Shopping on-line benefits the environment provided that delivery lorries are fully loaded, according to a study by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The real gains are in urban areas where hundreds of car journeys can be averted. In rural areas e-shopping could actually make things worse environmentally-speaking.

The researchers calculated that energy consumption would be cut by 5% - 7% if 10% of all goods were bought on-line. If e-shopping eventually accounts for 50% of purchases, energy savings could reach 35%.

Less car journeys, of course, also mean less emissions. If just 10% of goods are purchased on-line (given an average delivery range of 90km) emissions of CO2 would fall by 4%, emissions of nitrogen oxide by 9%.