The Impact of E-Commerce on Physical Retail: An Empirical Study of Beijing, Wuhan, and Hangzhou

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jbm.202509615

Author(s)

Tianqi Zheng

Affiliation(s)

University of Edinburgh (BSC Applied Mathematics), Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, United Kingdom

Abstract

With China's fast digital transformation, e-commerce has grown very quickly and is bringing more and more structural challenges to traditional industries. This paper uses data from three representative cities between 2018 and 2024 to study the impact of e-commerce on local physical industries. The study uses local statistical reports and yearbooks to build a regression model. The empirical results show that the regression coefficient of e-commerce share is significantly negative at the 1% level. This means that for every 10% increase in e-commerce penetration, physical retail sales drop by about 3.7%, especially the effect is even stronger in cities with a more developed digital economy. This provides empirical evidence for understanding the relationship between e-commerce development and the urban consumption structure, and also offers some policy insights on how to promote the integration of online and offline retail.

Keywords

E-Commerce; Physical Retail; Total Retail Sales of Consumer Goods

References

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