E-commerce and digital marketing in the sustainable development of Ukrainian enterprises

Abstract

Background: Significant and continuous growth of the digital economy and e-commerce is a global trend, which is appeared due to the increasing convenience of using information technologies in the everyday life. Usage of these trends is a significant opportunity for business development. Online shopping can save time and money for customers, for sellers it is an opportunity to sell all over the world, significantly increasing market audience. The purpose of the study is to determine the trends in the participation of Ukrainian enterprises in e-commerce, and to formulate recommendations for their further development in this direction. Methods: The method of economic analysis was used. Results: According to calculations, the growth rate of global retail sales varies between 12-29% during 2017-2021, and shows stable growth. It is estimated that in 2040, 95% of all purchases in the world will be made through e-commerce. Therefore, inclusion even today in e-commerce operations has significant prospects. And if this trend is neglected, there is a huge probability of losing the market. The share of the number of Ukrainian enterprises that carried out e-commerce in the total number of enterprises is very small and fluctuates during 2018-2020 at the level of 4.8-5.0%, while there is no tendency for this indicator to grow. The volume share of sold products obtained from e-commerce fluctuates within 3.5-5.0% of the total volume of e-commerce, but here we can state a tendency of weak growth. Analytical portal Statista predicts the growth of e-commerce in Ukraine during 2021-2024 at the level of 14% per year, which, although it shows a growth trend, is significantly lower than the average global growth rate. We estimate the value of this indicator as something that distances Ukrainian enterprises from global trends, as it is a forward movement that is significantly slower than the movement of an average enterprise in the world. To include Ukrainian enterprises in e-commerce processes, it is necessary to master a new type of marketing - digital, which is very specific and involves intensive work with websites and increased activity in social networks. According to the Serpstat survey of marketing specialists, 48% of Ukrainian companies are changing their strategy and looking for new markets due to the war in Ukraine, but only 73% of Internet marketers have returned to work. Such trends indicate the presence of significant problems in the development of enterprises, but at the same time there is no mass trend of practical solutions to these problems. Conclusions: Although today's global trend is the active development of e-commerce, Ukrainian enterprises are still poorly represented in the digital space, which may be due to the lack of specialists with appropriate qualifications at enterprises and the reluctance to purchase such services from professionals. The training of a large number of digital marketing specialists and the use of their work at Ukrainian enterprises is an urgent necessity of today's realities of the Ukrainian economy.