Is Online Shopping More Sustainable?

Is online shopping sustainable? This study compares the environmental impact of shopping online versus brick-and-mortar.

Anne Marie Mohan

Jul 19, 2023

The study assessed the GHGs associated with all material, energy, and waste attributable to a product in its lifecycle.

A new study on the environmental impact of shopping online versus brick-and-mortar found that mall shopping can be up to 60% more environmentally sustainable than online shopping. The study, “Does Shopping Behavior Impact Sustainability?,” conducted by Deloitte on behalf of Simon Property Group, found that a number of factors, including increased returns and additional packaging, contributed to e-commerce’s negative environmental impact. The lower emissions associated with brick-and-mortar shopping locations were driven by shoppers making a greater number of purchases per trip and combining their mall visits with other activities as part of their trip chain.

An initial study conducted by Deloitte in 2016 assessed the GHGs the GHGs, counting all material, energy, and waste attributable to a product in its lifecycle. Simon updated the analysis with new data to incorporate recent trends in shopper behaviors for both online and mall shopping. To ensure comparability, the lifecycle assessment assumed that the consumer purchased the same basket of goods online as they would in a brick-and-mortar location. The updated version of the study showed that shopping at a mall is about three-times more environmentally sustainable than just three years ago. This is due to changing consumer behaviors—both online and in-store.

Key study findings

Simon's study produced some interesting findings on how sustainable online shopping compares to the brick-and-mortar including:

Shopping online leads to five times more returned products, which considerably increases the environmental impact. An extensive literature search performed for the study shows that approximately 40% of online purchases are returned versus 7% in the case of brick-and-mortar.
Shopping online creates five times more emissions from packaging for online orders (corrugated boxes, bubble wrap, etc.) compared with the emissions associated with use of plastic/paper bag consumers typically bring home from the mall.
On average, shoppers at the mall buy three and a half products per trip and visit other places on their way to the mall, which is often referred to as trip chaining and lowers the emissions specifically related to their mall visit, because their trip is divided between multiple stops.

See related articles from Packaging World at:

“Making a green case for eCom”

“The retail apocalypse has been cancelled”

“Amazon’s new sustainable packaging program puts the customer first”

“Corrugated packaging market forecast to increase from $315 billion to $380 billion by 2023”

PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing, States Position on Sustainability

PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing, believes:

· Packaging plays a critical role in our world. It safeguards our food, protects our medicines, shields our purchases, and allows for the transportation of goods; protecting what keeps us healthy and happy.

· The packaging industry has a responsibility to limit its environmental impact. We are driving innovation across all packaging types, throughout the supply chain, to increase the use of recycled materials and reduce the amount of packaging being used.

· Making packaging as sustainable as possible is not about eliminating any single material, but rather making smart, eco-friendly choices that help packaging meet the needs of consumers, and the environment.

· The solution requires a combination of many things, from infrastructure to education to innovation. Everyone has an important role, including consumers,

· The move toward sustainable practices, products, and materials is ever-present and a priority in the packaging industry. Sustainable solutions are being thought about and innovated every day so that packaging can continue to play an important role in our lives.

We need packaging to safeguard our food, protect our medicines, shield our purchases, and transport our goods; packaging protects what keeps us happy and healthy. Because of its essential place in our world, we have a responsibility to limit its environmental impact.

The solution requires a combination of infrastructure development, education and engagement, innovation, and clean-up efforts. Everyone has an important role, including consumers, who must play an active part and be willing to share in the cost of innovation. Our industry is driving innovation, and we see this in the ongoing push to improve sustainability across all packaging types, throughout the supply chain.

This is true for a variety of packaging formats; from the plastic used on bottle caps, to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, to recycled corrugated card used in cartons and cases and recycled, high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) or recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) film.

Sustainability initiatives in packaging have advanced considerably, leading to an increased use of recycled materials, as well as a reduction in the amount of packaging being used. This is being addressed by redesigns to reduce the footprint of the packaging, careful monitoring of the amount of packaging used to reduce wastage, increased use of biodegradable materials like BioFilms, and production of thinner packaging, be that thinner carton walls or thinner film on a wrapping machine. And to facilitate this, OEMs are developing machines with improved functionality to minimize waste and maximize productivity speeds with innovative and environmentally friendly materials.

These are just some of the examples of what the packaging industry is doing—the speed of innovation is rapid. PMMI reports on sustainability issues and innovations regularly, published daily via our Media Group’s digital platforms, monthly in Packaging World magazine and annually in our Innovations Report—a roundup of technologies seen at PACK EXPO, where there is an emphasis on education, ideas, and technologies advancing sustainability efforts.