ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relationship between e-commerce and sustainability in the context of the online food-retailing sector. Webvan had been one of the top five funded e-commerce start-up companies ever, and received $1.2 billion in venture funds from such notable sources as Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital, CBS and Knight-Ridder. Webvan was acknowledged as the leading online grocery retailer in the US, and as recently as October 2000 the company had approximately 524,000 customers with an average of $103 per order. The difficulty of making this change in behaviour explains why customers who love the Webvan service order only seven times a year, when, according to the Food Marketing Institute, consumers visit the grocery store an average of 2.3 times per week. Webvan's operating model required shipments from the large distribution centre to serve selected substations around the city. Webvan's business model extends beyond personal habits and has a lot of potential to influence larger social institutions and habits.
