Inhaltsverzeichnis
Perception of consumption vs. scientific findings
Although many people perceive online retail as more harmful to the environment compared to brick-and-mortar shopping, scientific studies show a different picture. Patrick Klein from Saarland University and his research partner Professor Bastian Popp have investigated this discrepancy and found that online retail often offers advantages over brick-and-mortar retail in terms of environmental friendliness.
Delivery vans everywhere, mountains of cardboard boxes, endless returns: online retail is considered an environmental sin by consumers. However, science has come to completely different conclusions: According to current studies, retail via the Internet is mostly more environmentally friendly than stationary retail, despite the perception of customers.
Economists at Saarland University have now discovered and published this discrepancy in several studies.
In four consecutive studies, Bastian Popp and his colleagues examined the customer’s perspective on the environmental impact of the two different shopping channels. “The results show that brick-and-mortar retail is perceived as significantly more advantageous than online retail in terms of environmental sustainability at four different points in time (before, during and after the Corona pandemic),” says Bastian Popp.
Patrick Klein explains that customers are thus subject to a misconception: “The results of our surveys are in clear contradiction to the scientific literature, which in the objective assessment of the ecological sustainability of the channels classifies online retail as more advantageous in terms of environmental aspects.”
The entire study can be viewed free of charge here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/basr.12332
We summarize the most important findings here:
Why e-commerce is often more sustainable
- Avoidance of car journeys: Customers who shop online avoid trips to the store, which significantly reduces CO₂ emissions.
- Route optimisation: Parcel service providers are optimising their routes to efficiently bundle multiple deliveries.
- More efficient use of energy: Large distribution centers often consume less energy than many small stores.
Perception gap and need for action
The study by Klein and Popp shows that the environmental friendliness of online retail is underestimated by most consumers.
- Transparency: Online retailers and logistics service providers should do a better job of communicating their environmental benefits.
- Sustainable Initiatives: Brick-and-mortar stores need to improve their environmental footprint in order to compete with online retailers.
Result:
Online retail can be a more environmentally friendly alternative compared to brick-and-mortar retail.
In order to better reap the benefits of e-commerce and improve the overall environmental footprint of retail, it is important to correct public perception and motivate both online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores to adopt sustainable practices.
Additional points:
- The study focuses on the non-food sector. The environmental footprint in the food trade may vary.
- Other factors, such as packaging and returns, influence the sustainability of online retail.
- Consumers can make their contribution to the greening of retail through conscious shopping (e.g. bundling orders, avoiding returns).