Comparing the e-commerce appeal of Ukraine and Germany

The subject of research is e-commerce and the conditions for its operation in different countries. One of the most problematic aspects is the lack of information about the attractiveness of countries in relation to this topic. To address this gap, the author’s own experience of conducting e-commerce in Germany and Ukraine was used, along with an analysis of the main factors influencing the state and development of e-commerce. The research methods used include: theoretical generalization and classification; comparative analysis; expert evaluations; formalization; and multi-criteria analysis. As a result, a system of 13 criteria was proposed to assess the convenience and profitability of conducting e-commerce: infrastructure convenience level, healthcare, availability of private housing and the possibility of purchasing it, small business development, climatic conditions, consumer basket size, tax and fine rates, road quality and safety, internet quality, degrees of freedom, life safety, right to information, and the level of development and speed of delivery. Based on this system and with the help of experts, a comparative analysis of e-commerce conditions and prospects in Germany and Ukraine was conducted. A methodology for assessing the attractiveness of e-commerce in Ukraine and Germany was developed. This methodology allows obtaining comparable values of indicators for any countries, which was not possible before but is desirable with the researchers’ practical experience, i. e., their long-term life and work in the countries being studied to ensure accurate results. Compared to other known systems for determining the attractiveness of countries, our methodology provides advantages such as: the availability of a specific mechanism for evaluating this indicator for e-commerce based on 13 criteria; the ability to involve different groups of experts to compare and adjust the results; and the construction of an integral criterion for the overall assessment of a country’s attractiveness. In practice, a methodology for calculating the degree of convenience and attractiveness of conducting e-commerce in different countries was proposed, and the results obtained were applied to the example of e-commerce in Ukraine and Germany.