A study shows that the more eco-conscious way to shop is going to a physical store rather than by making purchases online from companies that don't have physical stores. Researchers estimated that shopping at physical stores for frequently bought items such as toilet paper, shampoo and toothpaste, often results in less greenhouse gas emissions than ordering the products from a company that only sells through the Internet.
The main reason is because of how people shop online. Many buy items online frequently—but they only buy a few items per purchase. Frequent online purchases produce more packaging waste, and online items tend to come from different distribution centers. Both factors result in higher greenhouse gas emissions per item.
The team modeled their research on the movement of goods from the factory all the way through to the end consumer. They analyzed the carbon footprint of the "last mile delivery" for the three most popular types of shopping channels in the United Kingdom—physical stores, "brick & clicks"(when people order online and a physical store delivers the items to them), and "pure players"(strictly online sellers). Included in the three models were greenhouse gas emissions estimates from the number of products bought, transportation, warehouse storage, delivery and packaging activities.
The analysis showed that total greenhouse gas footprints per item purchased were higher from physical stores than those from bricks & clicks purchases in 63% of the shopping events but lower than those of pure players in 81% of shopping events in the United Kingdom. In the United States, greenhouse gas emissions from shopping at physical stores were also estimated to be higher than from the brick & click channel, and lower than the pure player channel, on average.
This pattern holds true in countries where people mostly drive. It really depends on the country and consumer behavior there.
