The interactions between e-shopping and traditional in-store shopping: an application of structural equations model

As the proliferation of e-commerce leads to ever greater numbers of on-line transactions, transportation planners are interested in the impacts of e-shopping on our strained transportation systems. Although the substitution effect of e-shopping is appealing, previous studies provided mixed results on its impact. Using 539 adult internet users in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area, this study applied a structural equations model to investigate the interactions among online purchases, in-store shopping, and product information search via internet. We found that online searching frequency has positive impacts on both online and in-store shopping frequencies and online buying positively affects in-store shopping. In particular, the marginal effects of online-buying frequency and online-searching frequency on in-store shopping frequency were estimated at 0.153 and 0.189, respectively. Since the internet as a shopping channel tends to have a complementary effect on in-store shopping, the rise of e-shopping is not likely to be a solution but a challenge to travel reduction.