I suppose that it should come as no surprise that a recent survey from iCongo and Harris Interactive revealed that one-third of Americans are turning to online shopping instead of heading out to the stores themselves. When you think about it, this makes perfect sense. If it costs $3.75 to put one gallon of gas in your car–and online retailers like Overstock charge about $3 for shipping–why would you ever get in the car? (Note: Overstock is offering free shipping for orders placed before May 6th!)

Other surveys have shown the other kinds of effect rising gas prices have had on Americans. We are eating out less, combining trips instead of doing back-and-forth errands, and we’re spending less overall.

It dawned on me last week that I might have to give up my ShopRite at Home habit now that gas prices have shot through the roof. For awhile I was saving $20 to $30 on groceries by ordering my groceries online via ShopRite.com and then driving to pick them up, instead of going to my local Giant supermarket. Sure, I was driving 15 to 20 minutes to get to ShopRite, versus the five minutes it would take to get to Giant, but the savings more than made up for the convenience.

Now, I’m not so sure. I spend more than those savings in gas.

I think it’s time to look into supermarkets that will deliver groceries for me (ShopRite doesn’t to my area), or whether I should just plan on shopping locally for the time being. At least my CSA opens for business next week so I can plan on not having to shop for produce for the next 12 weeks. In between, perhaps I’ll just walk to the supermarket every day and shop European style–where I pick up just what I need for that night’s dinner with each trip. That shouldn’t be too heavy to schlep home. And I know it will be good for the environment.

How have the rising gas prices affected how you shop?