RETAIL & ECOMMERCE
THE SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT
Shorter delivery distances cut emissions: Dark stores’ urban locations reduce average delivery distances by 23 %, meaning using electric vehicles for last-mile delivery can lower carbon emissions by about 73 % compared to conventional vehicles.
Inventory optimisation reduces waste: Centralised, tech-driven inventory management minimises overstocking and expired goods, leading to less food and product waste.
Energy-efficient operations are on the rise: Many dark stores are adopting LED lighting, motion sensors and renewable energy sources like solar panels to reduce operational energy use and carbon footprint.
Sustainability challenges remain: High energy demands for automation and increased packaging waste from rapid, individualised deliveries can offset some gains unless managed with green logistics and sustainable practices.
Community pushback: The Lorax Initiative’ s 2022 campaign successfully raised awareness and prompted calls for regulation to keep dark stores at least 400 metres from sensitive sites, but dark store growth in the UK continues rapidly, indicating limited regulatory impact so far.
What next for Walmart? Walmart’ s Dallas pilot only handles online orders of the most popular products in order to speed up fulfilment times, but another store is planned in Arkansas. Both locations form part of a broader e-commerce strategy as Walmart’ s online business hit profitability in Q1 of this year, with 21 % sales growth.
It’ s not just the fulfilment space that the company is investing in. Its automation and batching technologies are also making order retrieval more efficient, while drones and other digital tools are improving how orders move through the supply chain.