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E-shopping changes and the state of E-grocery shopping in the US - Evidence from national travel and time use surveys

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  • Saphores, Jean-Daniel
  • Xu, Lu

Abstract

In spite of the popularity of e-shopping, only 16% of US adults have ordered groceries online, and 7 out of 10 of those who currently buy groceries online do so at most twice a month. Understanding the determinants of e-grocery shopping is important for grocers, supply chain managers, and urban planners. In this context, we first explore how deliveries from online shopping have been changing over time. From our analysis of the 2009 and 2017 National Household Travel Surveys, we found that online shopping has been embraced by increasingly diverse households, although income, education, and some racial/ethnic differences persist. Our analysis of the 2017 American Time Use Survey shows that Americans are 24 times more likely to shop for groceries in stores than online. Moreover, in-store grocery shoppers are more likely to be female and unemployed, but less likely to belong to younger generations, to have less than a college degree, or to be African American. The gender imbalance in grocery shopping is larger online than in stores, but e-grocery shoppers do not otherwise differ from the general population. Future travel and e-shopping surveys (especially for e-grocery) should combine time use and travel questions with retrospective questions about online purchases.

Suggested Citation

  • Saphores, Jean-Daniel & Xu, Lu, 2021. "E-shopping changes and the state of E-grocery shopping in the US - Evidence from national travel and time use surveys," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:87:y:2021:i:c:s0739885920300627
    DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2020.100864
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    2. Marcucci, Edoardo & Gatta, Valerio & de Oliveira Leite Nascimento, Carla & Aziz, Soukaina & Ayagah, Prince & Montero, Tania, 2024. "The environmental impact of buying groceries online/offline pre and during COVID-19. Any changes?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 222-233.
    3. Cho, WooKeol & Chung, Jin-Hyuk & Kim, Jinhee, 2023. "Need-based approach for modeling multiday activity participation patterns and identifying the impact of activity/travel conditions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    4. Shah, Harsh & Carrel, Andre L. & Le, Huyen T.K., 2021. "What is your shopping travel style? Heterogeneity in US households’ online shopping and travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 83-98.
    5. Cynthia Castro & Ekaterina Chitikova & Giulia Magnani & Julian Merkle & Maxi Heitmayer, 2023. "Less Is More: Preventing Household Food Waste through an Integrated Mobile Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.
    6. Leo Van Hove, 2022. "Consumer characteristics and e-grocery services: the primacy of the primary shopper," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 241-266, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    e-grocery; Online shopping; National household travel survey; American Time use survey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R0 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis
    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics

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