HOW COVID-19 PANDEMIC BOOSTS THE EUROPEAN AND UKRAINIAN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

Abstract

The article is devoted to current problems of e-commerce development in modern conditions. Today, e-commerce has become not only one of the main areas of the economy, but also an integral part of people's economic and social activities. The article identifies the key drivers of e-commerce – technological, political, social and economic factors. The benefits of electronic commerce were considered as to affect three major stakeholders: organizations, consumers and society. Also, the e-commerce features were defined: non-cash payment; 24/7 service availability; advertising and marketing; improved sales; support; inventory management; communication improvement. It is impossible to discuss 2020 – 2021 in e-commerce without discussing the topic of the COVID19 pandemic. The COVID19 pushed world’s e-commerce sphere to the next level, Europe and Ukraine are no exception. The analysis of statistical information identifies trends in the development of e-commerce in Europe and Ukraine. The article says that European consumers estimate that they have spent 717 billion euros shopping online in 2020, while Ukrainian e-commerce market amounted to about 107 billion UAH. The most popular products purchased online in Europe are clothing and footwear, home electronics and books. The largest segments in Ukrainian e-commerce is electronics and media, fashion, furniture and appliances. The article identifies the global reasons for the growth of e-commerce. Particular attention is paid to the study of the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the development of e-commerce, which allowed to identify new trends in e-commerce, to investigate changes caused by the pandemic and quarantine in the behavior of consumers and entrepreneurs. In 2021, and in post-COVID19 times, consumer purchasing habits will persist. It is worth noting that the habit of buying online what was previously bought offline will continue to grow, as e-commerce will continue to be the safest type of retail. At the same time, the list of categories of goods purchased online will expand. These trends will allow retailers to create a stable market and consumers to meet their needs through a wide selection of products and unique offers.