Features of the functioning of express delivery market in Ukraine during the war

Abstract

The express delivery market is one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy, without which the effective functioning of business, e-commerce, retail, etc., is impossible. Under the influence of external factors, such as the military invasion of the territory of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in 2022, the parameters of the activity of express delivery market operators have changed, which actualises the issues of analysing the performance indicators of the express delivery market and studying changes in consumer behaviour in the field of express delivery services. The purpose of the study is to present the results of a comprehensive investigation of the features of transformation of the Ukrainian express delivery market in conditions of instability. To achieve the research goal, a set of scientific methods was used: system, statistical analysis, and index method. To identify changes in the structure of needs of consumers of express delivery services in the context of disturbances, a marketing study and an express survey of end users were conducted. The dynamics of the development of the Ukrainian express delivery market during a full-scale war is studied in terms of identifying the competitive positions of enterprises in the segment and distributing "market power" among the participants of the market under study. The enterprises that form the "core" of the market and their role in shaping the intensity of competition in the express delivery market in Ukraine are identified. The results of a marketing study on changes in consumer purchasing behaviour during the war in Ukraine are presented and the profile of the target audience of services before and during the war is established. The high adaptive capacity of enterprises providing express delivery services to conditions of instability in terms of restoring operational activities and adjusting the parameters of logistics activities in accordance with changes in the needs of consumers was noted. Consumer needs, business digitalisation, and life safety remain the determining factors for the development of the sector under study in the context of disturbances. The results can be applied in practice by the heads of the marketing and logistics department, the planning and economic department of enterprises in the express cargo transportation sector, and interested groups of stakeholders in the express cargo delivery market