How to promote a relocated Russian business in Kazakhstan

It is tempting to move a Russian ad campaign to Kazakhstan as is. Swap roubles for tenge, add a local phone number, tweak the copy a little. Most people know the language, the mindset and cultural code are close, the platforms are familiar, and the buyers seem familiar too. This is exactly where I would stop and check what we are actually about to move.

Kazakhstan has its own shopping habits, strong local companies and its own advertising rules. A mistake can cost more than a failed creative: you may have to redo the campaign, deal with audience backlash or pay a fine. So my advice is to study the market, the customer journey and the economics before launch, and only then choose advertising tools.

A big market for digital, an uneven one for sales

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, 95.6% of Kazakhstan residents aged 16–74 use the internet and 99.5% use mobile phones. You can look for a digital audience both in the mass consumer segment and in B2B. Websites and landing pages should be checked on a phone first. A page that looks convenient on a designer's monitor does not yet mean a convenient purchase on the way home from work.

According to the Central Asian Advertising Association, internet advertising grew by 8% in 2025 to 75.4 billion tenge and remained the country's largest advertising segment. TV and outdoor advertising grew more slowly, while radio and print lost budgets. You have to compete with other advertisers for attention, so simply being present in a channel gives no advantage. You need to choose your audience more precisely and explain your offer better.

That said, my feeling is that the Kazakh market's growth is slowing, while in Uzbekistan I see growth.

The tax burden also affects business conditions. From 2026 the standard VAT rate in Kazakhstan rose from 12% to 16%, and the threshold for mandatory VAT registration was lowered. More companies now fall under the new rules.

A Russian service provider should separately look into settlements with non-residents. The Kazakh client takes on additional obligations, including issuing electronic invoices in the cases set out by tax law. Working with a local counterparty may be more convenient for them. So the question of a local legal entity is worth discussing with an accountant while you are still preparing to enter the market.

Starting with Almaty and Astana makes sense, but it is too early to draw conclusions about the whole country from them. Almaty accounts for 32% of retail turnover and Astana for 14%. In Ulytau, Zhetysu and Mangystau regions, each region's share is below 2%. The two largest cities give access to almost half of retail turnover, but in other regions the product will have to find its buyer all over again.

Most purchases are still made offline: 85.7% of retail. E-commerce accounts for 14.3%, and within it marketplaces generate 86% of turnover. A buyer may happily choose a phone in an app and still prefer to check the freshness and expiry dates of groceries in a store. The habit of buying online does not automatically extend to every category.

The share of marketplace shoppers also varies by region:

• East Kazakhstan region: 61.7%;

• Karaganda region: 49.89%;

• Almaty: 46%;

• Aktobe region: 45.96%;

• Astana: 43.42%;

• Zhetysu: 11.99%;

• Turkestan region: 11.1%.

So we choose the pilot region based on the product and buyer behaviour, not just city size.

Online, there is demand for electronics, clothing, footwear, cosmetics and household chemicals. Grocery delivery is especially noticeable in big cities: according to the NIQ Retail Pulse study, 74% of Almaty residents and 76% of Astana residents order groceries through apps at least once a month. In smaller cities, for the grocery category we separately assess offline outlets and delivery options.

There is also a nuance with payment. In a study of shopping habits, on average 26.42% of buyers paid the courier in cash. In Astana the figure was 57.55%, in Karaganda region 56.19%. For a buyer, ordering online and paying by card can be two different decisions. If you offer only prepayment, part of the audience will never get to the purchase.

People and language

Kazakhstan is multinational. In 2025, 19.6% of registered marriages were interethnic, and this share is growing. When an ad shows a family or friends, mixed casting looks natural to the local audience. It is worth looking at how people actually live before inventing an advertising world for them.

A provocative creative can cost a brand dearly. In 2023 a company from Shymkent released a video in which bride kidnapping and a slap in a girl's face looked like a normal turn of events. The video got two and a half million views, triggered a wave of criticism for romanticising violence and was taken down.

A similar story happened to Shoqan Suits. In 2026 the brand used the image of Borat, whom many Kazakhstanis see as a humiliating stereotype about their country. The video was removed, but calls for a boycott had already appeared. Nudity, sexual innuendo, edgy jokes and national imagery require an understanding of context. The advertiser's own sense of humour is an unreliable guide here.

