Last mile logistics and the preferences of Polish e-consumers – survey results

The number of e-consumers, i.e., people using online shopping, has been growing rapidly in Poland over the past few years. This results in an increased demand for courier services. The role of last-mile logistics is to organize and execute the delivery of a shipment to the end customer along the stretch that connects the warehouse to the addressee of the order. Importantly, it affects the customer's perception of the online store. In view of the multitude of last-mile logistics solutions dedicated to e-commerce (e.g., parcel vending machines, click & collect models etc.), it becomes crucial to choose such services that match the expectations and preferences of Polish e-consumers as closely as possible. The purpose of the article is to show the forms and tools of customer deliveries related to last-mile logistics in Polish conditions, as well as to show the influence of the forms of delivery offered by vendors and the performance of last-mile parcel delivery on the buying behaviour of Polish e-consumers. The article also highlights the implications of the realization of last mile logistics services for the functioning of e-commerce. The article presents the results of a quantitative survey of Polish e-consumers. The research confirmed the following research assumptions: (1) Polish e-consumers are most likely to choose parcel machine delivery when making an online purchase; (2) the most preferred operator providing last mile logistics services for e-commerce is the courier company InPost; (3) lack of a preferred form of delivery or courier company result in cancelation of purchases from the previously selected online store; (4) last-mile logistics services affects the final evaluation of the online store by the customer. An important novelty of the research is to show the impact of the last-mile logistics on the overall evaluation by customers of the online store and on customer satisfaction with their purchases.

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