How Your Love For Online Shopping Is Improving Cities
A series of inevitable changes that make online shopping the most sustainable way to shop.
Introduction:
The pandemic has spurred on many behavioral changes in people. We have quickly grown accustomed to wearing masks, staying 6 feet apart, using hand sanitizer, and shopping online. What is unique about this accelerated love for online shopping is that a vaccine isn’t going to take us back to normal or to pre-pandemic delivery volumes. With a vaccine, we will stop wearing masks, socially distancing, and using hand sanitizer, but we won’t stop shopping online.
I have studied the impact of online shopping on our cities for over four years, and the last mile a package travels is the most complex part of its journey. As online shopping rises, shippers and delivery companies are motivated to increase efficiencies, lower costs, and reduce the carbon footprint of delivering packages to your front doorstep. A series of improvements in delivery systems, urban systems, transportation technologies, zoning ordinances, packaging, and conscious consumerism can make shopping online the most sustainable alternative in cities with high population densities.
I believe that in time, your love for online shopping is going to improve the future of our cities, and here’s how.
Key Connections:
Cities are becoming more urbanized and populated. This means higher population densities.
Higher population density results in higher online shopping customer density. This means that people will rely on their personal vehicles less for shopping trips.
If personal shopping trips are replaced by delivery trucks, the average number of vehicles per household will reduce. This means reducing the size of public and private parking lots, reissuing the minimum number of parking spaces per household, and repurposing parking infrastructure for other uses.
If online shoppers choose slow delivery times at check out (e.g. 5-day delivery instead of 2-day delivery), delivery companies can complete more efficient routes and avoid backtracking. This means reduced delivery vehicles in neighborhoods, noise pollution, vehicle miles travelled, congestion, and emissions.
If online shoppers consolidate their items and buy in bulk, emissions will be reduced. This means reduced vehicle trips on the road and better air quality.
Delivery companies like UPS, FedEx, and Amazon are investing in electric vans to meet statewide regulations, honor company sustainability goals, and reduce operating costs. This means that if delivery companies convert all of their last mile delivery vehicles to fully electric vehicles, the last mile of a delivery will be emission free.
High rates of online shopping reduces the need for in-person retail stores. This means replacing malls and stores with other uses (e.g. parks, libraries, distribution centers, housing, and more).
Companies are providing autonomous and/or electric vehicle technology for long haul, middle mile, and last mile truck trips. This means that despite an exponential growth in package volumes, operating costs and emissions will remain low.
Key Stats:
About 80% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas.
In 2018, the average household in the U.S. had 1.87 vehicles per household.
Online sales increased by an average of 32% in Q1-Q3 2020 in the United States.
18 major companies have pledged to decarbonize by 2040 and have signed The Climate Pledge.
Amazon is employing artificial intelligence to improve selection of the package size and material your order is shipped in. Since 2015, Amazon has eliminated 915,000 tons of cardboard.
Amazon partnered with Rivian and ordered 100,000 electric vehicles from them. Amazon also purchased 1,800 electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. UPS partnered with Arrival and invested in 10,000 electric vehicles; 7,000 of which will be deployed in the United States. UPS also purchased 1,000 electric vehicles from Workhorse. FedEx purchased 1,000 electric vehicles from Chanje.
Companies that have developed autonomous and/or electric vehicles include - TuSimple for long haul, Gatik for middle mile, and Nuro for last mile truck trips.
