How much did internet sales increase in France in 2021?

Article written by Alexandre Torbay
December 7, 2021

The correct answer is . 15% (vs 2020). In 2021, nearly 42 million French people will buy online, 1.5 million more than in 2019).The impact of parcel deliveries, in particular, is increasingly felt by consumers, 20% of whom say they are very sensitive to the carbon impact of parcels, according to La Poste.📦 For example, FNAC estimates that delivering a game console in 24 hours (express) emits 740g CO2e, i.e. 2.5 times more than 48-hour delivery...and 12 times more than in-store collection, which is sometimes more efficient than home delivery.

Beyond the now well-known carbon footprint of home delivery, the challenge lies in finding solutions to reduce this impact, which revolve around 3 main issues:

  • Vacuum management in parcels
  • Packaging quantity
  • Journeys and the last mile

Vacuum management

Adapting the parcel to each order (and avoiding filling the void with cardboard and/or bubble wrap) can reduce the number of trucks mobilized for deliveries by up to 30%.

Packaging

With over a billion parcels distributed in France and exported, 137,000 tonnes of packaging are used every year, usually ending up in our garbage cans. To combat the over-consumption of packaging, some e-tailers are turning to reusable parcels, with some specialists promising up to 100 reuses for a single parcel.

Package routing

Rail transport could make a comeback, with AMAZON FRANCE TRANSPORT SAS planning to use night trains - instead of trucks on the roads - to move parcels from one end of France to the other. Last but not least, the last mile, which delivers the parcel to the end customer, accounts for up to 25% of the impact of delivery. Solutions to decarbonize the last kilometer can combine the use of low-carbon fleets (electric vehicles, cargo bikes, etc.) and flexible solutions to reduce the high failure rate at delivery, which adds to the carbon weight of this final stage.

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