People are walking less due to delivery culture


Thank goodness for technology, am I right? We’re not sure how our ancestors dealt without the ability to Instagram their acai breakfast bowl, stream movies wherever and whenever they want, or simply use the internet to buy goods from all of the world. Yep, we’re not sure how we would survive without being able to import our favorite Mongolian rugs from Mongolia or our favorite brand of coffee from Columbia – but of course, we can’t travel there to pick them up every time we wanted a steaming hot cup o’ joe. Instead, we use delivery services to have them turn up at our doorstep. However, it seems like people are now walking less than they did a decade ago due to the rise in delivery culture.

The statistics

Don’t believe us? Well, we’ve got some statistics to go with this claim! According to the Office for National Statistics, human beings are now walking 20% less than they were a decade ago. Across the pond in England, people were making 4.7 trips by foot per week in 2005. However, in 2015, the numbers had drastically reduced to just 3.8 trips by foot per week. The study looked into these statistics even further and noticed that women had reduced their trips outside by 13% over the last decade, compared to their male counterparts.

What’s it all about?

However, these shocking statistics have left the park wide open for answers to the question: What’s this all about? Why have these numbers dramatically decreased? Well, it seems most experts put this reduction down to the use of delivery services and the rise in delivery culture. Nowadays, it’s much easier to sit on the couch and order items to their door than it is to walk out of the house and to the nearest store. In fact, you can order almost anything to your door in today’s day and age. You can order your weekly grocery shop, a bottle of wine, clothes, and more, without lifting more than a finger onto the mousepad. There is no longer a need to leave the house and walk.

Walking for business

The Department for Transport has also looked into these findings and undertaken their own study. They have since noted that “Personal business, business, shopping, and leisure walking trips have declined more than other types over the last ten years.” For most people, walking is not something they need to do to get on with their day. In fact, it is now becoming an inconvenience. Within the study, the Department for Transport has also recorded how just ⅖ of adult humans walk from their homes once a week. Despite this, they have noted how those taking up cycling as their main form of transport has drastically increased over the past few years.

Get on yer bike

In England, more and more people are choosing to don their helmets and put the pedal to the metal to go about their day. During the study undertaken by the Department of Transport, they found that 57% of the people who live in the city of Cambridge ride their bicycles once a week. They also discovered that these cyclists are also traveling further than they did ten years ago – 26% further, in fact!

Thanks to this new delivery culture, we were walking an average of just 3.5 miles per week in 2015 – and it seems as if this number is just decreasing. Thanks to this new form of delivery culture and the fact that driving is still the most common mode of transport for most people in the world, we seem to be walking less and less as people. This just makes us want to stretch our legs and go for a walk…

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