The economic mechanism of the functioning of e-commerce enterprises: Theoretical and practical foundations

The study was aimed at analysing the theoretical and methodological foundations and practical approaches to the formation and improvement of the economic mechanism of e-commerce enterprises’ activities. The methodological basis comprised systemic-structural and comparative approaches to examining the economic mechanism of the functioning of e-commerce enterprises in the context of the digital economy. The economic mechanism was considered as a set of interrelated elements – resources, costs, profit, and managerial decisions – that form an integrated digital ecosystem of the enterprise. In 2024, the share of online sales in the structure of Ukraine’s retail turnover increased to 3.1% (UAH 48.1 billion) compared with 2.1% (UAH 18.3 billion) in 2020, which confirms the consistent digitalisation of the consumer market even under crisis conditions. An analysis of key e-commerce players revealed different development trajectories. During 2020-2024, Rozetka increased its revenue from UAH 17.6 billion to UAH 29.7 billion, however, net profit remained volatile (from UAH 111 million in 2020 to UAH 16.3 million in 2024), which is explained by active investments in logistics and digital infrastructure. Prom demonstrated stable growth: revenue increased from UAH 924.5 million to UAH 2,052.2 million, and profit in 2024 reached UAH 269.2 million, indicating effective cost optimisation and the implementation of innovative solutions. The example of Amazon illustrated the global scale of digital technology integration: the company’s revenue grew from USD 386.1 billion in 2020 to USD 638 billion in 2024, and net profit, after temporary losses in 2022 (-USD 2.7 billion), recovered to USD 59.2 billion. It was determined that enterprises should more actively implement data analytics and machine-learning algorithms for demand forecasting and offer personalisation, automate business processes and logistics, as well as maintain a balanced financial structure and invest in digital infrastructure in order to enhance the effectiveness of managerial decision-making and ensure resilience and competitiveness. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that the obtained results may be used by e-commerce enterprises to improve the economic mechanism through the integration of digital technologies, cost optimisation, and the enhancement of competitiveness in a dynamic market