E-COMMERCE MOBILITIES - THE I M PACTS ON CITIES WELCOME TO LOGISTICS CITY
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
E-COMMERCE
MOBILITIES
THE IMPACTS ON CITIES
WELCOME TO LOGISTICS CITY
N O 1•2020-2021
1
WELCOME TO LOGISTICS CITY N O 1•2020-2021
E DITORIAL
« It would be wrong to think of e-commerce
as the source of all ills, just as it would « The paradox is that all these hopes and fears
be wrong to deny the impacts of such a rapid about the impacts of e-commerce in cities
transformation of the mobility of goods. » are expressed without robust data. »
E-commerce is contributing to contemporary will take in urban planning and real estate in our sponsoring partners of the Logistics City
Are e-commerce and urban logistics two delivery workers, the increase in nuisances, by bringing warehouses closer to the final urban transformations. Its role in the eve- our cities, as its need for efficiency inevitably Chair. It is here to stimulate debate and to
sides of the same coin or are we talking the conflict of road use, the weakening of consumer and by helping mobility in the last ryday lives of people, but also as a source translates into a growing demand for urban help the urban management of all the logis-
about two very different subjects? Confusion local commerce, etc. It would be wrong to few kilometres to evolve towards zero emis- of activity diversification of businesses and logistics spaces, from the smallest micro-hub tics behind the considerable development
reigns, as logistics seems - at last - to be think of e-commerce as the source of all sion. A thorough review of the false evidence restaurants, has been confirmed since the to new vertical warehouse formats. of e-commerce today move in a more sustai-
entering the public debate, thanks to the ills, just as it would be wrong to deny the that needs to be fully understood in order to pandemic. For their part, delivery workers nable direction.
The paradox is that all these hopes and fears
spotlight placed on this essential function of impacts of such a rapid transformation of better anticipate what a truly virtuous urban are recognised as essential and the plat-
about the impacts of e-commerce in cities
our global economy over the past year. the mobility of goods. logistics system can and should be in the ser- forms employing them are increasingly
are expressed without robust data. While
vice of our modern societies. being held accountable for the conditions
There is no doubt that e-commerce and This is why we need to get back to the facts, e-commerce is inherently digital, the data
under which this new profession is practised.
urban logistics are linked: the boom in new to objective data, and this is the whole available to cities and researchers is surpri-
Finally, cities applauded and facilitated the
distribution methods, whether in terms of point of this new publication produced by singly approximate. The unavailable data
performance of logistics during the initial
the mobility of goods, the optimisation of the Logistics City chair directed by Laetitia (on the number and location of deliveries,
lockdown, but are now concerned about a
the last kilometre, or the observed reposi- Dablanc: we understand that e-commerce is vehicles, jobs, etc.) is in fact at the very heart
potential explosion of parcel deliveries at all
tioning of warehouses in the heart of cities, in itself less carbon-intensive than traditio- of the business model of e-retailers and their
hours and in all neighbourhoods, threatening
owes a great deal to the revolution that the nal commerce, but that our behaviour - pro- logistics service providers. The development
local commerce and exacerbating air pollu-
exponential development of e-commerce has duct returns, instant delivery, reallocation of of data sharing mechanisms is still in its
ting emissions and congestion.
represented for more than 10 years. What is free time, etc. - and the behaviour of retai- infancy.
— Jonathan Sebbane
a comfort for us consumers is however not lers, distributors and other platforms lead to In an interesting article in the New York
General Director of Sogaris It is all these elements that this booklet has — Laetitia Dablanc
without questions for the citizens that we an overall increase in the carbon footprint of Times on 4 March 2021, New York's private
sought to highlight, the result of a year of Director of Research at the University
must be: the environmental impact of deli- consumption. In this context, urban logistics — Rémi Feredj and public players point to another challenge
academic work and intense exchanges with Gustave Eiffel, Director of the Chair
very, the employment conditions of instant plays the necessary role of shock absorber, General Director of Poste Immo posed by e-commerce, that of the place it
2 3
Su m mary I NTRODUCTION
H OW I S E- CO M M E RCE
INTRODUCTION D I S RU PTI N G TH E U R BAN
PAGE 5 LOG I STI CS ECOSYSTE M?
1. MOBILITIES GENERATED BY E-COMMERCE
PAGE 13 With the growth of e-commerce, the "logistic intensity" of our commercial
2. E-COMMERCE IMPACTS ON PUBLIC AND LOGISTICS SPACES transactions in cities has increased and logistics is increasingly visible in the urban
landscape. Delivery workers move around, park, unload, consult their smartphones,
PAGE 27
argue with motorists to justify their double parking, interact with shopkeepers
3. E-COMMERCE MOBILITIES: INNOVATIONS IN VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY and with the residents they have to deliver to. They are in trucks, vans, but also on
PAGE 35 motorbikes, cargo bikes, scooters, bicycles or even on foot. On their backs, large
4. E-COMMERCE MOBILITY IN TIMES OF HEALTH CRISIS delivery bags, of all colours according to the brands that employ them. They are now
PAGE 45 part of the urban landscape.
This dynamic, perceived as unstoppable after a year of health crisis that is tightening
5. MOVING FORWARD: BUILDING MORE AND BETTER DATA the grip of traditional commerce, raises questions about the impact of e-commerce
PAGE 53 in the city and particularly about the emergence of a new form of logistics, resulting
from e-commerce, as an object of permanent innovation and all the more unfamiliar
THE LOGISTICS CITY CHAIR
as logistics sprawl and the digital revolution seemed to have pushed the flows
PAGE 58
of goods away from the cities. E-commerce is transforming the city as much as
PARTNERS it is transforming mobilities. This first part looks at some of the definitions and
PAGE 59 understandings of e-commerce and the profound transformations it is bringing about
in the logistics chain.
