With the growing e-commerce market in mind, many companies are relying on ever faster delivery times in order to remain competitive. "Companies use short delivery times as a marketing argument and advertise next-day or even same-day deliveries", explains Professor Kuhn. However, these short delivery times lead to high logistics costs and a considerable environmental impact if vehicles are not fully loaded, as there are fewer consolidation options due to the short delivery times in e-commerce. In addition, smaller vehicles are often used, which consume more fuel in relation to the load and emit more emissions per ton transported than larger vehicles. "That's why our study aims to find out whether customers are prepared to do without fast deliveries in favor of sustainability and cost savings", explains Dr. Stefan Voigt, who conducted the study together with Melanie Dietl and Heinrich Kuhn.
Online customers accept longer delivery times in favor of environmental protection
![[Translate to Englisch:] Paketlieferung](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/4/csm_AdobeStock_218614680_9c5bedda11.jpeg)
The team of researchers from the Chair of Supply Chain Management and Operations at KU’s Ingolstadt School of Management conducted an online survey with participants from German-speaking countries. Respondents were asked to rate their willingness to accept longer delivery times under various conditions: These included savings on shipping costs, a reduction in CO₂ emissions and greater flexibility in the choice of delivery time. The results show that financial and environmental benefits encourage customers to accept longer delivery times. Specifically, a one-euro reduction on shipping costs or the option of saving 200 grams of CO₂ emissions were among the decisive factors. "Although the flexibility in choosing the delivery time was also positively received, it had less of an impact compared to the other incentives", says Kuhn.
In addition to the financial and ecological incentives, the personal characteristics of the customers also play a role according to the results of the study. For example, environmentally conscious participants were more willing to forego fast deliveries.
The results therefore offer valuable insights for online retailers and logistics companies: "By approaching environmentally conscious customers in a targeted manner and providing information about the environmental benefits of longer delivery times, retailers can not only reduce costs but also make a positive contribution to environmental protection", summarizes Voigt. Sustainability in the supply chain can only be achieved if customers are involved in the overall responsibility and develop a critical awareness of their consumer behavior.
More on the study
Melanie Dietl, Stefan Voigt, Heinrich Kuhn: From rush to responsibility. Evaluating incentives on online fashion customers' willingness to wait. In: Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 133, 2024, 104280.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2024.104280