The Environmental Impact of E-Commerce 2020
E-Commerce’s environmental impact subject of new yStats.com publication
Diversity of consideration in environmental burden of online commerce
One study cited in the yStats report suggests that online shopping may have a lower carbon footprint than traditional in-store shopping because of more efficient logistics. Nevertheless, the determination of environmental impact of E-Commerce is complicated by a range of considerations, including local transportation practices, and the type of delivery vehicles used by merchants, among others.
The high return rates and short-term sales events of online retail increase environmental impact
The high return rate of fashion items, one of leading categories of B2C E-Commerce globally, attracts the attention of those concerned about the environmental consequences of online shopping. A January 2019 survey cited in the yStats.com publication reflected that over a third of online shoppers returned a purchased item in the previous three months. The consequences to the environment of returns is that they involve double transportation and may require disposal rather than resale. Further, special sales such as Singles Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday place a burden on the environment due to the intense amount of packaging, shipping and delivery in a relatively short time, plus the disposal of serviceable items replaced with bargain-priced goods.
Online shoppers and merchants begin to show concern for the environment
While shoppers generally select the quickest delivery methods at the lowest price point, some recent studies citied in the new yStats.com report indicate that when made aware of delivery options with a lower environmental burden, some shoppers would choose that method. Likewise, leading E-Commerce merchants such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Zalando are making efforts to decrease the burden their businesses create on the environment through such things as logistics efficiencies, delivery with electric vehicles and use of recycled packaging materials.
- 1. Management Summary
- 2. Overview & Introduction
- Global: E-Commerce’s Impact on the Environment Overview, January 2020
- Global: Retail E-Commerce Sales, in USD trillion and in Share of Total Retail Sales, in %, 2017-2023f
- Global: Share of Consumers Receiving Deliveries Once a Week or More From Grocery Retailers, in % of Consumers, by France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, the USA, 2018 & 2021f
- Global: Parcel Volumes, in billions, 2014-2018 & 2025f
- Global: Top 5 Countries Purchased From in the Latest Cross-Border Online Purchase, in % of Cross-Border Online Shoppers, 2017 & 2018
- Global: Breakdown of Time Needed for Cross-Border Delivery, in % of Cross-Border Online Shoppers, October 2018
- USA: Goods Flown by Amazon Air, in thousand tons, July 2018, December 2018 & July 2019
- Global: Share of Cross-Border E-Commerce B2C Shipments Transported by Air, in %, 2019
- Global: Share of CO2 Emissions From Freight Operations in Commercial Aviation, in %, 2018
- Global: Carbon Footprint of Shoppers, by In-Store Only, In-Store & Online & Fast-Shipping, Online Only, Online-Only & Fast-Shipping in kg CO2e, June 2019
- 3. Product Returns and the Effect on the Environment
- Global: Share of Online Shoppers Who Returned an Item in the Three Months Prior to the Study, in %, January 2019
- USA: Volume of Packages Returned to Online Shops, in Millions per Day, January 2019, December 2019 & January, 2nd 2020f
- North America: Share of Returns, by Traditional Retail and E-Commerce, in % of Sales, December 2018
- Germany: Share of E-Commerce Returns, by Ordered Articles and Delivered Parcels, in %, 2018
- Germany: Share of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Caused by E-Commerce Returns in Country’s Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions, in %, 2018
- UK: Share of Online Shoppers Ordering Articles They Are Willing to Return, by Total Surveyed and 25-34 Year-Olds, in %, April 2019
- Global: Breakdown of Reasons for Returning an Item, in % Surveyed Online Shoppers, January 2019
- Europe: Share of Returns of E-Commerce Articles, by Category, in % of Returned Articles, March 2019
- Europe: Share of E-Commerce Returned Articles Eligible for Repeated Sale as an A-Article, in %, March 2019
- Germany: Share of E-Commerce Returned Articles that Were Disposed of, in %, December 2018
- Europe: Share of E-Commerce Merchants For Whom Measures to Avoid Returns Have Special Priority, in %, March 2019
- UK: Share of Online Shoppers Concerned About Environmental Impact of Over-Ordering and Returning Goods, and Who Reduced the Amount Ordered or Returned, in %, April 2019
