Sustainability in Retailing – Environmental Effects of Transport Processes, Shopping Trips and Related Consumer Behaviour

This thesis is concerned with sustainability in retailing. It begins with a literature review that provides deeper insights into relevant developments in retail research and practice with a focus on sustainability developments. Highlighting the importance of the topics CO2 and CSR, particular attention is paid to the environmental pollution caused by shopping processes in brick-and-mortar and online retail. To gain a more profound knowledge of the relevant processes and their influences, the analysis factors in the environmental effects of the transport processes of retailers, parcel services and consumers during shopping trips. It is shown that, in general, online retail causes fewer CO2 emissions, but that its advantageousness can change with respect to certain aspects such as returns, distance to stores and the transport mode used. Another important result is that the CO2 emissions are mainly caused by customer journeys to the stores, making this an important starting point to mitigate the environmental pollution caused by shopping processes in brick-and-mortar retail. Therefore, the focus also lies on consumer shopping behaviour and its environmental effects. After structuring the relevant influences on travel behaviour for shopping trips and their environmental effects, the shortcomings of quantitative approaches for analysing behavioural aspects are discussed. Considering these, a qualitative approach using narrative interviews is applied to gain a deeper understanding of the relevant drivers behind consumer travel behaviour with respect to shopping trips. In doing so, differences in behaviour regarding various life cycles are highlighted. Furthermore, different shopping types are distinguished and consumer expectations regarding the environmental commitment of retailers and policy makers evaluated. Based on the results, implications for retailers and policy makers are deduced to highlight how they can support consumers by behaving in more environmentally-friendly manner