The net environmental impact of online shopping, beyond the substitution bias

International audienc

How Does Consumers’ Omnichannel Shopping Behaviour Translate into Travel and Transport Impacts? Case-Study of a Footwear Retailer in Belgium

Retailers and consumers are increasingly “omnichannel”. This means that retailers offer multiple integrated offline and online channels to their customers, while consumers use multiple offline and online channels throughout their shopping journeys. In these shopping journeys, consumers can travel for researching, testing, receiving and returning activities related to a purchase, next to the purchasing itself. It is unclear how such omnichannel consumer behaviour materialises in practice. This information is important for practitioners from retail as well as for society, not in the least because of the environmental impact that shopping trips generate. Existing environmental assessments of retail-related transport and logistics do not account for consumers’ omnichannel shopping and travel behaviour. To fill this gap in research, we set up a case-study collaboration with an omnichannel footwear retailer in Belgium. We collected data on logistics and consumer flows and analysed this data to determine the CO2 footprint. Our research results in six profiles, of which “the online shopper” that shops online and receives its purchase at home or at a collection point generates the lowest impact. However, when online shoppers travel to stores prior to their e-purchase and become “showroomers”, the external CO2 costs double compared to “traditional shoppers” that carry out all shopping activities in-store and are more than eight times higher compared to “online shoppers”. Although the case-study context should be taken into account (e.g., in terms of product type, retailer type and geography), a sensitivity analysis demonstrates the robustness of our results

Hunting for treasure: a systematic literature review on urban logistics and e-commerce data

International audienceOnline retail channels increasingly shape consumers' purchase behaviour: we access a diversity of product types through web-shops; employ both smartphones and digital screens in stores; navigate the retail space by browsing online; and order pantry items, fresh groceries as well as prepared foods to be delivered at our doorsteps. The profound impact of online retail on mobility in cities, where the concentration of consumers resides, is therefore an extensively investigated and growing topic of interest in research. In the field of urban logistics, studies that evaluate the various impacts of e-commerce or propose efficiency or sustainability enhancing applications are plentiful. Regardless, the general lack of solid urban e-commerce logistics data is supported widely. In this study, we systematically review the literature to identify and compare the types of e-commerce data that are currently known, employed and disclosed in urban logistics research as well as the data sources that provide access to them. Within the set of identified data, knowledge concentrates on consumer preferences and number of deliveries related to e-commerce. However, our findings confirm the general data paucity, specifically on delivery trip related information such as deliveries per trip, number of delivery rounds and vehicle specificities. Discrepancies are found in methodologies to collect and compile data, as well as data units used (e.g., orders, parcels, deliveries) that cause large variations in information possibly diverging from reality. The study contributes to current literature and practice by compiling and analysing currently available data on urban e-commerce logistics and by presenting recommendations and best practices for future enhancements in this research field

Le e-commerce et son impact sur la ville : transformations logistiques dans l'ombre

Depuis le début de la crise sanitaire liée à la pandémie de COVID-19, les magasins traditionnels ont souffert dans de nombreux secteurs alors que le e-commerce s'est considérablement popularisé. Conséquence : pour assurer la distribution des ventes en ligne, il a fallu inventer de nouveaux canaux de distribution. Au point de transformer la logistique urbaine

Autonomous e-commerce delivery in ordinary and exceptional circumstances. The French case

International audienc

L'immobilier logistique urbain et périurbain. Welcome to Logistics City n°3.