REFERENCES
PAGE 61
4 5
E-commerce frontiers Europe has the highest online spending per The online retail model does not cover all in the inner-city of Paris and Manhattan
BUYER BUSINESS
CONSUMER e-consumer: an average of €1,586 in 2019 sectors and product categories. It mainly (New York). 97% of New Yorkers and
O
nline shopping is becoming more (company, (Ecommerce Foundation, 2019b). In France, concerns clothing and sporting gear, media 95% of Parisians made purchases online in
(private individual)
and more frequent and sales SELLER professional) 75% of the population makes online pur- and computer software, and travel and holi- 2017. These figures at the urban level are
volumes are increasing. When we chases, spending an average of €2,428 days, which were purchased by more than higher than at the national level: 80% for
talk about e-commerce, we first think of tran- BUSINESS Busi ness-to-busi ness Busi ness-to-consumer per year (Ecommerce Foundation, 2019a; 30% of European e-consumers. Tickets and the United States and 68% for France in
sactions between businesses and consumers E.g. Amazon, E.g. Amazon, events as well as household goods were 2017 (Ecommerce Foundation, 2018). 73%
(company, Alibaba as well as many AliExpress, as well as
(“business-to-consumer” or “B2C”), but professional) small merchants many small merchants
purchased by more than 20%, while around of New Yorkers and 51% of Parisians had
online commerce is mainly made up of tran- Internet sales reached 10% used e-commerce to buy electronic bought groceries online, while meal delivery
sactions between businesses (“business- 112 billion euros in 2020 equipment, medicines, food and groceries was also a growing practice in 2017 (90% of
to-business” or “B2B”). According to the Consumer-to-busi ness Consumer-to-consumer in France thanks to the (Ecommerce Europe, 2018). Food is a parti- New Yorkers and 67% of Parisians). Three-
CONSUMER
United Nations Conference on Trade and E.g. Google AdSense, E.g. eBay, Taobao, cularly interesting e-commerce category, quarters of them used a smartphone applica-
(private individual) Adobe Stock, Jobster Le Bon Coin
accelerated digitalisation
Development (UNCTAD, 2020), the global recent but growing (Econsultancy, 2019). tion to do so.
value of electronic commerce reached nearly
of the retail sector. This growth is particularly due to the
$26 trillion in 2018, of which 83% represents E- CO M M E RC E I N 2 02 0 - F E VA D ( 2 02 1 ) maturation of “digital natives”, consumers
Tab l e 1. E-commerce categori sati on and examp l es of busi nesses
business-to-business exchanges, including who have grown up with digital techno-
sales on market places and electronic data logy. In France, before the first lockdown,
Online stores have thus become an impor- social impacts at the city level. Retailx, 2020a). These rates have increased
interchange. 20% of Internet users had purchased food
tant alternative to the shopping street, a as a result of periods of lockdown in 2020 online and 12% had an experience of orde-
The growth of e-commerce is a global phe-
However, in 2018, B2C generated no less global trend that has been reinforced by the (see section 4). 55% of French consumers ring prepared or restaurant meals (Retailx,
nomenon. Internet penetration, the propor-
than $4,400 billion in spending, of which health crisis linked to COVID-19. A speci- make at least one online purchase per month 2020a). These rates increased following the
tion of online consumers and average spen-
approximately half involving an exchange fic section in this booklet is devoted to the (FEVAD, 2016) and the average French pandemic.
ding differ significantly from one country
of goods. This breakdown has changed in impact of the pandemic on e-commerce and e-consumer made 39 transactions per
or region to another, but convergences
2020: in France, the e-commerce federation its mobility. year, a significant increase from only Urban inhabitants account for the largest
seem to be prevailing in terms of consumer
FEVAD estimates show that the share of seven transactions in 2006 (Beziat et al., share of internet users and online shop-
Consumers also frequently use the Internet behaviour, technologies and e-commerce
spending on services has decreased by 10.3% 2020). Figure 1 shows the share of the popu- ping and tend to buy more online. A study
to buy and sell to other consumers, known processes. Global internet penetration (its
compared to 2019, while consumption of lation making online purchases in the coun- by the research bureau 6t (2018) compared
as “consumer-to-consumer” or “C2C”. usage) has increased by more than 10%
goods has increased significantly by tries at the top of the list (Retailx, 2020b). online consumption and mobility practices
32.3%.
over the last five years, reaching an average
The landscape of e-commerce market of 61%. It is highest in Europe (85%) and
players can thus be broken down into four
About 14% of all purchases worldwide are North America (84%) and lowest in Africa
transaction channels.
made on the web (Statista, 2020a). The (56%) and Asia and Oceania (53%). Online
growth of e-commerce is mainly driven shopping, in terms of “proportion of consu-
This booklet focuses on B2C (and to some UNITED KINGDOM 91%
by B2C, with double-digit annual growth mers using the Internet and having made GERMANY
extent C2C, which we will also explore 84%
rates, higher than those of B2B (Ecommerce online purchases”, varies overall from 13% FRANCE 77%
in other research of the Chair), which is
Foundation, 2019b). In France, again accor- to 89%. In Italy, for example, in 2019 only UNITED STATES 75%
business-to-consumer goods, thus exclu-
ding to the FEVAD, whilst in 2019 e-com- 48% of Internet users were shopping online, JAPAN 74%
ding services. Our aim is to highlight the
merce accounted for 9.8% of all consumer which is lower than countries such as China AUSTRALIA 69%
importance of B2C as an economic activity SOUTH KOREA 68%
purchases, this share reached 13.4% in 2020. (59%), the United States (82%) and South
and in its impacts on cities; to highlight the CANADA 67%
Korea (89%). In Europe's biggest market,
main innovations and developments in this UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 64%
the UK, 87% of internet users shop online. 64%
field; to show the links between e-commerce SPAIN
and urban logistics in terms of mobility (of
people and goods) and real estate; and to
F i gure 1. Lead i ng countri es i n B2C onl i ne shopp i ng (i ncl ud i ng servi ces) i n 2019 (Retai lx, 2020b).
understand its environmental, urban and
6 7
Online orders generate mobility: mobility Beziat et al. (2020) and that of Gardrat et by 73% of households, with variations accor- separately, omnichannel retailers integrate Attracted by the explosive growth of e-com- service) transforms ordinary citizens into
of people (to go and collect their parcel al. (2016) present a broader approach to ding to socio-economic characteristics: from online and offline retail channels in a single merce and determined to solve (part of) delivery workers, enlisting this “crowd” of
at collection points, for example) and, e-commerce. Their surveys of households in 57% for pensioners to 92% for professionals process. In practice, omnichannel retailers the last mile challenge, new innovative people already travelling from point A to
with the strong demand for home deli- Lyon cover all “deferred purchase and recep- and executives. 60% of these purchases enable consumers to make online purchases players have entered the market. These ini- point B to pick up a parcel and making a
very, mobility of goods. However, the data tion” practices of households. In addition were delivered to the home. A good indicator and pick them up in-store or return them to tiatives provide specific solutions for the stop along the way to drop it off. In doing so,
enabling the impact of e-commerce on mobi- to e-commerce, examples of such practices to apprehend the impact of deliveries linked the store, order items in-store and receive business-to-consumer parcel market. They crowd logistics combines algorithmic inno-
lity to be assessed is still lacking at national include in-store purchases that are delivered to e-commerce is the comparison of these them at home, and merge online and offline play on four determinants: information vations in route organisation and human
level and even more difficult to obtain at instead of being taken home immediately flows with those generated by deliveries to shopping. The strength of the “bricks and
urban level. Although for 2017 the FEVAD (the so-called “ship-from-store”) and pur- establishments (e.g. stores, offices, indus- clicks” retail model is demonstrated by exa-
(2018) estimates that 505 million B2C par- chases by telephone or e-mail. Nevertheless, tries, administrations), which are better mples of large pure players launching and/
cels were delivered in France, it would be 95% of all deferred purchases registered known and modelled. Thus in 2016, addi- or acquiring a network of physical stores, for The environmental and economic difficulties associated
between 700 and 800 million parcels in concerned e-commerce. Each household in tional deliveries and pick-ups generated example Amazon with its purchase of Whole with the last mile, as well as its key importance for consumer
2020. On an urban scale, La Poste reports Lyon in 2016 generated an average of 19.2 by e-commerce represented 17% of total Foods in the US. satisfaction, are summarised as the “last mile challenge”.
