The geography of e-shopping in China: On the role of physical and virtual accessibility

Abstract

Although e-shopping is increasingly adopted, it remains unclear (1) how e-shopping varies geographically, and (2) how this relates to physical and virtual accessibility. This paper presents a combined study of both issues focusing on the case of China, arguably one of the emerging e-shopping hotspots. Drawing on Alibaba's Online Shopping Index, we use a general spatial model (SAC) to explore the role of virtual and physical accessibility in the spatial distribution of e-shopping across 276 prefecture-level cities in China. The results suggest that both physical accessibility (proxy-ed by the relative number of shopping malls and the relative number of buses) and virtual accessibility (proxy-ed by the percentage of broadband subscribers and the relative number of delivery points) increase e-shopping, with both effects complementing each other. We discuss how findings contribute to our understanding of the geography of e-shopping, and outline implications for policymakers and e-retailers alike.