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RESEARCH CENTER FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS of NAS of Ukraine (KHARKIV, UKRAINE)

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Liburkina L. M.

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Problems of Pricing for Small Businesses Operating Online in Ukraine
Krasnonosova O. M.

Krasnonosova, Olena M. (2026) “Problems of Pricing for Small Businesses Operating Online in Ukraine.” Business Inform 8:120–130.
https://doi.org/10.32983/2222-4459-2026-8-120-130

Section: Problems of Business

Article is written in English
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UDC 338.5:681.5.004

Abstract:
The full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which has been ongoing for the fifth consecutive year, has brought about a number of changes in the country’s economy, while the conditions of martial law have affected all types of economic activity. Over four years of war, the way in which business is conducted has undergone fundamental changes, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, which have demonstrated resilience amid the multidimensional uncertainty of the economic environment. A significant number of small businesses have intensified their use of Internet-based tools to promote the final results of their activities to consumers. Under these conditions, the issue of determining prices for goods and services promoted to consumers through digital tools has become increasingly relevant. The relevance of studying the problems of price setting for goods and services offered by small businesses operating online in Ukraine is also driven by the active transformation of entrepreneurial practices under martial law and the rapid development of e-commerce. Digitalization is changing traditional approaches to seller–consumer interaction, demand formation, product promotion, and pricing decisions. E-commerce in Ukraine continues to develop actively under martial law, while online channels are becoming an important means of maintaining and restoring entrepreneurial activity. Researchers characterize e-commerce as one of the most dynamic segments of the modern Ukrainian economy. The aim of the article is to deepen the theoretical and applied aspects of price setting in small online businesses, taking into account the specific characteristics of the Ukrainian market. Price is becoming one of the key instruments of online competition. The specifics of online business further complicate price setting because price is increasingly associated not only with the entrepreneur’s costs but also with the value of a product or service to the consumer. In the digital environment, an entrepreneur needs to consider not only the cost of production but also consumers’ price perceptions, the level of competition, the seller’s reputation, customer reviews, delivery speed, payment and return conditions, service quality, and other factors. Thus, the problem of pricing for small online businesses is complex in nature and combines economic, marketing, behavioral, and organizational aspects. An additional factor is the instability of the Ukrainian business environment under wartime conditions. Infrastructure constraints, changes in logistics costs, disruptions in energy supply, fluctuations in resource costs, changes in household purchasing power, and transformations in consumer demand make it more difficult to apply traditional approaches to price setting. There is a need to combine classical cost-based pricing approaches with competitive, value-based, and behavioral approaches, while also taking into account the specific costs and risks associated with e-commerce. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using its findings by small businesses to determine substantiated prices for goods and services, establish the minimum acceptable price level, assess the impact of competitors, develop a discount system, and increase the profitability of online sales.

Keywords: price; pricing; digital technologies; digital tools; communication channels; small business; small enterprise; competitiveness.

Bibl.: 29.

Krasnonosova Olena M. – Candidate of Sciences (Economics), Associate Professor, Associate Professor, Department of Marketing, Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics (9a Nauky Ave., Kharkiv, 61165, Ukraine)
Email: [email protected]

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