Geographic Distribution of E-Shopping

Abstract

The proliferation of Internet shopping has imposed enormous pressure on traditional stores. Few studies have examined the geographic distribution of online buyers and its implications on retail development and transportation. Using 585 Internet users in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, metropolitan area, this study develops structural equation models to test two competing hypotheses regarding the connections between spatial attributes and e-shopping: diffusion of innovation and efficiency. The results demonstrate that the influence of shopping accessibility on e-shopping is not uniform and depends on the locations in metropolitan areas. Specifically, Internet users living in urban areas, areas with greater shopping accessibility, or both tend to purchase online more often than their counterparts in other areas because the former are better educated and use the Internet more than the latter. However, low shopping accessibility in exurban areas does promote the use of e-shopping as compared with exurban areas with relatively high shopping accessibility.