Relationships between the online and in-store shopping frequency of Davis, California residents

The growth of online shopping will likely impact rates of in-store shopping, signaling potentially significant ramifications for shopping-related vehicle travel. To better understand this relationship, we studied shoppers in Davis, California using a comprehensive survey dataset to explore the effect of personal characteristics, attitudes, perceptions, and the built environment on the frequencies of shopping online and within three distinct shopping settings. Overall, results showed that attitudes and perceptions played an important role in the shopping decision. The ordered response models of shopping frequency also revealed that the shopping motivations for each setting differed. Most notably, many of the factors influencing the frequency of shopping outside Davis had the opposite effect on shopping within Davis. Joint copula models subsequently suggested that online shopping had a complementary relationship with in-store shopping frequency, even after controlling for demographic variables and attitudes. Rather than reducing shopping travel, it appears that online shopping is associated with higher in-store shopping rates.