10 million collections and deliveries per orders per year (and this figure is certainly deliveries and pick-ups in Lyon.
day (B2B and B2C) in urban areas in France much higher in 2020, although detailed data
(Le Groupe La Poste, 2020). The study by is lacking). These purchases were generated THE L AST MILE AND ITS DELI VERIES
systems (organisation of delivery rounds); resource management. The initiatives of
In urban areas, the logistics market has hub organisation (nearby storage); the this “crowd” are very varied and diverge to
E-commerce stakeholders adapted to changes in retail. Within the implementation of mobilities adapted to varying degrees from their origins. While the
global parcel, courier and express delivery urban delivery (e.g. cyclo-logistics); and the initial idea of optimising individual trips
W
ith the rise of e-commerce, C O M B I N I N G " B R I C K S " A N D“ " C L I C K S " After more than a decade of widespread sector, a new segment specifically dedicated insistence on human resources. Examples was not very successful, more professio-
the delivery points previously adoption of e-commerce, stores of all to the delivery of parcels in urban areas has include Colis Privé, which concentrates on nal crowds have developed: UberEats,
Several types of online businesses are sha-
concentrated at the retail level sizes have undergone major changes, now emerged. Accordingly, logistics service collection points and ensures a new delivery Deliveroo and Amazon Flex are examples of
ping today's e-commerce landscape. At the
are multiplying: the volumes previously limited amplified by the health crisis. In small and providers have specialised in the “last in the event of home delivery failures, or Mr this. Several features of crowdsourced deli-
beginning of the 2000s, “pure players”
by the storage capacity or shelving space are medium-sized cities, there has been an mile” of the retail supply chain, the final Pacha, which collects parcels from very active very or crowd-logistics are important to note
and electronic marketplaces created
determined by consumer purchase volumes. increase in vacancies and a decrease in the stage between the last warehouse where online shoppers and delivers them together (Buldeo Rai, 2019). Entirely oriented towards
the online offer. Both adopt an exclusively
Traditional logistical processes such as stock number of independent retail businesses an item is stored and its destination, on a predefined time slot. Another concept, the digital economy, these players base their
online approach. While pure players only run
management and store replenishment, long the (Moriset, 2018). This is also confirmed often the consumers' home. The develop- which has enjoyed strong academic and operations on platforms. They match the
their own online store(s), e-marketplaces
domain of retail management, are now placed by the most recent figures for the Paris ment of e-commerce has mainly contributed media popularity, but without many concrete demand for logistics services with the supply
consolidate the online assortment of seve-
in the hands of the end customer. The direct metropolitan area by APUR (2020). Yet the to the growth of last mile logistics service achievements close to its original concept, of individuals whose logistics skills are ama-
ral businesses (e.g. Amazon for a large part
entry of consumers into the logistics chain changes are also reflected in a diversifica- providers such as Colissimo, Chronopost, is that of “crowd logistics”. The original teur, self-assessed and uncertified (Carbone
represents a real disruption. Under their
of its activities). These e-retailers have dis- tion of ways of selling and sales channels: UPS and DHL, in exchange for fast and concept (similar to the UberPop ride-sharing et al., 2017).
rupted retail sales. Their competitive prices,
influence, what used to be "housekeeping" many traditional retailers with a (network secure processing of the most visible and
extensive assortment and delivery and
activities confined to the outskirts of the city of) physical shop(s) have been transfor- sensitive part of the retail supply chain.
return services call into question the rele-
and to delivery areas is now becoming a part of med into multichannel and omnichan- Their mission is described as “the battle
vance, resilience and longevity of physical
the city. In addition to consumers, e-commerce nel retailers. These types of “phygital” against time and space” (Moriset, 2018).
shopping streets. Newspaper headlines talk
is contributing to the emergence of new players retailers combine an online presence (e.g. The environmental and economic difficul-
about the “fall of the mall” and the “retail
within the two other main links in the chain, i.e. website, app, social media) with offline ties associated with the last mile, as well
apocalypse”, amplified by lockdown contro-
retailers and logistics service providers. stores. They are also referred to as “digi- as its key importance for consumer satis-
versies over the definition of essential goods talised commerce” or “bricks and clicks”. faction, are summarised as the “last mile
and authorised businesses.
The most striking example in France is that challenge”.
of the FNAC. While multichannel retai-
lers adopt a partitioned approach, in which
online and offline purchases are handled
8 9
"PROSUMERS" AND "LOGSUMERS" fair aspects of delivery services, and even time slots and multiple location types, for workers were selected. The French National
about the logistics provider who deli- example, are added to the equation. Research Agency (ANR) recently approved a
By changing their consumption habits, vers them. H&M's sister brand, MONKI, research programme (MOBS), in which the
consumers are the driving force behind
offers the choice of slow (“standard”) or fast In the future, efficiency and sustainability in Logistics City Chair is participating, specifi-
electronic, multichannel and omnichan-
(“express”) delivery. Parisians can choose urban logistics will have to go hand in hand. cally dedicated to the analysis of consumer
nel commerce. The “prosumer” (pro- In the last mile challenge and for a more
home delivery the day after purchase. In mobility and that of e-commerce players.
posed by the American sociologist Alvin the Netherlands, it is even possible to
sustainable e-commerce model, consu-
Toffler) is defined as the fusion of producer receive products in a “climate-smart” way:
mers will be key players: using collection This non-comprehensive overview of the
and consumer, through the use of digital points instead of home deliveries, collecting different research projects related to the
by biogas trucks and bicycles. This trend
technologies: user-generated articles on parcels on foot, by bicycle or within a chain of mobility and logistics of e-commerce in
improves the shopping experience for consu-
Wikipedia, open source software via Linux, trips, accepting longer delivery times, grou- cities demonstrates the growing atten-
mers, but for logistics service providers it is
or purchase recommendations on Amazon ping deliveries, preventing delivery failures tion of the scientific community to this
a “nightmare” (Savelsbergh & Van Woensel,
based on buying habits, product reviews and reducing excessive returns (Buldeo Rai, topic. It also indicates the interest of
2016). It is much more difficult to organise
and site navigation. In e-commerce, consu- 2019). Moving towards a reduction in e-com- public and private actors.
efficient delivery routes when individualised
mers are increasingly responsible for defi- merce mobility (or even towards “demobi-
ning the logistics service that suits them. lity”, or a net reduction in purchase-related
Becoming “logsumers”, they can take an
In the future, efficiency mobility) can play a role in favour of more
active part in making decisions about and sustainability in urban sustainable e-commerce.
delivery times, price, quality and - still logistics will have to go
timidly but increasingly - the “green” or hand in hand.
