E-commerce in Ukraine: current situation, industrial features and organizational forms

The aim of the article. The aim of the article is to investigate the industry features of Internet commerce, the most popular business models in Ukraine, the specifics of their use and to identify the most popular online stores and sources of their traffic. Analyses results. Based on statistical data, it is established that the annual growth index of Internet trade in Ukraine in 2019 was 49.8% (with retail trade only 17.6%), in 2018 these figures were 35.4% and 14 , 1%. It was determined that the most popular goods that consumers bought online were clothing, footwear and accessories, but the largest increase in sales in 2019 was demonstrated by household goods, cosmetics and perfumes, and household appliances and electronics.Not only end consumers, but also organizations use the Internet to purchase goods. In 2019, the number of enterprises that purchased goods or services (excluding e-mail) via the Internet increased by 24.5% compared to 2017 and by 6.1% compared to 2018, and the number of enterprises that received orders via the Internet (excluding e-mail) in 2019 decreased by 6% compared to 2017 and by 1.4% compared to 2018 and has a small share. However, the volume of products sold by domestic enterprises in 2019 using the Internet increased by 28.4% compared to 2018. In 2019, the largest share of the e-commerce market was held by transport, warehousing, postal and courier activities (40% ), wholesale and retail trade (36%) and processing industry (19%). Bulletin boards and marketplaces have made the most progress in recent years. Analysis of secondary marketing information shows that the advantage of the latter business model is lower costs for infrastructure and customer relations, the ability to adjust services, less dependence on the product group or brand, the hryvnia exchange rate. At the same time, the segment of marketplaces is the fastest growing trend in the niche of online trade in Ukraine, significantly ahead of the classic online stores. The study analysis peculiarities of trading in some marketplaces of Ukraine, in particular Prom.ua, Rozetka, Bigl.ua, Lamoda, Kasta, Shafa.ua. The popularity of online shopping sites is determined by the number of user visits. Marketing research has shown that the TOP-20 largest online stores in Ukraine as of 29.11.2020 include: Rozetka, Allo, MakeUp, Citrus, Epicentrk.ua, Comfy, Kasta, Foxtrot, F.ua, Moyo, Apteka 911, Eldorado, Yakaboo, Parfums, Intertop, Stylus, Lamoda, Eva, Elmir, Panama. The article analyzes the structure of their traffic sources, which include direct, referrals, keyword search, social networks, mail and media advertising. It is determined that direct traffic is very important for every online store, as it reflects the level of brand awareness and customer loyalty. Conclusions and directions for further research. The current stage of economic development is characterized by the active introduction of Internet technologies, which simplify the problem of sales and promotion of domestic enterprises. In Ukraine, e-commerce sites are visited by approximately 67% of Internet users. The annual growth of global e-commerce during 2014-2019 ranged from 15.9% in 2015 to 29.2% in 2017. Research shows that in the Ukrainian e-commerce market there are mainly companies that use such business models as e-shop (supermarket), bulletin board, marketplace and price aggregator, or combinations thereof. It is established that the leaders in direct traffic among the listed online stores are MakeUp, Citrus, Rozetka, Elmir, Comfy and Kasta (over 30%). Search traffic depends on the ranking of the site in search engines by different keywords, it shows the effectiveness of SEO-optimization of a particular site. Research has shown that the highest search traffic is observed in such online stores as Moyo, Apteka911, F.ua, Yakaboo, Epicentrk.ua, Parfums, Allo (over 60%). To increase the volume of purchases of goods and increase the number of user visits to domestic online stores, it is advisable to focus on increasing direct traffic and forming the optimal structure of other types, taking into account their impact on brand awareness, security costs and business activities. Keywords: online store, e-commerce, marketplace, SEO-optimization, traffic sources