Reviews and recommendations matter for purchases. According to a ZimaBlue study, when several sellers offer similar prices, 43.6% of buyers go by reviews, and 35.8% learn about new products from people they know. So reputation is worth working on before something unpleasant shows up in search. And it helps to ask customers yourself what they need.

For one developer in Central Asia we ran a survey on the website: how important various characteristics are to a visitor and how well the company meets their expectations. In 2.5 months we collected almost 700 responses. A CSI survey like this helps you analyse individual product and service characteristics instead of stopping at an overall "like it or not".

We assumed that a video above the main content would grab attention. The responses showed that people were not interested in the video, and we dropped that change. We also wanted to add a striking visual element, but visitors ranked loading speed above design. Instead of decoration, we worked on making the site faster. Customers sometimes trim our list of brilliant ideas quite quickly.

Russian remains strong in Kazakhstan, but Kazakh-language content and advertising are growing. When working with a bilingual audience, you cannot treat the Russian version as the only one needed. In Uzbekistan, by comparison, Russian has noticeably less influence, and it is not worth carrying Kazakhstan's language habits there either.

According to a Yandex Ads study, 24% of internet users in Kazakhstan regularly consume content in Kazakh. Among people aged 18–34 the figure is 33%, in the south of the country 42%, in the west 32%. Over the year, the volume of Kazakh-language advertising in Yandex Ads grew by 46%, and the study noted a high click-through rate for such ads.

Language versions are worth testing separately, especially in the south, the west and among younger audiences. The translation also needs to be adapted: check vocabulary, tone and regional specifics. A text that is formally translated correctly can still sound foreign to the buyer.

What to check in the law before launch

It is better to sort out advertising restrictions before producing materials. For some violations the fine exceeds one and a half million tenge. If a product cannot be promoted the way you chose, even a great media plan will not solve that.

The Law "On Advertising" prohibits false information about a product, price or manufacturer, hidden advertising, and materials that incite social, racial, national or religious hatred. A promise that a cream removes wrinkles in a week needs proof. A paid review in the media must not pass itself off as an independent editorial recommendation.

Some categories have special rules:

• Wine produced in Kazakhstan has an exception from the general restrictions: advertising on TV and radio from 22:00 to 6:00, a warning about the harm of excessive drinking, and alternation with two public service ads about a healthy lifestyle.

• In financial advertising you need to check the disclosure of rates, terms and risks. An ad saying "from 0%" must not hide the real cost and term of a loan.

• For bookmakers and betting operators, permitted placements are limited: the official websites of licensed companies, sports media and broadcasts of international competitions by domestic TV channels as provided by law. Outdoor advertising and promotion in messengers are prohibited.

• Prescription drugs cannot be advertised, and only the operator and its official agents have the right to advertise a lottery.

The bans also cover tobacco and nicotine products, including vapes and heated tobacco systems, breast milk substitutes, and financial and investment pyramids. PR or a partnership with a store does not by itself get around an advertising ban. Possible ways of working with a regulated category need to be analysed separately.

For SMS, email and promotional calls you will need the recipient's consent. You can collect it with a separate checkbox that the person ticks themselves. The option to opt out must also work: an unsubscribe link in the email, a clear command in SMS. Simply having a database of phone numbers does not give you permission to send ads.

For violations of advertising law, Article 455 of the Code of Administrative Offences provides for different sanctions depending on the type of violation and the status of the offender. For some violations the fine can reach 400 MCI, and for individuals, such as bloggers without a registered business, 35 MCI.

MCI stands for the monthly calculation index, which the state sets every year, among other things for calculating fines. In 2026, with the MCI at 4,325 tenge, that is 1,730,000 and 151,375 tenge respectively. We check the specific part of the article against the placement rather than picking the fine from the most convenient line.

Online advertising and labelling. A targeted ad must show the account that placed it, and targeting minors is restricted. Sponsored content must disclose the sponsor and must not discredit other people or companies. A blogger's claim that a competitor delivers spoiled food needs grounds.

Labelling in Kazakhstan does not work like the Russian system, where every ad is registered in ERIR and gets an ERID. Targeted ads and bloggers' commercial posts need the designations required by the rules. In a platform's ad account the label usually appears automatically, but it is still worth checking that it is there. A blogger is responsible for labelling their sponsored content, including barter placements.

The label "advertising", "partner content" or an acceptable designation in Kazakh must be visible straight away. Hiding it at the end of a long post that the reader still has to expand is a bad idea.

The rules provide exceptions for messengers, public service advertising, and TV and radio programmes on broadcasters' official accounts. The absence of a labelling requirement does not cancel the other rules, including consent for mailings.

