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The size of packaging and the quantities that people normally buy in are based on the idea that Americans take their car to the grocery store once a week and fill their trunk space with groceries.

Yes. My grocery store often has sales where you have to buy 5 of a large and/or heavy product to get the discount. As a pedestrian I have to either forego the savings or have an awkward trip home.

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In some countries it’s more common to have items delivered, which can work in cases like this.

Doesn't that just mean someone else is doing the driving?

It’s not a one-for-one replacement for at least two reasons: each shopper doesn’t have their own delivery vehicle, and the number of shopping trips that require vehicles is less.

Exactly. We'd be substantially better off, in terms of total quantity of driving done, if the standard practice was to have groceries delivered. Grocery stores could then be optimized around that, and eventually some of them could stop catering to in-person customers entirely, reducing expense and waste.

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