Increased scientific interest
A
s a research topic, e-commerce has (CITYLAB, 2015-2018, which has also set up discussed, including cargo bicycles, collec- PRESENTATI ON OF THE CONTENTS OF THE BOOKL E T
received a great deal of attention an Observatory of e-commerce trends affec- tion points and consumer behaviour, while
over the last decade. European ting mobility), cooperative business models also looking at methodological issues related The Logistics City Chair builds on and n°1 of "Welcome to logistics City" proposes
Union research funding under the “Framework” (NOVELOG, 2015-2018) and carbon footprint to data, simulation and optimisation tools contributes to this accumulated knowledge an analysis of the mobilities generated by
and “Horizon 2020” programmes has involved assessment (SmartEnCity, 2016-2021). and impact measurement. At the 4th edition by linking it to logistics real estate, one of e-commerce, both in terms of goods and
231 projects in urban logistics or urban mobility of the VREF conference in 2018, one out of the most recent dimensions of this research personal transport, and studies the impact
E-commerce mobility is already present in
related to e-commerce. This list includes com- eight topics was directly related to e-com- stream. Its ambition is to include the issue of these mobilities in all dimensions of
the major conferences on urban logistics:
pleted or ongoing projects, which deal directly merce, including impacts on logistics and of logistics locations and the analysis of the urban logistics, its vehicles and its places.
“International Conference on City Logistics”
or indirectly with e-commerce. MOBYPOST urban distribution. territorial impact of e-commerce mobility Particular attention is paid, in a dedicated
(ICCL), “International Urban Freight
(2011-2015) introduced an innovative concept and digital transformations in the field of chapter, to the consequences of the health
Conference” (I-NUF) and VREF “Conference Projects on e-commerce mobility in cities are
of sustainable mobility for a more ecological urban studies. As such, the Chair is dedi- crisis and the resulting perspectives. The
on Urban Freight”. At the 11th ICCL in 2019, also being launched at national and regio-
postal delivery of mail and parcels by electric cated to research on urban logistics with booklet concludes with a discussion of the
one third of the presentations were related nal level. In France, PUCA (Plan Urbanism,
vehicles. Several projects have focused on two scientific axes: a first axis dealing with pressing need for data, which is perhaps
to e-commerce, covering topics such as deli- Construction, Architecture, an inter-minis-
specific solutions, such as urban consolida- urban and suburban logistics real estate; the main obstacle to advancing this field of
very robots, cargo bikes and electric vehicles; terial agency) has funded the VIP project to
tion centres (SUCCESS, 2015-2018), electric a second axis dealing with trends and new research and to understanding the logistics
collection points and micro-hubs; consu- examine the effects of online sales on access
vehicles (RESOLVE, 2015-2018) and crowd- consumption practices and their impact on challenge for the cities of the future.
mer behaviour and preferences; and deli- to goods, studying urban and metropolitan
sourced distribution (CROWD4ROADS, urban logistics and its real estate. Booklet
very routes. At the 8th edition of I-NUF in disparities. In its latest edition devoted to
2016-2019). Other projects have introduced
2019, a fifth of the conference papers were the productive city (2020), projects direc-
a comprehensive approach, such as “living
related to e-commerce. Similar topics were tly related to e-commerce and its logistics
labs” to stimulate innovation in urban logistics
10 11
1
MOBILITIES
G E N E R AT E D
BY E - C O M M E R C E
B2C e-commerce is at the crossroads of both personal and goods mobility and this is even
more true in cities. The city defines itself as a concentration of people and activities, and
therefore also concentrates the demand and supply of goods. While the movement of goods
is essential for maintaining urban life, the mainly road-based transport which e-commerce
generates has negative local side-effects, such as congestion of the public space,
noise nuisances, damage to infrastructure and air polluting emissions.
The emission of greenhouse gasses has serious global repercussions.
Rising online orders and the resulting increase in deliveries undoubtedly contribute to these
negative side-effects. However, to fully comprehend the impact of e-commerce on the urban
environment and quality of life, we need to go beyond the conventional focus on delivery
operations and the movement of commercial vehicles and recognise that online shopping affects
both the mobility of people and goods and their respective contribution to externalities.
When buying goods online, the need for consumers to visit stores is theoretically eliminated and
delivery operations are created instead. However, the relationship between personal and goods
mobility in e-commerce is not at all clear. Online consumers still visit (or, in times of lockdown,
feel the need to visit) physical stores for social interactions or for examining products.
12 13
PE RSONAL MOB I LITY :
When online orders are not delivered to the home or when another location has been chosen at
checkout, consumers still travel to collect their purchases. And when online orders fail to live
HOW DOES
up to expectations, are faulty or damaged, consumers still go to stores or collection points to
initiate a return procedure. These returns can in turn create additional goods movements. It is
E- COM M E RCE I M PACT
therefore essential to take into account both the mobility of consumers and that
of logistics service providers. In the study already mentioned, research bureau 6t (2018) OU R MOB I LITI ES?
analysed consumer movements related to purchases and their preferences in terms
I
of delivery options (Figure 2). This study also highlights disparities between n early research on e-commerce mobility, travel generates more vehicle-kilometres of kilometres travelled per driver increased
online consumers in Paris and New York. online orders were often considered direct than deliveries by truck. The latter, howe- by 34% over the same period. Although
replacements for purchases in physical ver, generate higher levels of pollution. these statistics call into question the subs-
shops. According to the substitution prin- Accordingly, the study concludes that e-com- titution hypothesis, more recent surveys
ciple, it is more efficient for a few vehicles to merce generates less traffic and congestion, indicate a stabilisation of personal mobi-
make a couple of delivery rounds (in the case but more pollution. lity for shopping. In France, the share of
of e-commerce) than for a large number of trips to supermarkets increased until the
In Europe, however, vans rather than trucks
vehicles to drive individually to and from stores early 2000s, but this trend ceased in favour
2% are the most common type of vehicle for
In another place (in the case of conventional retailing). As a of small and medium-sized stores closer
1%
N YC
to homes. The renewed interest in small
From your neighbour 4%
3%
PA R I S
shops is partly explained by the invest-
4% ment of large retailers in proximity shop-
In a locker or automatic deposit box
5% While internet use and mobile phone penetration increased
ping, many of which belong to the same
At one of the brand's stores or warehouses 7% significantly from 1984 to 2004, the number of annual kilometres groups (Carrefour, Casino and other food
1O%
11%
driven per driver increased by 34% over the same period. supermarkets).
