E-commerce in Ukraine: status, trends, development prospects

The aim of the article. In relation to the introduction of quarantine restrictions and an emergency situation to counteract COVID-19, there are potential prospects for the development of online retail in Ukraine. The aim of the article is to study the main problems, disadvantages and advantages of e-commerce and highlight further trends in retail development through the use of Internet resources. The results of the analysis. The development of e-commerce is based on attracting more and more users to the Internet, so it is not surprising that the part of turnover from e-commerce in GDP and the part of e-component in retail correlates with the Internet penetration rate, the part of the population aged 14 to 74 that are regular Internet users. Thus, in the leading countries of Western Europe, this figure is approaching 100%, while in Ukraine it is only about 63%. In the course of an investigation we identified the role and positive impact of domestic marketplaces on the development of E-commerce in various segments of the economy. Marketplaces, which are a kind of platform for uniting different sellers and buyers by interests, give impetus to the growth of positive dynamics of supply and demand, sales of goods and services, in fact, without leaving home - for consumers, and without spending significant rental costs offline stores - for sellers. The positive gradation of e-commerce growth has been affected by quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the need for self-isolation and social distancing, temporary suspension of offline shops of non-food products and establishments in various fields of services (entertainment centers, catering establishments) on the basis of government requirements, resulted not only in increasing the popularity of existing marketplaces and social networks, but forced many retailers to start or develop existing online stores alongside traditional sale outlets. The advantages of e-commerce are determined: speed and availability of obtaining information about the product, its price, characteristics; efficiency and convenience of trade operations; reduction of operating costs; ensuring long-term communications with customers; development of Internet marketing through a possible variety of tools used; the possibility of using modern analytical tools to study the market and evaluate the effectiveness of marketing activities; increasing openness to consumers and increasing their loyalty. The main disadvantages of E-commerce are highlighted as insufficient security of consumer data and unreliable payment systems; quality of communication and service; instability of the national currency; imperfect legal framework; high delivery prices. All these problems have their basis and depend on many factors, first of all - on the level of sustainable development of the economy as a whole. Conclusions and direction for further research. Despite of the challenges of the time, the urgent needs of consumers in goods and services, e-commerce currently has a positive development trend and considerable prospects for further expansion of the market. The development of e-commerce should take place with the simultaneous simplification and regulation of ways to consolidate legal relations of contractors, methods and models of promotion of goods and services over the Internet, which clearly requires additional research. Key words: E-commerce, online retail, internet economy, marketplace, COVID-19.