ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSUMPTION IN INFORMATION SOCIETY

Анотація

The article deals with electronic commerce in its inextricable interconnection with information society. It is noted that the evolutionary processes of formation of information society have become widespread in the area of exchange of goods and services, resulting in a new form of economic activity – electronic commerce. Under current economic conditions information is transformed into one of the most important productive resources. This trend contributes to the rapid development of information and communication technologies, an increase in the number of Internet users and stimulates the development of the e-commerce market. All this give rise to new phenomena, among which an important place is occupied by the online consumer (e-consumer) and his behaviour. Today, when considering this issue, scientists focus on such aspects as factors affecting consumption, consumers’ attitudes toward online shopping, their intention to shop on the Internet, customer experience in online shopping, e‐satisfaction level, trust in electronic commerce, customer loyalty in ecommerce, impact of social influence in e-commerce decision making, customers’ adoption of new technologies, particular features of social commerce, etc. For sociological discourse it is important to take into account the considerably wider social context of electronic commerce and to consider the modern consumer as an active actor (subject) that creates new forms of socio-economic activity and actively influences his or her immediate environment.