At your workplace
8%
At a post office / parcel company's location 9% It also undoubtedly reflects a change
3 4%
in consumer behaviour. In Île-de-France,
From the concierge or doorman 35% result, these earlier studies (focusing on areas delivering online orders (Allen et al., 2018)
3O% shopping trips are down slightly, unlike
where consumers shop by car, which is not the and many purchases of urban consumers are
7% other trips: from 5.5 million shopping trips
From a collection point case in city centres of large cities, for example) made on foot, which changes the impact of
6 4% per day in 2010 to 5.3 million shopping trips
3 8% have shown substantial traffic savings and posi- substitution. Different types of vehicles
In your mailbox per day in 2018. One of the explanations for
4 3% tive side effects on transport emissions. potentially produce different results, but
this is the reduction in occasional in-store
At home personally handed to you 52 % variations can also be expected depen-
5 8% purchases, which are now often made online.
Cairns (2005), for example, assessed inter- ding on the type of product, e.g. more
In the United States, the latest “National
O% 1O% 2O % 3O% 4O% 5O% 6O% 7O % national data on the shift from in-store gro- substitution for food orders and less for
Household Travel Survey” shows a signi-
cery shopping to e-grocery shopping and non-food items.
ficant decrease in the number of trips for
estimated that vehicle-kilometre reductions
three purposes, including shopping. A reduc-
F i gure 2. Parcel col l ecti on methods used i n 2017 of 70% were feasible. Much later, when An earlier study by Mokhtarian (2009)
tion of about one-third in shopping and
i n Pari s and New York (several answers possi b l e) (6t, 2018). e-commerce became widespread, Wygonik showed that while internet use and mobile
errands trips in 2017 compared to 1995 is
et Goodchild (2014) reached similar conclu- phone penetration increased significantly
observed (Mcguckin & Fucci, 2018).
sions: for everyday purchases, personal between 1984 and 2004, the annual number
14 15
The impact of e-commerce on consumer The modification of trips related to pur- Retailers and e-retailers experiment with
Household products (furniture, decoration, household appliances, 737 people) 26% 33% 1%
purchasing and travel behaviour is complex. chases is done in particular via click-and- several types of technologies throughout 4O%
26% 33% 4O% 1%
Cullinane (2009) examines four potential collect. This process consists of searching the purchasing process, which have subs- High-tech products, services and accessories (551 people)
links between e-commerce and mobility. for and purchasing items online, while titution, modification or trip generation 4O% 35% 42% 1%
Prepared meals (restaurant dishes, 504 people)
In addition to replacing or substituting in-store visits are only used to receive the effects. While the web offers consumers
Automotive parts and equipment (312 people) 4O% 4O% 35% 2%
for each other, e-commerce can change purchase. Online browsing, where consu- unprecedented search possibilities, e-retai-
consumer travel behaviour, generate mers study the assortment, compare pro- lers aim to improve the in-store search pro- Second-hand or refurbished products (205 people) 4O% 45% 35% 2%
more purchase related travel or add non duct features and check reviews, followed by cess by introducing virtual screens, self-ser-
Cultural products (books, music, shows, 813 people) 4O% 4O% 42% 2%
purchase related travel. This is where a purchase in the shop, can also change the vice kiosks and digital signage. On the
“omnichannel consumer behaviour” shopping trip. For example, by encouraging contrary, stores (just think of bookshops) Toys and games (617 people) 15% 46% 37% 2%
comes into play, which refers to the simul- visits to other, more specialised shops. are outperforming online solutions when it 14% 44% 41% 1%
Personal attire (clothing, fashion, health, beauty, 1140 people)
taneous use by consumers of physical shops comes to testing and trying out products and
In addition to modification, e-commerce 13% 39% 47% 1%
and online sales channels to make a single obtaining “humanised” information. To over- Groceries (1489 people)
can also lead to trip generation, as consu-
purchase. By viewing consumer shopping come this disadvantage, online retailers offer Do-it-yourself products (980 people) 13% 44% 42% 1%
mers become aware of products they would
trips as a five-phase process, consumers can innovations at various levels of technological
11% 42% 45% 2%
like to buy that they would not otherwise Perishable products, excluding supermarket groceries
engage in product research, product testing, advancement to virtually try on clothes and
have encountered. In another way, search (gourmet products, alcohol, flowers, 870 people)
actual purchasing, product reception and accessories: from downloading digital images
behaviour can generate trips when several O% 2O% 4O% 6O% 8O% 1OO%
product return (Buldeo Rai, 2019). These and avatars to fitting rooms equipped with
shops are visited before making a purchase,
different phases constitute the consumer augmented reality. Less technologically
whether online or in-store. Yes No, it is not offered to you No, it is not offered to you and you are not interested Non-responce
“path to purchase” and can be carried out advanced solutions include home-delivered
at different times, in different ways or not Finally, the service called ship-from-store testers to try on various items before making F i gure 3.
at all (in the case of research, testing and a final choice and campaigns that encourage The “sh i p-from-store” offer and consumer i nterest i n France. Questi on asked to i n-store shoppers i n d i fferent categori es:
also generates trips because it allows
return). In this way, the omnichannel model “fitting rooms at home”, involving over-or- “General ly, are the fol l owi ng products del ivered to you after an i n-store purchase?” (Spri ntProj ect, 2020).
in-store customers to receive their purchase
that retailers have developed is entirely dering and excessive returns. Digital home
at home instead of carrying it themselves.
grounded on consumers' behaviour patterns. assistants and other distance retail techno-
This system is particularly useful when
However, consumers behaved omnichannel logies that use augmented reality, virtual
items are bulky, heavy or out of stock. It can of these items to be purchased at different Moreover, their survey found that only 3% supermarkets or convenience stores, but
long before these new retail models came reality and touch technology support out-of-
also be implemented to improve consumer times of the day and from different compa- of Parisians and New Yorkers no longer go fragmented in space and time (6t, 2018).
