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E-Shopping

E-shopping, or online shopping, is the act of purchasing products or services over the Internet. The Internet has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on transportation systems and planning for future transportation networks as more and more business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions are conducted through e-commerce.

E-commerce can be defined as doing business over the Internet and refers to transactions that take place between organizations and people in societies. This method of shopping has been in existence for over a decade and, with the ever-expanding penetration of the Internet around the globe, it is unsurprising that e-shopping is increasingly popular among consumers and retailers around the world. With the advent of information and communication technologies (ICT) and online shopping have come new types of activity and travel patterns.

At present there are over 2 billion Internet users worldwide, and this number is predicted to rise to 3 billion by 2015. Global B2C e-commerce industry generated somewhere between $400 billion and $600 billion in 2010. According to 2013 figures from the eMarketer, North America currently has the largest market for B2C ecommerce. However, the BRIC countries' (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) share of online sales is growing rapidly, with forecasts suggesting that by 2015 Asia-Pacific will surpass North America in terms of B2C e-commerce spending. This rapid growth reflects the rise of Internet access in these major developing economies of the world.

In particular, China, with its burgeoning middle class with disposable income and a government-led campaign promoting consumerism, is set to rival the United States in terms of e-commerce spending. This growth in online shopping reflects the fact that China has the highest number of people purchasing goods online in the world.

Motivations

There is a general shift in spending from physical stores to online shopping. The motivations for changes in shopping behavior are complex and consequently difficult to address for future transportation planning. In general, e-shopping is often associated with the heightened convenience offered by shopping online. This is captured in terms of (1) the all-day everyday ability to purchase goods and services; (2) a perceived efficiency, reducing shopping time and stress; and (3) the absence of travel cost and time. Other benefits include a much wider choice that is not limited to geographic proximity to the consumer. This allows for price and quality comparisons between e-retailers. For these reasons, personal travel and commercial vehicle operations are changing. Accessibility is no longer constrained and is not driven by travel time, distance, or travel costs as e-commerce dispenses with these elements. T. Golob and A. Regan discuss the structural changes undertaken by the freight transportation industry in response to the rapid increase in e-commerce and online purchasing activity. This includes the size of shipments, where freight is moved to, and the time frames for freight movements.

Transportation Impact

Undoubtedly, e-shopping and its growing global-market retail share changes travel behaviors, choices, trip frequencies, and carbon footprint of items and services purchased online. However, to date, there appears to be little empirical evidence providing insight into the impacts of e-shopping on travel. Researchers Orit Rotem-Mindali and Ilan Salomon suggest that online shopping is likely to reduce transport activity as telecommunications substitute the traditional physical journey made to a store. However, C2C has become popular through Internet sites such as eBay and Gumtree. This type of e-shopping can have a perverse effect on travel behavior by increasing travel trips, distances, and transport emissions in order for buy and sell transactions to be completed.

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