The connections between e-shopping and sustainable transport choices – Comparing urban and rural environments

While e-shopping may trigger more but shorter trips, i.e., within walkable distances, frequent e-shoppers see private car as more reliable. However, research addressing the interplay between e-shopping and transport mode choice is scarce and mostly focused on urban areas. Against this background, the paper complements current literature by answering the following research question: Is e-shopping behaviour associated with walking to in-store retail instead of using a private car, and what are the differences between urban and rural environments? Germany serves as the spatial laboratory, with the data from the 2017 Mobilität in Deutschland (MiD) survey providing comprehensive insights on mobility and its socio-economic elements. Three logistic regression models are carried out to explore the impact of e-shopping frequency on transport mode choice for three different spatial settings: large agglomerations (≥100,000 inhabitants), urban counties, and rural counties. The results show that people who buy online more frequently in urban and rural counties tend to reach in-store destinations by car instead of walking. On the other hand, the frequency of e-shopping and walking mode choice do not present any association on large urban agglomerations. The socio-economic analysis shows that car owners tend to reach in-store retail by car, while those with higher household incomes are more likely to walk. The paper ends with a discussion of how the results can inform sustainable transport systems to find a balance between online and in-store shopping.