Abstract:
The rapid spread of information and communication technologies has precipitated the emergence of a novel e-commerce paradigm: mobile ordering. In conjunction with conventional online shopping, this development has significantly altered the travel patterns of urban residents and has the potential to either mitigate or exacerbate disparities in the distribution of amenities and resources. Behavioural research has concentrated on online shopping; there is a dearth of studies on the differences between online shopping and mobile ordering, two distinct types of e-commerce. Using the setting of the Wuhan Metropolitan Development Area in 2022, this study uses distribution probability indices, exploratory spatial data analysis, and a quantile regression model to investigate the spatial distribution patterns of online shopping and mobile ordering and to assess the differential impacts of these two types of e-commerce on travel behaviour across urban and suburban locations. The main findings are as follows: 1) the likelihood of engaging in online shopping is greater in suburban regions than urban regions, whereas mobile ordering is more prevalent in central urban areas. The high-value zones for both activities are concentrated in the suburban-rural fringe, approximately 24 km from the city’s geometric centre. 2) The bivariate global Moran’s
I indices for the impacts of both types of e-commerce on travel distance and travel frequency demonstrate significant spatial positive correlations (0.15 ± 0.02), with
P-values that are less than 0.001, indicating spatial heterogeneity in the impacts of e-commerce on travel behaviour. 3) Online shopping exerts a positive influence on both travel distance and frequency, with a weaker influence in central urban than suburban areas. Mobile ordering positively affects travel frequency, with a more pronounced influence in central urban than suburban areas. Additionally, mobile ordering has a negative impact on travel distance, with the impact being marginally less pronounced in the central urban area than in the suburban periphery. The results offer insights into the complex interplay between e-commerce and comprehensive travel behaviours across various geographical locations.