Online grocery shopping is gaining traction these days. There is a parallel relation between buying groceries online and contributing to the environment. Overall, e-commerce had about 30% lower energy consumption and CO2 emissions compared to traditional retail.
Now, you might be wondering what the parallel relation is? Let’s try to explain it! When you opt for a grocery store sales app, you tend to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions as there are close to 50% fewer trips to supermarkets using your automobiles. There is less traffic as well!
Why are Online Grocery Delivery Apps in Demand?
The delivery service of such online services usually very tends to cover the maximum number of customers on a single trip. With sophisticated algorithms in place, it is straightforward to optimize a single trip and make efficient deliveries wherever possible. All these factors ensure an increasingly green environment with reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
Reasons to Go Green With Online Grocery Shopping
Reason 1: Less Air Pollution
The main factor that makes online ordering from grocery delivery apps green is the fact that – We usually don’t Carpool or pickup our friends while going for online shopping. It’s mostly an individual trip that each household is doing at least once a week.
Imagine how much emissions are we generating? Also, research by Goodchild has found that grocery delivery services can cut emissions by twenty to seventy-five percent compared to individual trips. Since delivery is usually done using a van or a bus, multiple orders can be organized and taken care of in one go.
A recent USDA survey found that in 88% of U.S households, people hop in their car to buy groceries, driving an average of 4 miles to their preferred store. All these car trips result in carbon pollution: over 17 million metric tons of CO2 come from car tailpipes just from driving back and forth to the grocery store.
Now, that is an alarming amount. Don’t you think so?
Reason 2: Less Use of Plastic Packaging
Another aspect that can promote going green is the use of reusable totes that we can return on the next delivery. This not only negates the purpose of plastic bags and cardboard boxes but also decreases the waste that is generated to a great extent. Replanting the food scraps (For Example – Scallions, Potatoes, and Avocado) that you have is also a great option, as they are high in compost.
Going organic is also beneficial for you as well as the environment. This is so as the certified organic items are prepared without the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, other synthetic fertilizers, and sewage sludge. The soil health is also monitored continually using methods like composting, crop rotation, and companion planting. The soil health doesn’t get diminished with each harvest.
The use of recyclable paper bags for packaging is also an excellent way to diminish the pollution and environmental dis-balance caused by waste. If you observe, generally, all packages that are delivered to your home as wrapped in paper bags with paper seals, which can be used again and will not damage the environment as they decompose fast without causing any harm to the environment.
Reason 3: Less Shipping Costs + Fresh Grocery
Also, another thing to consider is that when you buy online, the store ships the item directly from a warehouse. While, when visiting a store, you have an additional cost of getting to and from the store plus the usual shipping costs.
According to a study, packaging accounts for 22% of the carbon dioxide emissions of an item purchased online, customer transportation accounts for 65% of emissions when buying the similar item at a retail store.
A study from MIT also suggests that shoppers who completed the entire buying process online had a carbon footprint almost two times smaller than a traditional shopper. Physical stores also require more energy and maintenance upkeep.
The Future of Online Grocery Delivery = Electric Vehicles & Drones
From ordering grocery online to tracking products during the delivery process to customizing the product, technology advancements are transforming everything. And, the next big technology trend is the Driverless Delivery with Electric Vehicles and Drones.
Amazon wants half its shipments to be “net-zero carbon“ by 2030. There are two major ones that we’ll discuss.
Electric Vehicles have no tailpipe emissions. They reduce transport’s contribution to urban smog. Their carbon emission will depend on how the electricity is generated. It’s a great alternative to coal-burning options, though.
Drones work best with light and urgent deliveries like medicines, food. An amalgamation of trucks and drone food delivery can be a good idea. The vehicles can carry them to a particular point A, and then the drones can do the last mile delivery. Players like Amazon are planning to deploy these smart, autonomous hampers on-wheels along sidewalks for efficient deliveries.
All in all, grocery delivery apps can improve the in-store and online shopping experience by offering a more personalized shopping environment. GrocersApp is one of the best grocery app development company. Are you ready to start the digital journey for your retail business? Let’s talk about your dreams. Contact Here!
