Filling online grocery orders from actual stores spikes food waste by 15%.
March 24, 2026
Original Paper
The Impact of Store-Based online Fulfilment on Grocery Retail Food Waste: An Empirical Analysis
SSRN · 6387301
The Takeaway
While 'omnichannel' retail is often sold as an efficiency win, online shoppers have much more erratic ordering habits than physical walk-ins. This 25% spike in demand variability forces stores to overstock, causing a massive increase in fresh food spoilage that offsets the logistical benefits.
From the abstract
Problem Definition: Grocery retailers increasingly fulfil online orders from existing stores rather than from dark stores (dedicated warehouses/fulfilment centers). Theory and practice debate whether this omnichannel strategy reduces or exacerbates food waste. There is a lack of empirical evidence on the impact on waste of introducing fulfillment to brick-and-mortar stores. Our study provides the first causal estimate of this impact and traces the operational levers behind it. <br><br>Methodolog