International audienceLa logistique urbaine repose sur un processus d’innovation constant en matière d’organisation des transports, de conception des entrepôts et d’usage du numérique. Son empreinte environnementale et foncière s’accroît. Avec la montée en puissance du e-commerce et la réorganisation des chaînes logistiques, le transport des marchandises représente aujourd’hui un défi majeur pour les sociétés urbaines.Quelles sont les conséquences de ces transformations sur l’immobilier logistique ? Quels nouveaux équilibres se dessinent dans les espaces urbains et périurbains pour l’intégration des bâtiments logistiques et la minimisation de leurs impacts ? Ce 3e volume de la série Welcome to Logistics City par les chercheurs de la Chaire Logistics City et leurs partenaires analyse ces questions dans une perspective comparative et internationale

Not All E-commerce Emits Equally: Systematic Quantitative Review of Online and Store Purchases' Carbon Footprint

Although it has been studied extensively throughout the last twenty years, the environmental impact of e-commerce can still be considered a controversial subject. Particularly for those wondering whether online shopping constitutes a more environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional store-based shopping, evidence can be found that quantitatively supports affirmative as well as opposing claims. Findings differ widely because the contexts and assumptions of the studies from which they are drawn, differ widely as well. To advance our understanding of this question and inform actions that can actually reduce the environmental impact of shopping, we carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of environmental impact assessments that compare the carbon footprint of online and store purchases. Based on over twenty scientific studies, we compiled a dataset of almost 250 purchases, their estimated carbon footprint and information on the contextual, transport, behavioral and geographical conditions on which the calculations are based. We conclude from the studies that online purchases generally generate a lower carbon footprint than store purchases, but only when car-dependent lifestyles are assumed involved; and possibly only because overall consumer behavior and transformations in the consumption landscape are largely overlooked in the studies

Urban and Suburban Logistics Real Estate. Welcome to Logistics City n°3.

International audienceUrban logistics is based on a constant process of innovation in terms of transport organization, warehouse design and the use of digital technology. Its environmental and land footprint is growing. With the rise of e-commerce and the reorganization of supply chains, goods transport is now a major challenge for urban societies.What are the consequences of these transformations on logistics real estate? What new balances are emerging in urban and periurban areas for the integration of logistics warehouses and the minimization of their impacts? This 3rd volume of the Welcome to Logistics City series by the researchers of the Logistics City Chair and their partners analyzes these questions in a comparative and international perspective

Emballages sur mesure, données intelligentes et transport respectueux de l’environnement

L’empreinte écologique des groupes postaux n’est pas à négliger, en particulier avec la hausse spectaculaire de l’e-commerce. La demande de modèles logistiques innovants et durables augmente elle aussi. Même si les nouvelles technologies sont souvent déjà disponibles, les groupes postaux doivent les mettre en œuvre à grande échelle. “Et cela exige un travail véritablement sur mesure”, souligne Paul Vanwambeke, directeur Urban Logistics chez bpost

How Does Consumers’ Omnichannel Shopping Behaviour Translate into Travel and Transport Impacts? Case-Study of a Footwear Retailer in Belgium

Retailers and consumers are increasingly “omnichannel”. This means that retailers offer multiple integrated offline and online channels to their customers, while consumers use multiple offline and online channels throughout their shopping journeys. In these shopping journeys, consumers can travel for researching, testing, receiving and returning activities related to a purchase, next to the purchasing itself. It is unclear how such omnichannel consumer behaviour materialises in practice. This information is important for practitioners from retail as well as for society, not in the least because of the environmental impact that shopping trips generate. Existing environmental assessments of retail-related transport and logistics do not account for consumers’ omnichannel shopping and travel behaviour. To fill this gap in research, we set up a case-study collaboration with an omnichannel footwear retailer in Belgium. We collected data on logistics and consumer flows and analysed this data to determine the CO2 footprint. Our research results in six profiles, of which “the online shopper” that shops online and receives its purchase at home or at a collection point generates the lowest impact. However, when online shoppers travel to stores prior to their e-purchase and become “showroomers”, the external CO2 costs double compared to “traditional shoppers” that carry out all shopping activities in-store and are more than eight times higher compared to “online shoppers”. Although the case-study context should be taken into account (e.g., in terms of product type, retailer type and geography), a sensitivity analysis demonstrates the robustness of our results