AI-generated materials. Since 2026 there have been requirements to disclose the use of AI and to label synthetic outputs. Synthetic content requires machine-readable labelling and a warning that users can understand. A single "Created by AI" caption may not be enough to meet all the requirements (source: gov.kz).

The law provides for fines of 20, 30 and 100 MCI for small, medium and large businesses, that is 86,500, 129,750 and 432,500 tenge. For a repeat violation within a year, the fines double. The type of violation and who bears the obligation are checked separately.

Real estate. Here you need to start with the permits. The law on shared construction provides three ways to organise construction: a guarantee from the Single Operator, the participation of a second-tier bank, or raising funds after the building frame is erected, subject to the established conditions. Having a frame does not by itself give the right to collect money and advertise sales.

An ad must include the number and date of the permit or guarantee, as well as information about the developer and the authorised company. We check the legal scheme for raising money and drawing up the shared construction agreement before launch. Liability can arise for both the developer and the distributor of the advertising.

For the relevant violations, fines are 500 MCI for small businesses, 750 for medium and 1,000 for large: 2,162,500, 3,243,750 and 4,325,000 tenge.

State symbols. They cannot be used as an ordinary decorative element. From July 2026 the rules explicitly prohibit using the State Flag for advertising purposes and on a number of household items. There are special conditions for images on sportswear and equipment. Use of the coat of arms is regulated separately (source: gov.kz).

A packaging or T-shirt design with the flag is worth showing to a lawyer before the print run. Breaking the rules on using state symbols carries liability, including a fine of 50 MCI, or 216,250 tenge.

Language of advertising. Here it is important to distinguish between formats. For signs of non-governmental organisations, price tags, menus and other visual information, Kazakh is mandatory, and Russian and other languages are added as needed, unless a special rule requires otherwise. Government organisations and product labelling have their own requirements.

When both texts are placed, Kazakh goes on the left or on top, Russian on the right or below, and the letters must be the same size. For spoken information and audio advertising, the law provides for Kazakh and Russian (source: gov.kz).

Online formats need to be checked separately against the applicable rules. When working with an audience, we choose the language based on its habits and test results, while keeping a high-quality Kazakh version where customers need it.

Which channels I would consider

The Russian set of platforms does not carry over here as a whole. VKontakte and Odnoklassniki hold a niche position. That said, in my experience, VKontakte and 2GIS maps are noticeably stronger in the north of Kazakhstan than in the south. The choice depends on the product and the task: introducing the offer, capturing existing demand or helping complete the purchase.

TikTok works for introducing a new product and showing low and mid-priced goods, such as clothing and cosmetics. Digital 2026 gives Kazakhstan an 18+ ad audience of 16.9 million and reach equivalent to 86.5% of the internet audience. These are ad tool figures and cannot automatically be equated with the number of unique active buyers (source: DataReportal).

Instagram. The audience is estimated at 13.1 million. In a study of its age structure, 39% were aged 18–29, 25% were 30–39, and another 20% were over 40. This is a place to test products that need to be shown: jewellery, interiors and other visually expressive categories, including more expensive ones.

Threads. Audience estimates mentioned 1.85 million users, 59% of them women. By this estimate, Kazakhstan was second only to Russia in audience size among CIS countries. The platform's growth was helped by its integration with Instagram and the near absence of local competitors in the Russian-language segment, but as an advertising tool it should be tested with caution.

We tried paid promotion on Threads. The results were weak: few impressions, difficulties with targeting. Organic worked better. On behalf of the company we responded to topics already being discussed in the feed and published posts in a similar tone. This gave good organic reach.

In Kazakhstan the platform has also become a place for direct conversations with brand representatives, directors and company owners. Being able to message a person directly is sometimes more useful here than yet another official post.

YouTube works for long reviews and explanations in electronics, services and education. In a survey on information consumption, 28.1% of Kazakhstanis said they regularly spend time there.

Facebook remains a niche channel for an adult audience. Digital 2026 estimated its ad audience at about 2.5 million, roughly 12% of the population, and this estimate fell by 3.8% over the year. The 35–44 segment is of particular interest.

In the StatCounter data used, Facebook accounted for about 11% of social media referrals. This figure should not be read as a share of any business's total traffic. Here you can test books, handmade goods, niche perfumes, education and car products.

X. The audience is small, estimated at up to half a million accounts. At the same time, in the StatCounter data used, the platform accounted for 14.84% of referral traffic from social networks.

