Digital transformation of marketing activities in transport systems management during COVID-19: experience, problems, prospects

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has been going on for more than two years, makes us pay special attention to the study and understanding of the experience of marketing activities in the transport industry in the new reality. Knowledge and skills in marketing are required to organize effective work of transport systems. It is vital to have the ability to choose a marketing strategy, use economic information, and understand ways to increase the competitiveness of transport enterprises. The authors argue that COVID-19 has become a serious phenomenon that has changed consumer behaviour and significantly accelerated the introduction of innovative technologies in the marketing activities of transport enterprises. The restrictions associated with the pandemic have given a powerful boost to the process of digitalization of business. The research reveals that along with the serious problems associated with a reduction in the income of the population, a change in the structure of demand, and a drop in labour productivity due to the transition to remote work, there emerge unique prospects caused by the development of new marketing technologies. Summarizing the data on existing experience, the authors conclude that the pandemic gave a powerful impetus to the digitalization of marketing, revealing several previously hidden problems and opening new prospects for the use of innovative technologies in marketing activities in the management of transport systems.