Nowadays, the development of e-commerce is to a great extent a result of the
common use of modern technologies, growing mobility and the gradual growth
of business digitalisation. By the end of the first quarter 2020 there was a dynamic growth of transactions concluded in virtual space. It was largely a consequence
of the introduction of drastic restrictions resulting from the pandemic situation.
The restrictions have brought dramatic consequences for traditional commerce,
among others, but turned out to have a beneficial side effect for e-commerce.
There has been a significant increase in the interest in concluding transactions on
the Internet, from both buyers and firms. Firms operating on the Internet before
have started to develop and improve online sales, and a lot of businesses have
opened new channels for contact with customers at an accelerated rate.
In e-commerce, on each stage of contact between entities, there is risk and
uncertainty. Also problems connected with building mutual relations between
stakeholders become particularly apparent. The element which influences the
shape of the relationship is trust. Its presence mitigates the effects of the asymmetry of information, affects the perceived risk, and indirectly also the acceptance
of the conclusion of the transaction. The occurrence of a crisis evoked by negative
exogenous factors (the COVID-19 pandemic, for example), as in any shock situation, causes astonishment, the growth of fear and uncertainty and influences
trust level.