The conversation was short but substantive. Putin asked bluntly: at what stage is the work on eliminating discounts on marketplaces at the expense of sellers? Reshetnikov replied that the marketplaces had "convinced" him, and that this would soon become the norm of the law.
This short exchange resulted in more than a year of pressure on the platforms, hundreds of complaints from sellers, and several rounds of negotiations with the Federal Antimonopoly Service.
What happened before that
The mechanism worked like this: the marketplace could lower the price of the product for the buyer without the seller's consent, and the difference was deducted from his revenue. Formally, it is marketing, but in fact it is unilateral control over pricing. The seller learned about the promotion after the fact, having already seen the reduced payments.
In April 2026, sellers contacted the Federal Antimonopoly Service through professional associations with two questions: how legitimate is it to set discounts without the consent of the supplier, and why Russian and foreign (primarily Chinese) sellers work according to different rules. The Antimonopoly Service responded: Ozon and Wildberries received official recommendations to stop this practice.
What will change in practice
Reshetnikov outlined two results at a meeting with the president. The first is that marketplaces voluntarily agreed to waive forced discounts. Secondly, the agreement will be fixed by law, that is, it will become a binding norm, not a recommendation.
Wildberries is already moving in this direction: starting on May 25, the company introduces updated discount rules, according to which the seller sees the terms of the promotion in advance and can opt out through his personal account. Participation becomes voluntary.
Ozon has not yet announced a similar solution. At a meeting of the FAS expert council, the company proposed a different approach — to limit the maximum commission amount and ensure that the discount is funded solely from the platform's commission income, and not deducted from payments to the seller. This question remains open.
What does this mean for those who trade through marketplaces
First of all, for sellers working with imported goods. When the marketplace lowered the price without agreement, the margin on already cleared, delivered and certified goods could go into negative territory. It was impossible to predict such episodes — this made the unit economy unstable by definition.
The legislative consolidation of the right to refuse a promotion fundamentally changes the situation: the seller regains control over pricing. This does not mean that the pressure will disappear — marketplace algorithms still promote promotional products higher in the search. But it will no longer be possible to legally impose a discount.
At the same time, commissions for Russian and Chinese sellers on Wildberries are being equalized — starting from May 25, commissions for Chinese sellers will be raised to the Russian level. This reduces the price advantage that allowed Chinese suppliers to dump more aggressively. It does not solve the problem of high commissions in general, but it creates more equal conditions.
Context: why did the government pay attention right now
Over the past three years, marketplaces have become the dominant channel for small and medium-sized businesses. According to Ozon, 33% of Russians order online several times a week. With such a market concentration, the conditions dictated by the platforms actually determine the economies of thousands of suppliers.
Back in mid-May, Deputy Prime Minister Novak publicly declared the inadmissibility of the monopoly of marketplaces. The Ministry of Economic Development is forming a register of platforms, which should be operational by November 2026. The registry is a tool for regulatory supervision, not just accounting: those who are included in it will work according to uniform legally established rules.
All this movement is part of the same logic. The government is consistently expanding its regulatory presence in the online trading market, which operated three to four years ago with virtually no industry legislation.
What's next
According to Reshetnikov, a bill fixing the seller's right to refuse a discount will appear in the near future. The timing of the adoption has not yet been announced, but the political will is clearly indicated — the president personally keeps the topic in focus.
For sellers, this means one practical action right now: check the terms of existing offers with marketplaces and understand which positions in the contract give the platform the right to unilaterally reduce the price. After the adoption of the law, such clauses will either change or cease to be valid.