into existence: researching products online store shopping. In-store purchase support
comfort. In this way, ship-from-store gene- nies. As a result, a single trip to the store is to the grocery shop since they started shop-
before making a purchase in-store or tes- is created by contactless payment technolo- Discussing e-commerce related mobility
replaced by several deliveries (which does ping online. Evidently, e-commerce has
ting products in-store before buying them gies, allowing payment by mobile phone or also requires a closer look at consumers'
not prevent these deliveries from being changed consumers' activity patterns,
(at a lower price) online. International sur- Omnichannel consumer automatically. travel choices. When shopping, distance
consolidated and organised into rounds). which are no longer solely polarised by
veys show that 38% of American consumers travelled, modal choice, type of vehicle and
behaviour both changes Irrespective of the different ways in which This fragmentation process has been fur- specific locations, such as suburban
(UPS, 2016) and 64% of Belgian consumers the number of activities combined in a trip
(bpost, 2017) actually make omnichannel
and generates mobility. consumers combine physical and online
ther reinforced by the massive adoption
are key elements. Simply put: walking or
of smartphones. Shopping is possible at
shops for their purchases, e-commerce pro-
purchases. Today, the figures are probably any time of the day, “including at work, on
cycling are always preferred over delivery
foundly affects mobility by facilitating
even higher. trips and in this case the substitution of tra-
rates delivery routes alongside consumer the overall “fragmentation of purchases”.
public transport, in airports and even in the
Omnichannel consumer behaviour both
visits to stores, i.e. double mobility. A survey This concept describes the disaggregation of mountains” (Cullinane, 2009). Research 75% of French e-buyers ditional shopping by e-commerce is negative
for the environment, whereas long journeys
changes and generates mobility. 57% of
conducted by SprintProject and GS1 (2020) the shopping activity into a large number of bureau 6t (2018) found that intensive online think that local shops should
by combustion engine car for the sole pur-
among 2,000 French consumers shows that shopping goes hand in hand with frequent provide an e-commerce offer.
very small, small and medium-sized e-retai- different sub-activities, some of which are
pose of shopping, are on the contrary wor-
they appreciate delivery services after an trips to the grocery shop.
lers in France sell both in traditional stores carried out physically and others electro- thwhile to be replaced by an online purchase,
in-store purchase (Figure 3).
and online. What’s more, 75% of French nically from various locations. In concrete and in this case e-commerce is more prefe-
e-buyers think that local shops should pro- terms, instead of going to shops once to buy rable to traditional commerce.
vide an e-commerce offer (FEVAD, 2020). a selection of items, e-commerce allows each
16 17MOBILITY OF GOODS
Finally, in addition to the trips induced
by a purchase, other indirect parameters
come into play, such as trips generated
over the time freed up by online shopping
to carry out other activities. I N TH E E- COM M E RCE E R A
M
E-commerce has changed obility data related to B2C deli- prepared meals and groceries) and pharma-
Speed of delivery
consumers' activity patterns, veries are scattered and some- ceuticals. Services such as Amazon Prime
which are no longer solely times contradictory (Buldeo Rai Very early on, fast delivery service was seen Now, which are only provided in very large
polarised by specific locations, & Dablanc, 2021, cf. section 5). This is paradoxi- as one of the key factors in the success of cities, have increased the volume of instant
cal: data are overabundant simply because of deliveries in cities, although it is difficult to
but fragmented in space e-commerce. Amazon is famous for building
the very high level of digitalisation in the sector, identify precise figures.
and time. its business around quick and guaranteed
but fiercely guarded by e-retailers and their delivery. In doing so, Amazon has set the bar
logistics service providers as they constitute high in terms of what consumers expect, for- Ever faster deliveries make it more diffi-
We need to place the mobility of B2C one of the major resources of their business cing other e-retailers to follow suit. Whereas cult to fully load vehicles and optimise
consumers in the broader debate on per- model. waiting a week (or more) was common in the delivery rounds, which in turn increases
sonal urban mobility and the profound
early days of e-commerce, today's consumers costs and nuisances such as conges-
E-commerce has considerably increased
changes it is undergoing. Reduction in
the number of new trips by logistics pro-
expect to receive their orders within two tion, noise and pollution. This also leads
the number of private cars and parking
viders over short distances and the last
days or even the day after their purchase. to an upsurge in the frequency of deliveries
spaces in the city, urban aspirations to
mile (Hooper & Murray, 2019). The 2019
Consumer surveys in Belgium (Buldeo Rai, and an increase in the overall demand for
proximity (of the “fifteen-minute city”)
2019), the Netherlands (Nguyen et al., transport. All these reasons may encou-
and implementation of eco-neighbou-
National Household Travel Survey shows
2019), France (SprintProject, 2020), China, rage consumers to opt for longer waiting
rhoods promising more sustainable mobi-
that e-commerce generates 1 delivery per
times where possible. Research in Belgium
lity have impacts on goods mobility as
week per household in the US and 1.35 in
The impact of e-commerce (Buldeo Rai, 2019), the UK, France and the
well, which are often ignored. In the deve-
New York. In Lyon, home deliveries repre-
Netherlands (B2C Europe, 2018) has shown
lopment of cities with calmer mobility, it
sent approximately 130,000 movements on the mobility of goods also
that consumers are willing to do so. These
will be necessary to propose appropriate
(deliveries and shipments) per week, or just lies in its effect of accelerating studies also highlight a lack of knowledge
over 17% of all goods movements in the city
delivery solutions. The debate exists, transformations. about the relationship between speed of
but it is not sufficiently systematic when
(Gardrat et al., 2016).
delivery and environmental impact. 80% of
managing urban projects and transfor-
The impact of e-commerce on the mobi- Bolivia and Brazil (Janjevic et al., 2019) online shoppers are not aware that fast
ming rules and regulations for the use of
lity of goods also lies in its effect of acce- highlight the importance of delivery times delivery has a more negative impact on
public spaces and roads.
lerating transformations. The way in which when online shoppers choose a delivery the environment than slower standard
goods are transported is in fact the subject option. However, they also indicate that delivery and 32% even think that slow deli-
of considerable service innovations linked speed is less sensitive than other aspects very is more negative than fast delivery (B2C
to speed, time, flexibility, information and of delivery, such as cost. Delivery within Europe, 2018).
the price of deliveries. Also jobs are being a few hours, or even “instantly” (within two
changed. hours), is becoming increasingly common.
