The sharing economy and consumer preferences for environmentally sustainable last mile deliveries

Abstract

This paper addresses whether consumers’ environmental attitudes and behavior are reflected in their stated preferences for last mile delivery options for clothing rentals, and whether preferences are heterogenous across groups of respondents in terms of socioeconomic characteristics, income, and environmental attitudes. The analysis relies on data collected through a discrete choice experiment among Norwegian females between 18 and 70 years of age. The key results are: i) females have a negative utility from delivery time, delays, local air pollutants (PM) and greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) from last mile deliveries, and a positive utility from information services and ii) females consumers are likely to accept increased delivery time if it implies reduced emissions. The findings are relevant for both urban planners, online retailers, and transport operators as they show that consumers prefer environmentally sustainable last mile delivery options and that other measures than price can incentivize consumers to choose sustainable deliveries.