Impressions play an important role in the modern world, turning into a product intended for final consumption along with goods and services. Although the possibility of influencing the behavior of individuals and public moods through impressions has been used by people since time immemorial, the economic essence and characteristics of impressions still need a detailed interpretation, since the concepts of impression economics arose only at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. The commercialization of impressions as a product, the formation of a unique consumer experience with the help of them, the use of modern technologies for a positive emotional impact on society, stimulating sustainable economic growth are becoming a new area of interdisciplinary economic research.
The subject of the research is the economy of impressions as a special sphere of human economic activity in the period of post-industrialism, digitalization and development of the creative environment, creating a new value product that complements goods, services, virtual content and intellectual property objects. The purpose of the work is to identify and disclose the role of impressions in the modern system of economic activity. Conclusions are drawn that in a narrow sense, the impression economy is close to the interpretation of the leisure and entertainment industry both commercial and non-commercial, and in a broad interpretation, the impression economy becomes a new means of promoting and marketing various products through a positive effect on people’s consumer experience. The article presents the sectoral structure of the impression economy, summarizes its theoretical basis, determines the specifics of development in the conditions of the COVID 19 pandemic and makes forecasts for the post-coronavirus perspective. The research was conducted on the basis of such theoretical methods as analysis, synthesis, classification, generalization and analogy, as well as a case method to identify common patterns in the formation of the impression economy as a separate sphere of economic activity.