Content №4 от 2025
Interstate Integration as a Factor Influencing Consumer Preferences in the Russian-Belarusian Borderland
Sociological research is an effective tool for studying economic processes. The article presents the results of a survey of residents of six regions of the Russian-Belarusian borderland, collected in order to assess the impact of interstate integration on consumer preferences. Changes in foreign trade rules within the framework of the implementation of agreements between Russia and Belarus may affect the assortment, quality and price characteristics of the consumer market. This hypothesis is tested in the study.
It was found that increasing the permeability of the border for goods and citizens provided an opportunity for Russians to purchase Belarusian food products within walking distance, i.e. close to home. This reduced the need to travel to the neighboring country. However, disproportions in prices and product ranges remain, which supports the past habits of citizens to travel to the neighboring country to make purchases. The devaluation of national currencies especially stimulates “food migration". Integration agreements made it possible to saturate the Belarusian consumer market with non-food products imported through the Russian Federation in transit.
The conducted survey characterizes the consumer market in the border area, which, according to respondents, has formed over the past 10 years. The answers to questions about changes in the range, quality and price of products of local manufacturers, as well as Russian and Belarusian manufacturers in general, are presented. The factors that are significant for respondents when making a purchase decision are identified, the most important of which is the quality of goods. The main points of sale and brands popular with residents of the Russian-Belarusian border area are determined. Young respondents are more interested in domestically produced goods, prefer shopping trips to the capital regions of their countries, and rarely visit neighboring regions of a friendly country. In general, the results of the study indicate that the consumer market of Russia and Belarus is heterogeneous even in border areas, despite the long process of interstate integration and the removal of most significant trade barriers.