The platform is of interest to media, IT and fintech: announcements for developers, professional discussions, targeted B2B. For mass consumer goods, we first test channels with a better-matched audience.

LinkedIn had 1.9 million registered members in Digital 2026, up 18.8% over the year. In that report this was the fastest growth among the social networks covered. Registered members here are not the same as monthly active users. This channel can be used to promote a B2B product and an employer brand and to find decision-makers (source: DataReportal).

WhatsApp is convenient for working directly with customers. In one survey on information consumption, 29% of respondents named it as a place where they regularly get information. In a separate study of young people, 89.4% of respondents used WhatsApp. These are different indicators: the second does not mean that almost all messenger users are under 28 (source: EnergyProm).

In my experience, companies in Kazakhstan run most of their CVM communications, that is, work on the value of existing customers, through WhatsApp. In Uzbekistan, Telegram dominates among messengers: there, the internet and Telegram sometimes seem almost synonymous.

For businesses there is the WhatsApp Business API for communication with an opted-in database, and Click-to-WhatsApp Ads: a person taps an ad on Instagram or Facebook and lands in a chat. This lets you confirm orders, help people choose and send personalised offers.

Email is used less in Kazakhstan than in Russia, but more than in Uzbekistan. For local companies it is primarily a CRM tool for working with an existing database and products with a long decision cycle.

Telegram was used by 24.6% of respondents in the youth study. Telegram Ads lets you place ads in public channels. The platform suits media, entertainment, lifestyle products and niche B2B offers where you can find suitable channels.

Search advertising. In the StatCounter search statistics used, Google had more than 71% and Yandex just over 26%. Yandex's share has grown in recent years thanks to the Russian-speaking audience.

Google Ads lets you work with a broad audience, while Yandex Direct is worth testing separately for the Russian-speaking segment. Search ads are especially useful when demand already exists: a person is already looking for a tumble dryer in Astana, and all we need to do is offer clear purchase terms.

Marketplaces. Kaspi, Halyk Market, Flip, Wildberries and Ozon operate in Kazakhstan. The largest platform, Kaspi, has a monthly audience of around 13 million according to an industry estimate. It is important to distinguish between users of the ecosystem and buyers on the marketplace itself.

People open the app not only to shop: they pay utility bills, phone bills, taxes and tickets there. For a seller this means the audience touches the platform often. For electronics, clothing and household chemicals, this channel is worth considering separately from your own store.

Influencer marketing. In 2025, according to an industry estimate, about 37 million dollars was spent on it. Bloggers' share of the advertising market grew from 4% to 5.4%, and spending in money terms grew by 45.7%.

When choosing a blogger, what matters is the engagement of the right audience; the number of followers alone is not enough. In studies of the cosmetics category, creators with 5,000–20,000 followers showed higher CTR and ER than accounts with 200,000–300,000. That is a reason to test smaller creators.

For beauty, services and niche products, such as ski equipment or hairdressing tools, trust in a personal recommendation can be an important condition for a purchase.

How to prepare for market entry

To prepare for entering the market, I suggest the following sequence.

First, we check which advertising formats are available for our category and the requirements for the product, packaging and documents. For medicines, financial services and other regulated categories, you cannot automatically assume that any targeting, blogger or publication is allowed. Partnerships with retail and PR are also checked against the restrictions.

Next, we study the market and competitors by region. As a first approximation, data from the Bureau of National Statistics, industry associations and a SWOT analysis will help. But the big picture does not replace getting to know local players: in a particular city, a company may have a strong competitor that cannot be seen from a Moscow ad account.

Then we decide where the buyer will be able to buy the product. For B2C, this is a marketplace, your own online store or retail. A complex service or B2B will need a sales team, negotiations and a website that helps generate leads. Local distributors and system integrators can become a separate channel.

After that, we choose promotion to fit the task. Clothing and cosmetics can be introduced through TikTok, Instagram and suitable bloggers. Existing demand can be captured with Google Ads and Yandex Direct, and in B2B it is worth testing LinkedIn, search and direct negotiations. It helps to understand in advance where the ad's job ends and the salesperson's job begins.

Before a large-scale launch, we calculate unit economics. For a one-off purchase, such as furniture or large appliances, you can calculate the result per item. Contribution margin per item equals the revenue from the sale minus variable costs. These include the cost of goods, payment processing fees and other costs of a specific sale. Acquisition costs must also have their place in the calculation, so that advertising does not end up left out.

