New Twists on E-commerce

The ratio of e-commerce sales to all retail sales is increasing, a trend accelerated by COVID-19. Demand for brick-and-mortar retail space is decreasing, resulting in smaller multiplier effects from retail sales in local economies.New Urbanismidentifies key factors fueling the growth of e-commerce, including affordability, customer convenience, easy accessibility, and competitive market conditions. Despite these drivers, there are obstacles hindering e-commerce from entirely replacing traditional retail. These include the decrease in social interactions between buyers and sellers due to online shopping, negative impacts on local economies caused by the dominance of e-commerce, and potential regulatory challenges encountered when e-commerce businesses establish substantial local footprints.