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The Impact of Spatial Aspects on the Supply Chain and Mobility Demand of Pharmaceutical Products in E-Commerce and Brick-and-Mortar Shopping

Author

Listed:
  • Viola Rühlin

    (School of Engineering, Institute of Sustainable Development, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland)

  • Andrea Del Duce

    (School of Engineering, Institute of Sustainable Development, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland)

  • Maike Scherrer

    (School of Engineering, Institute of Sustainable Development, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland)

Abstract

E-commerce has gained increased popularity over the last decade. To date, there is an open debate as to whether e-commerce or brick-and-mortar shopping is environmentally less sustainable, especially due to the growing mobility resources needed for e-commerce distribution. The analysis at hand compares the CO 2 -equivalent emissions of e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shopping of pharmaceutical products considering spatial aspects and the typical transport modal mix of consumers when doing online and offline shopping. The object of analysis is a retailer of pharmaceutical products, more precisely, medicines, which offers, both, brick-and-mortar and online shopping possibilities. The results show that spatial aspects concerning the residential location of consumers, the vehicles used for shopping trips, the shopping basked size, and trip-chaining effects have a crucial impact on the mobility demand and CO 2 -equivalent emissions of the two commerce forms. In general, for rural and sub-urban areas, e-commerce results in lower CO 2 -equivalent emissions, while in urban areas, brick-and-mortar shopping is the favourable solution, if the consumers walk or cycle to the next pharmacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Viola Rühlin & Andrea Del Duce & Maike Scherrer, 2023. "The Impact of Spatial Aspects on the Supply Chain and Mobility Demand of Pharmaceutical Products in E-Commerce and Brick-and-Mortar Shopping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:14:p:11058-:d:1194442
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Buldeo Rai, Heleen, 2021. "The net environmental impact of online shopping, beyond the substitution bias," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    2. Roland Hischier, 2018. "Car vs. Packaging—A First, Simple (Environmental) Sustainability Assessment of Our Changing Shopping Behaviour," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-12, August.
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