CURRENT TRENDS IN TRADE DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The article examines the current state of trade enterprises in the context of aggravating socio-political challenges, in particular, the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. It is established that as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, retail chains suffered losses of more than UAH 50 billion, and also lost profit as a result of a decrease in trade turnover. The decline in turnover is associated with a decrease in the number of customers due to their travel abroad, as well as a decrease in effective demand. In addition, consumer preferences have changed, with shoppers starting to favor essential goods, limiting "spontaneous" purchases, and preferring healthier food products. During the year of the full-scale war, the number of specialized retailers increased, in contrast to household appliances and electronics stores, and fashion stores, which decreased in number. It is established that the economic activity of trade enterprises was at a lower level than in the pre-crisis period, and such activity is less developed compared to the leading European countries. It is determined that the largest volume of goods sold is in the city of Kyiv, Dnipropetrovs'k, Kharkiv and Odesa regions. It is established that the restriction of the physical ability to buy goods contributed to the growth of online trade, the transition of trade enterprises to new formats of trade organization. It is determined that the share of Ukrainian trade enterprises in the state's online trade market remains low – about 25%. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, traditional channels, especially traditional neighborhood shops and street trade, have had an advantage, increasing their market share. A new trend in the retail market has been an increase in the share of goods sold under private labels in the assortment of retail chains, driven by deteriorating logistics and the need to keep prices for basic goods as low as possible. An important trend aimed at optimizing the pricing policy is cooperation with a number of domestic producers of the assortment range presented on the shelves.