakhstan E-Commerce Challenge #4: Cash-on-Delivery Culture & Returns
Despite Kazakhstan's impressive adoption of digital payments - where 85% of retail transactions are now digital - Cash-on-Delivery (COD) remains surprisingly persistent in e-commerce, still accounting for 40% of online orders.
This isn’t due to technological limitations but instead reflects deeper consumer behaviors.
For starters, the try-before-you-buy mentality runs deep in the country. This mindset is rooted in traditional market culture, where physical inspection precedes payment.
But why does COD continue to dominate? Several factors come into play:
- Trust concerns: First-time online buyers are often hesitant to prepay.
- Rural infrastructure: Outside major cities, limited access to digital payments remains a challenge.
- Cultural preferences: Physical inspection of products aligns with traditional shopping habits.
- Flexible fulfillment: Couriers often allow on-site inspection and immediate returns, adding convenience.
The inability to examine products physically remains the top friction point for Kazakhstani online shoppers. But this challenge also creates opportunities for merchants who can bridge the digital-physical gap through generous return policies and rapid refund processing.
For instance, integrating payment and returns processes can make a big difference. By shortening refund cycles from weeks to just a few days, merchants can build trust and encourage repeat purchases.
Additionally, localized customer service is key to managing returns at scale. Clear communication about inspection windows and refund timelines, especially in local languages, can make a big difference in improving customer satisfaction.
How to reduce failed deliveries
- Pre-delivery confirmation: SMS verification prevents wasted courier trips
- Payment incentives: Offer digital payment discounts during delivery
- Inspection protocols: Allow reasonable examination time before payment
- Local return labels: Avoid expensive international shipping costs
- Store credit options: Retain customer value while reducing cash refunds
Kazakhstan E-Commerce Challenge #5: Smart Warehouse Location
Warehouse placement in Kazakhstan is a high-stakes decision that ripples through your entire cost structure. Choose the wrong location, and delivery expenses to remote regions can easily triple.
Let’s compare a few main locations:
Almaty:
- Close to Chinese borders with established infrastructure.
- Serves the largest consumer base in the region.
- High demand drives warehouse rents to 5,500 KZT/m² monthly in 2024, a 44% increase.
- Occupancy rates at 99%, making space scarce and expensive.
Astana:
- Better northern reach with access to energy sectors.
- Weather resilience with lower risks of avalanches and mudslides compared to Almaty.
Karaganda:
- Centrally located, offering equidistant access to major population centers.
- More affordable property costs.
- Industrial heritage provides existing rail infrastructure and skilled labor availability.
Given the ongoing warehouse shortage crisis, it’s wise to plan 12-18 months in advance for space acquisition. Modern warehousing in Kazakhstan demands features like climate control, backup power, and automation-ready layouts to manage the complexity of operations efficiently.
Master Kazakhstan E-Commerce Without the Learning Curve
When it comes to strategic fulfillment, splitting inventory between premium urban locations and cost-effective secondary hubs is often the best approach.
For fast-moving products, premium urban spaces ensure quick delivery, while slower inventory can be stored in more affordable secondary locations. But in this setup, process automation is key, especially when coordinating operations across multiple locations.
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Kazakhstan E-Commerce Challenge #6: Payment Gateways, Currency Risk & Fraud
Kazakhstan's payment ecosystem revolves around Kaspi Pay, which dominates the market with over 90% of urban residents using this super-app daily.
While this level of concentration brings efficiency, savvy merchants recognize the dependency risks and know that strategic planning is essential to mitigate them.
Here’s how the payment hierarchy in Kazakhstan breaks down:
- Kaspi Pay: The market leader seamlessly integrating banking, commerce, and lifestyle services into one platform.
- Halyk Pay: A solid second-tier option that leverages its extensive branch network.
- PayBox: An independent processor known for offering competitive merchant rates.
- QR systems: A national payment infrastructure that links all major banks for streamlined transactions.
Adding to the complexity, currency volatility is a significant challenge for merchants.
For instance, the Kazakhstani Tenge weakened by about 15% against the USD in 2024, dropping from 454 to 522 KZT/USD. Similarly, the Tenge's decline against the Chinese Yuan complicates sourcing relationships further.
In such an environment, treasury management becomes critical. To effectively handle multi-currency exposures and optimize payments, businesses need comprehensive support, such as FX hedging strategies and payment routing optimization.
Key Takeaways for Your 2025 Kazakhstan Expansion
Success in Kazakhstan comes down to respecting the market's unique operational realities while capitalizing on its genuine growth momentum. Over the years, after working with dozens of brands on their market entry, we've identified patterns that separate sustainable growth from expensive learning experiences.
The fundamentals that determine early success:
- Front-load compliance work - certificate delays and customs holds cost 10x more to fix post-launch than prevent upfront
- Design for payment diversity - blend COD accommodation with digital incentives to capture the full customer spectrum
- Think geographically from day one - inventory placement decisions made in month one determine profitability for the entire first year
- Build weather resilience - packaging and seasonal planning prevent the product integrity issues that kill customer trust
- Embrace local operational partnerships - regulatory complexity and distance challenges require on-ground expertise, not remote management
Partner up to speed up the process
The merchants thriving in Kazakhstan today didn’t solve these challenges on their own. Instead, they tapped into comprehensive fulfillment ecosystems that take care of the operational complexities, allowing them to focus on what really matters - customer acquisition and market development.
The question isn’t whether Kazakhstan represents an opportunity - market data already confirms that it does.
Instead, it’s about whether you want to spend years building operational capabilities on your own through trial and error, or if you’d rather rely on proven fulfillment infrastructure and specialized logistics expertise to speed up your learning curve and drive profitable growth faster.
Kazakhstan’s e-commerce story is still unfolding, and there’s plenty of room for new players to make their mark.
The real question is: will your brand be part of the next chapter, or will you be watching from the sidelines as competitors secure market positions that only get harder to challenge?
Master Kazakhstan E-Commerce Without the Learning Curve
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