The potential and importance of environmental incentives in e-commerce

E-commerce growth presents challenges to city logistics and last-mile delivery. According to the World Economic Forum, the demand for urban last-mile delivery is expected to increase by 78% by 2030, leading to 36% rise in delivery vehicles in cities. Moreover, online retailers are starting to offer fast delivery services, driven primarily by market competition. For example, Amazon offers next-day delivery and, in some cases, same-day or two-hour delivery. Fast delivery choices create challenges for distribution planners, constraining their capacity to optimize the distribution of goods. This limitation leads to the inefficient utilization of delivery vehicle capacity or the necessity to deploy a greater number of vehicles, consequently contributing to increased CO 2 emissions. Recognizing the challenges associated with fast deliveries, this study aims to explore additional possibilities to influence online consumers not to choose fast delivery options. While financial incentives are expected to have positive effects, the potential impacts of non-financial incentives are not sufficiently explored. The objective is to investigate whether environmental incentives can motivate consumers to opt for extended delivery times, providing distribution planners with the flexibility needed to enhance overall efficiency. This research builds on some previous research and represents the first attempt to conduct such a study in a developing country within the Balkan region. Carried out through a simple questionnaire survey targeting online consumers in Serbia, the research indicates that approximately two-thirds of online customers would probably reconsider their choice upon receiving information about the environmental impact of their decision. This finding underscores the importance of providing clear, understandable, and just-in-time information to online customers regarding the environmental consequences of their decisions. The research results provide insights into significant potential to support sustainability efforts by providing appropriate information to online customers.