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The widespread adoption of the internet as retail channel is impacting a range of stakeholders. Retailers are expected to sell online, logistics operators are required to reconfigure their supply chain and public authorities try to keep local retail competitive while simultaneously attempt to manage the increase in freight transport. Within this context, a growing body of research is studying the socio-economic profile of the online shopper and the spatial variation in the demand for B2C goods. Yet, as can be expected for a relatively new evolution, little consensus exist. Therefore, in this paper, with data from the national retail federation on online shopping behaviour, we add to this growing field by first analysing the relation between socio-economic characteristics and the willingness to shop online. By mapping these characteristics, we then construct the geography of online shopping adoption in Belgium. Finally, we assess the impacts of this specific geography for the stakeholders that are adapting to this new reality. We conclude firstly that the well-educated man in his thirties with a well-paid job has the highest probability to shop online, independent of the level of urbanisation of the area he resides. Secondly, we predict over- and underestimations of the potential online buyers of up to 50% when assuming a homogeneous e-commerce penetration, especially in poorer urban areas. This implies a serious negligence for e-commerce practitioners and academics when ignoring the specific geography of the online shopping adoption.

Supply chains, logistics and freight have been facing increasingly complex challenges posed by transitions in economic structures, urbanization, city design and transport systems, as well as by the externalities associated with logistics activities in urban areas. This has driven a great deal of research recently. Yet, there are no sufficient contributions clarifying the current state of thought in this field. This article critically reviews the literature highlighting current approaches in the field. The objective of the article is threefold. First, to provide a framework with geographical and functional elements of urban logistics. Second, to identify the scope of the literature, vested into a typology. And third, to define the terms that may embrace the various analytical interests of the urban logistics field, namely city logistics, urban goods distribution and last mile logistics. The aim is to contribute to organize the current and future thought in the field of urban logistics.

The rise in online B2C sales resulted in a fragmentation of freight shipments. Logistics service providers are challenged to cope with high competition, a consumer-driven economy, failed delivery issues, reverse logistics and environmental measures taken by policymakers, which are all putting pressure on the costs. The last-mile of these deliveries, widely accepted as the most expense part of the trip, is a trade-off between internal costs, externalities and the density of deliveries. Little is known so far about the actual impacts of e-commerce on transport and logistics on society. In this paper, we first analyse the spatial distribution of e-commerce deliveries during a 4-month period in Belgium. Next, we propose a methodology based on the total vehicle-kilometres travelled to calculate the external costs per parcel at the national level. The results show that despite the high urbanization in the country, the e-commerce consumption per capita is higher in rural areas while the total number of kilometres travelled remains similar to that in urban areas. While urban areas undergo most of the disadvantages related to the e-commerce last-mile, the average external cost per parcel was found to be higher in rural areas.