Preconditions and Driving Forces for the Development of Electronic Commerce in the Context of Digitalization of the Economy

Abstract

Purpose: This article was prepared in order to identify the main problems and prospects for the development of the Internet sales market, which is based on a theoretical study of the functioning of the domestic e-commerce market, and to make a practical analysis of the activities of the world's leading electronic discounters.Design/Methodology/Approach: To achieve this goal, the authors, developing the content of the article, methodologically relying on a materialistic, positivist worldview, and using comparative and descriptive methods of analysis to study these issues, reveal the main social and economic prerequisites and the driving forces of the development of electronic commerce in Russia in the era of digitalization of the economy.Findings: E-commerce in Russia is affected by the same factors and driving forces as the entire global e-commerce: the formation of an e-commerce ecosystem at the intersection of industries; large-scale penetration of Internet coverage in the regions; transition from electronic to mobile trading; acceleration of development of marketplaces; large-scale investments in logistics (warehouse real estate and post-office network); the accelerating introduction of digital technologies based on artificial intelligence; transition to omnichannel communications with the consumer.Originality/Value: Based on a comparative analysis of the situation in the Russian and regional e-commerce markets, current directions are proposed and substantiated for improving the regulation of the e-commerce market: introducing tax incentives to support online retailers, modernizing the system of statistical accounting of the market, reducing the personnel shortage of the industry, and measures to popularize electronic trade, and they also identifies the most important promising trends in the development of electronic commerce, which have a significant impact on all market entities.