Consumer Welfare Impacts of Online and Omnichannel Retail

A new academic study finds that omnichannel retailers increasingly offer consumers a mix of brick-and-mortar options and e-commerce options, consumers no longer care about whether a purchase is made online or in-store, and instead care about shipping cost, travel time to the store, order time, and return policies. The biggest beneficiaries from the increase in omnichannel and ecommerce retail options are rural consumers, who typically have few brick-and-mortar options in a 30 mile radius: just three grocery stores, two department stores, and one specialty store on average.