Last-Mile Delivery Strategy, Consumer Proximity and Customer Satisfaction Among E-Commerce Customers in Port Harcourt

The rapid expansion of e-commerce has elevated last-mile delivery as a critical determinant of customer experience, yet operators in Port Harcourt continue to face traffic congestion, incomplete addressing systems and infrastructure constraints that generate delays and dissatisfaction. This study investigates the influence of last-mile delivery strategy comprising delivery timeliness, tracking and information, and delivery flexibility on customer satisfaction (satisfaction with delivery, expectation fulfilment and overall e-commerce experience), with consumer proximity (geographic closeness, delivery-point accessibility and collection convenience) as mediator. Grounded in Expectation-Confirmation Theory and the SERVQUAL model, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among e-commerce customers who had received at least one online order in the preceding six months. Convenience and snowball sampling produced 386 usable responses from 420 distributed questionnaires. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (SmartPLS 4.0). Results confirmed significant positive direct effects of all strategy dimensions on satisfaction, partial mediation by consumer proximity, and substantial explanatory power. The study concludes that effective last mile strategies enhance satisfaction both directly and through greater perceived proximity. It recommends prioritising real-time tracking, expanding flexible delivery options, establishing neighbourhood collection hubs, and supporting shared urban logistics and digital addressing infrastructure.