For grocery delivery or a subscription, it is more convenient to look at the customer and repeat purchases. Contribution margin per customer for a chosen period is calculated as the revenue from that customer, for example ARPU, minus variable service costs. Separately, we compare customer lifetime value, LTV, with the cost of acquiring the customer, CAC. You also need to agree on what exactly LTV includes: revenue or contribution margin.

In an example with an LTV of 30,000 tenge and a CAC of 3,000 tenge, the LTV/CAC ratio is 10. That looks attractive, but whether it pays off depends on what LTV contains and how long it takes to recover the costs. If acquisition costs more than the customer's expected contribution margin, scaling that kind of customer acquisition is dangerous.

We launch a pilot and recalculate the forecast. Before the pilot, the economics are based on prices, competitors and the expected cost of acquisition. After it, we plug in our own actual data.

We start with one or two channels and a limited audience: this makes it easier to understand what exactly brought sales and where the economics need to be recalculated. For fast-moving retail, the first conclusions may appear within a few weeks; B2B with long approvals will need months.

What to look at in the results

We calculate purchase conversion as the number of purchases divided by the number of visitors or enquiries from the chosen channel. We fix the denominator in advance, so that we don't end up comparing different stages of the funnel. If the result is below forecast, we check the audience, the offer, the landing page and how enquiries are handled afterwards.

To calculate CAC, we divide acquisition costs by the number of new customers. For a channel-level calculation, we use that channel's costs and customers. If the cost is higher than acceptable, we look at the channel, the conversion and the product price.

Average order value is revenue divided by the number of orders. If it is below plan, among other things we check discounts.

For a single purchase, the contribution after acquisition can be estimated as average order value minus variable costs and CAC. If the customer buys again, we use comparable periods and take all their orders into account: you cannot automatically charge the full cost of acquisition to every repeat purchase. A drop in contribution margin means checking the price, costs and acquisition method.

Within advertising channels we look at diagnostic metrics. On TikTok and Instagram we compare creatives' CTR with a comparable audience and keep an eye on frequency. Rising frequency together with falling CTR may mean that people are tired of the ad. Weak variants are worth revisiting, but in the end we pick the winner based on purchases and economics.

In Google Ads, Quality Score, a rating from 1 to 10, is useful. A low score, including anything below 5, is a reason to check expected CTR, how well the ad matches the query and the quality of the landing page. It is a diagnostic signal, not a verdict on the campaign in itself.

In Yandex Direct, we compare the CTR of ads within one group of queries and reallocate the budget based on further conversion.

How to bring customers back

Work with the customer continues after the first sale. In a business with repeat purchases, you can test reminders via WhatsApp, a loyalty programme and referrals to friends. Retention can improve the economics, but its cost has to be calculated too.

For example, cashback on the next purchase gives people a reason to come back. A referral programme rewards a customer for a friend who actually bought: the company gets a new buyer, and the person who made the recommendation gets a bonus on their next order. In a messenger, you can remind people who rarely read email to restock a product.

A CDP, or customer data platform, helps automate such scenarios. It combines data from the website, the app, messengers and the loyalty programme into a customer profile. Based on it, you can send personalised messages without assembling each one by hand.

When entering Kazakhstan, you don't have to switch the platform you already use: some Russian solutions work here too, although there are problems with payments in Russia.

If a person left sneakers in the cart, once the scenario conditions are met they get a reminder in a suitable channel. Someone who bought a winter jacket can be offered a hat or gloves. Showing them ads for the same jacket again is unlikely to help. Consent and data quality do not go away with automation.

After the pilot we continue A/B testing offers, creatives, promotion channels and segments. A good result in Almaty does not guarantee the same result in another city. As you expand, the audience, competitors and purchase conditions change, which means the economics need to be reviewed again.

A brand's Russian origin is also no longer a universal selling point. It used to help sales; now, against the political backdrop, it can also trigger a negative reaction. It is better to explain to the buyer the product's quality, the price and the terms they will get.

I would not enter Kazakhstan convinced that Russian marketing and technology are obviously better. In fintech, IT and telecoms, local companies have developed so far that coming here to teach everyone how to live without analysing the situation is foolish at best, and most often fatal for the brand.

It is more useful to hire a local team or part of one, understand their reasoning and test your usual solutions on the local audience.

Kazakhstan, like Uzbekistan, needs a separate market entry plan, not just a new region name in an old presentation.