Online shopping is big business: Americans spent $395 billion at Web retailers in 2016, up from $28 billion in 2000. Part of the increase may be due to a belief that e-commerce is a greener option than shopping at your local brick-and-mortar store. But according to various online-retailing industry studies, there are several environmental factors to consider.
TRAFFIC CONGESTION
Delivery trucks make up to 7 percent of traffic in American cities. And delivery traffic is projected to grow 45 percent by 2045 thanks in part to online shopping, according to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
RUSH DELIVERY
Choosing expedited shipping more than doubles a package’s carbon footprint.
SPLIT SHIPMENTS
When a retailer splits a single order into multiple shipments, it increases carbon emissions by 35 percent.
FAILED DELIVERIES
About 10 percent of initial deliveries fail in urban areas, requiring two — or more — delivery attempts.
RETURNS
E-commerce purchases are returned 30 percent of the time, compared with less than 9 percent of in-store purchases. This significantly increase the delivery’s environmental impact.
Interesting article on Online Shopping but you failed to mention the carbon footprint of the millions of cars that no longer need to drive to the brick and mortar stores. This was a very one-sided article with a very poor title.