However, not all fast deliveries are harmful
Same day delivery and instant delivery are
for the environment. In urban areas, fast and
required by younger consumers and “millen- instant deliveries are often dispatched from
nials”, born between 1980 and 1994, and
local shops, restaurants or “dark kitchens”
are growing particularly in urban areas and (restaurants without customers, preparing
for specific categories such as food (mainly
18 19meals for delivery only). These locations are The use of mopeds has grown: used for Time of delivery times, food retailers are experimenting with logistics as a service, but found the business benefits of tight delivery windows and avoid
located closer to consumers than the average 9% of deliveries in 2016 and 36% in 2021. innovative solutions. model unfeasible. In the Paris region, Mister the pitfalls of inefficient routing, are intro-
warehouse, allowing deliveries to be made The vast majority of moped-based delive- Another service innovation is that e-com- Pasha (bought by Stuart) is continuing its duced again by online supermarkets. Picnic,
The two main innovations include boxes
by sustainable transport modes such as bicy- ries are illegal, since French law requires a merce has changed the time of delivery, i.e. activities. an online supermarket in the Netherlands,
that guarantee temperature control for a
cles. Many initiatives have been launched to freight transport licence to deliver using when consumers receive their deliveries. The delivers by electric vehicle and offers its
certain period of time and “smart locks” In France, 20 million parcels have been deli-
meet this new type of demand (and some- a motorised vehicle. These developments standard service focuses on normal working customers tight delivery windows for their
where consumers use their smartphone vered a second time in 2018.
times to create it), mostly based on plat- undermine the environmental potential of days and office hours. During this period, weekly grocery deliveries. Different time
remotely to allow delivery workers access
forms: Postmates (now owned by Uber), instant deliveries: most mopeds in Paris are consumers tend to be away from home slots are offered depending on the address
From an economic and environmen-
to their homes and refrigerators. While
Deliveroo, UberEats, Meituan and Rappi still combustion engines and generally very and cannot receive deliveries at home. In tal point of view, the diversification of
of the consumers and pre-determined deli-
reception boxes are installed at consumers'
are some of the well-known examples. There polluting. this “e-commerce paradox”, the number
delivery and collection times can have
very rounds, scheduled at city and neighbou-
homes, delivery boxes are free-standing and
are also local providers, such as Frichti and of online shoppers increases, but the
both positive and negative impacts.
rhood level. The UK online supermarket
must be returned to the retailer. The boxes
Stuart in France. chance of receiving deliveries decreases Ocado also offers different time slots and
The Belgian platform bringr (bpost) was
can be customer-specific or shared between The positive impact stems from the econo-
counting on the environmental benefits
(what logistics service providers call “deli- mic challenge for the actors in the chain to
several households in the same neighbou-
very failure”). One solution to remedy this
The Logistics City Chair conducts regular of its crowd-delivery service, which have reduce delivery failures. Depending on the In France, 20 million parcels
rhood. Pilot projects have been set up in
surveys on “instant delivery” services (in not materialised due to the predominant
paradox and improve consumer satisfaction source, the year of publication and the geo-
is to adapt the delivery time. Schedules are
Scandinavian countries, for example by SOK have been delivered
less than two hours and via digital apps) use of private cars (not bicycles) that
and Hollming in Finland. graphical context, studies on the subject
in Paris. While in 2016, 87% of deliveries are used for dedicated purposes rather
diversified by offering evening and weekend show that delivery failure rates vary from 2%
a second time in 2018.
deliveries, when consumers are actually at
were made by bicycle, this share has gra- than as part of a trip for other purposes “Smart locks” are more technologically to 60% (Buldeo Rai et al., 2019). In France,
home, and delivery times are reduced to
dually decreased over the years: to 73% in (Buldeo Rai, 2019). In the United States, advanced and rely on smartphones, secu- 20 million parcels have been delivered
slots of one or two hours so that consumers encourages consumers to choose a time
Amazon Flex, which is used by individuals rity cameras and connected door locks. They a second time in 2018 (Haurillon, 2020).
can better organise themselves to receive when a delivery round is already scheduled
making urban deliveries for Amazon to gene- have been successfully tested, for example in Delivery failure leads to a second (and some-
their deliveries. in their neighbourhood, using green delivery
rate extra income, also adds a large number Sweden by the ICA supermarket chain and times even third) delivery in some cases and
80% of online shoppers are van icons.
of car trips in large cities. in the USA by Walmart. However, although always requires handling and communica-
It is very common to offer tight delivery
not aware that fast delivery times for online grocery deliveries. Due
boxes and locks are very different types of tion, which entails costs for logistics provi- Diversification of delivery times requires
has a more negative impact on innovation, both raise concerns about their ders. According to the UK trade association
to the perishable nature of the products ever greater flexibility from delivery staff
technical feasibility, business model and for online commerce, IMRG (2016), these
the environment than slower and their sensitivity to temperature, the in the B2C parcel sector, while shorter
consumer acceptance. costs amount to between £1.90 and £3.40
standard delivery. entire food logistics process up to delivery delivery times and concentration on cer-
(between 2 and 4 euros) per failure. For e-re-
to the consumer's home must be guaranteed For non-food items purchased online,
tain preferred consumer schedules add
tailers too, this is a key concern. Improving
under optimal conditions. Food and groce- evening and weekend deliveries are beco-
constraints and pressure to meet expec-
performance on the first delivery run is de
ries cannot be left with neighbours, taken ming more and more frequent, but time
tations. Delivery companies are depen-
facto an environmental improvement.
2018 (Dablanc et al., 2019) and 47% in 2021 to collection points or re-delivered the next slots of one or two hours are not so common.
dant as well on peak traffic situations,
(Dablanc et al., 2021). The share of electri- day, which are common alternatives in the An exception is provided by “logistics-as-a- In contrast, negative impacts of delivery
which are themselves increasingly vola-
cally assisted bicycles has increased as well event of non-food deliveries failing. In order service” initiatives, which function as alter- time service innovations come from the
tile and difficult to predict.
as the use of bike-sharing scheme bicycles to solve the difficulties related to delivery native delivery address for their customers, reorganisation of routes, one of the major
Velib (18% in 2021). A clause prohibiting collecting their deliveries, bundling them challenges for logistics service providers,
the use of Velib “for regular commercial deli-
Flexibility and information
and delivering them within a predefined who invest in route management and opti-
very purposes” was added to the Velib user time slot. These providers obviously charge misation systems. The redirection of par-
on delivery
contract in 2020, but it remains to be seen for their services and therefore target the cels from regular daytime rounds to dedi-
whether this prohibition has a legal basis. most active online consumers. Most of the cated evening or weekend rounds and the
Another service innovation concerns deli-
international examples have gone out of rescheduling of rounds to meet delivery
very flexibility: logistics service providers
implement dynamic re-programming or
business, such as DROP in the Netherlands. windows are all impediments to efficient
re-routing of parcels that are close to -
In Belgium, Parcify experimented with delivery. Innovative solutions to capture the
or already in - the transport chain. This
20 21innovation allows consumers to change the interfaces for two purposes: notification information they collect. However, these and logistics service providers. Although a of alternative subscription-based services
date, time and/or place of delivery, a service of delivery status and delivery preference developments represent a challenge Belgian study of a small sample of omnichan- includes automatic replenishment, in which
to which consumers are increasingly recep- selection. These two types of applications (and cost) for logistics service providers nel retailers showed that switching service specific items are automatically delivered,
tive. This rescheduling of parcel delivery allow both the transmission of information in terms of investment in information providers is infrequent, logistics service pro- such as boxes containing beauty products
is important for half of online consumers to consumers through active alerts or links systems. viders feel increasingly compelled to lower and meal preparation kits.