- Global: Share of Returns, by Iceland, India, Hungary, Latvia, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam and Global Average, in % of Cross-Border Online Shoppers, October 2018
- 4. Special Sales and Their Environmental Impact
- USA: Retail E-Commerce Sales on Black Friday, in USD billion and in Year-on-Year Change, in %, 2017-2019e
- Global: Gross Merchandise Sales During Amazon Prime Day, in USD billion, 2015-2019e
- China: Number of Parcels Delivered as a Result of Singles Day, in millions, 2017-2019e
- China: Volume of Packaging from Deliveries During Singles Day, in million tons, 2018 & 2025f
- UK: Share of Consumers Who Consider or Try to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Black Friday and Cyber Monday Purchases, in % of Respondents, November 2019
- UK: Share of Consumers Whose Black Friday and Cyber Monday Purchase Will Be Planned or Impulse-Driven, in % of Respondents, November 2019
- UK: Share of Consumers Using Their Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2018 Purchased Item, in % of Respondents, November 2019
- 5. Delivery and Online Shoppers’ Attitudes Towards Environmentally-Friendly Options
- Europe: Share of Consumers Who Are Willing to Pay For Same-Day Delivery, in %, and For Next-Day Delivery, in %, by France, Germany, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, September 2018
- Global: Breakdown of Actions Taken to Qualify for Free Shipping, in % Surveyed Online Shoppers, January 2019
- Global: Breakdown of Reasons for Reducing Delivery Speed, in % Surveyed Online Shoppers, January 2019
- UK: Share of Online Shoppers More Likely to Opt for Alternatives to Home Delivery If Informed of the Respective Emissions for Each Delivery Option, in %, March 2019
- UK: Share of Online Shoppers Who Used Click-and-Collect in the Last 3 Months, and in the Last 6 Months, in %, March 2019
- Mexico: Share of Online Shoppers Opting for Longer Delivery Times to Save Trees, in % of Respondents, April 2019
- North America: Share of Online Shoppers Who Care a Great Deal about the Environmental Impact of Their Deliveries, in %, and Who are Conscious of The Issue, in %, July 2018
- North America: Share of Online Shoppers Who Believe a Consolidated Delivery Service Option Has a Positive Environmental Impact, in %, and Who Are Willing to Opt for Such a Service, in %, July 2018
- UK: Share of Online Shoppers Who Admit That Home Delivery Option Is a Default Habit, in %, March 2019
- UK: Attitudes Towards Environmental Impact of Online Delivery, in % Online Shoppers, and in % of 18-24 Year-Old Online Shoppers, March 2019
- United States: Share of Etsy’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Shipping in the Company’s Total Emissions, in %, February 2019
- Global: Breakdown of Attitudes Towards Carbon-Neutral Delivery, in % of Cross-Border Online Shoppers, October 2018
- 6. Packaging and Consumers’ Approach to Sustainable Options
- Global: Share of Empty Space in E-Commerce Parcel, in % of Volume, December 2019
- China: Share of Cardboard Boxes Used in Express Delivery Packaging That Were Reused, in %, September 2019
- Global: Consumers’ Attitudes Towards Packaging, in %, April 2019
- Europe: Share of Consumers Who Buy Items With Less Packaging, by France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, the UK, and European Average, in %, September 2018
- Europe: Share of Consumers Who Look For Products With Environmentally Friendly Packaging, by Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, and European Average, in %, September 2018
- Global: Share of Consumers Who Are Willing to Pay a Premium for Sustainable Packaging When Buying Food Items, by China, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, the UK, the USA, and European Average, in %, September 2018
- Germany: Share of Online Shoppers Opting for Shipping in Reusable Packaging, in % of memo AG Online Shoppers, July 2019
- Global: Breakdown of Attitudes Towards Sustainable Packaging, in % of Cross-Border Online Shoppers, October 2018
- 7. Sustainable Payments
- Global: Payment and Sustainability – Players Overview, January 2020
- 8. Sustainable Travel
- Global: Online Booking Sites Offering a Sustainable or Eco-Friendly Filter Option Seen as an Incentive to Travel More Sustainably, in % of Adult Respondents, March 2019
- Global: Attitudes Towards Sustainable Travel, in % of Adult Respondents, February-March 2019
- 9. Players and Companies Offering Solutions to Make E-Commerce Greener
- Global: E-Commerce and Sustainability – Players and Current Developments, January 2020
- Global: Examples of Companies with Sustainable Solutions for E-Commerce, including Reverse Logistics, December 2019
- Global: Examples of Companies with Sustainable Solutions for E-Commerce, incl. Delivery and Packaging, December 2019
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