in their decision to shop online, but this in text messages or emails, and the provision their rates and compete on price (Buldeo
option was not offered at the time of their An alternative solution to meet the demand
of information to consumers themselves. Rai, 2019). As margins in the logistics sector
Price of delivery for free delivery is to link it to a minimum
last purchase. In France, 24% of consumers This information is both real-time, based on are low, this increases already existing phe-
are inclined to use this service when it is purchase amount. This encourages larger
the driver's planned route, actual location The most important characteristic of any nomena of subcontracting or the use of inde-
available (Chenevoy, 2019). As consumers online shopping baskets and allows for more
and latest scans, as well as predictive, based delivery service remains its price. This has pendent workers, often to the disadvantage
are actively involved in the delivery process, efficient purchasing practices and deliveries
on average route information. Although deli- been repeatedly confirmed by consumer of employees in this sector.
allowing flexibility reduces the risk of deli- in turn.
very staff may not always be comfortable surveys: in Belgium (Buldeo Rai, 2019),
Not only can 'free' delivery have a negative
very failure. On a larger scale however, with the real-time, public display of their the Netherlands (Nguyen et al., 2019),
impact on the retail and logistics sector, but Finally, the price of delivery services can be
delivery flexibility complicates a volatile location, this is an informative function that France (SprintProject, 2020), China, Bolivia
it also affects our consumption patterns and differentiated according to convenience. “There are more than 150
model, in which the efficient planning, rou- is largely driven by instant delivery plat- and Brazil (Janjevic et al., 2019). Despite Price differentiation is usually associated
ting and loading of routes and vehicles beco- forms that allow delivery staff to be tracked its growing importance in consumers'
the nature and volume of flows. It encou- million Prime members
with delivery time and place of delivery.
mes more difficult. at a glance. It is also highly sought-after by purchasing decisions, consumers are
rages fragmented shopping, impulse buying worldwide and they spend
(e.g. low-priced goods being shipped halfway For example, while a standard delivery to a
consumers: 61% of online consumers consi- unwilling to pay for delivery services.
local collection point during the week is free twice as much
around the world) and excessive returns
All innovations in delivery related ser- der the tracking of shipments as one of Experiments with consumers and practical of charge, a price is charged for home deli- as other customers”
(the home as a fitting room). Thus, consu-
vices are accompanied by an exchange the three main imperatives for good deli- tests carried out by e-retailers have demons- very, next day delivery or evening delivery.
of information with consumers. In the
mers motivated by free delivery generate
trated the importance of free delivery. In an Although the majority of consumers opt for
behaviours that can lead to inefficient deli-
early days of e-commerce, consumers were experiment in the United States where the the standard offer which reduces the extra
Among French e-consumers very routes that amplify urban nuisances.
given little or no details about the expec- product, retailer, delivery speed and return expense, some consumers (or consumers in
New services are being deployed to remedy
ted delivery date and time for their online in particular, 73% expect options remained constant, a first scenario certain circumstances) are willing to accept
this situation, including flat-rate subscrip-
purchases, let alone the possibility to apply real-time delivery tracking. offered the product at $130 with free deli- an additional service at a higher cost (Buldeo
tion delivery services, free delivery options
changes in-flight. From a retailer's pers- very while a second scenario offered the pro- Rai, 2019; Nguyen et al., 2019).
coupled with a minimum purchase amount
pective, improving the transparency and duct at $120 and charged $10 for delivery.
or price differentiation. Local logistics
visibility of the delivery process improves very (Econsultancy, 2019). Among French Although the overall spending was the same In conclusion, the growth of online shop-
spaces in the form of neighbourhood hubs
the delivery experience. From the perspec- e-consumers in particular, 73% expect real- in both scenarios, 66% of respondents chose ping is transforming the characteristics
also make it possible to consolidate flows
tive of logistics service providers, pro- time delivery tracking (SprintProject, 2020). scenario one (Gallino & Moreno-Garcia, of goods mobility, particularly urban
and organise the return or re-circulation of
viding delivery details is a way to bridge 2018). mobility, in many ways. It generates ser-
products.
the lack of a formal connection between When selecting delivery preferences, the vice innovations by reducing delivery
them and consumers. After all, it is retai-
Not charging consumers for delivery implies
interfaces and applications provided by With e-commerce subscription services,
times, forcing more precise management
that e-retailers cover these costs in another
lers who order and pay for delivery services, logistics service providers allow consu- consumers pay a regular fee in exchange for
of delivery slots, giving recipients (consu-
way, by raising product prices or covering
leaving an information and communication mers to entrust their delivery preferences: benefits such as free delivery. A well-known
mers) more power over the organisation
them by marketing budgets. In some cases,
gap between logistics service providers and a neighbour or a safe place near their home example is Amazon Prime. “There are more
of the times and places of delivery, and
generous delivery conditions (and by exten-
the customers (i.e. consumers) of their cus- in case of absence, or a specific collection than 150 million Prime members world-
making delivery prices increasingly invi-
sion returns) have prevented major online
tomers (i.e. e-retailers), which does not faci- point or locker location where they prefer to wide and they spend twice as much as
sible. It is also an important force in the
retail platforms from making a profit. For
litate the optimisation of the last mile. be delivered rather than at home. By giving other customers” (Grasland & Moutot,
transformation of urban delivery jobs.
Zalando (an e-retailer in the fashion indus-
consumers the opportunity to provide this 2020). Research in Belgium (Buldeo Rai,
try), this has been the situation since its
Most logistics service providers in the B2C information, logistics service providers are 2019) and France (SprintProject, 2020)
launch and years later. The “free delivery
parcel market today have implemented effectively less dependent on the options has shown that consumers are particularly
paradigm” in particular leads to regular
smartphone applications and dedicated web that e-retailers offer consumers and the open to this type of service. An example
price negotiations between e-retailers
22 23You can also read
