Consumer logistics in contemporary shopping: a synthesised review

Abstract

Contemporary shopping is experiencing rapid changes with the increasing ubiquity of technologies that can be utilised to create seamless omni-channel experiences. These changes have logistics-related implications for end-consumers. Adopting Bowersox (1978)’s [Logistics management. New York: Macmillan] categorisation of logistics activities, this study comprises a synthesised review of scattered consumer logistics literature to bring order and structure to this evolving research field. It is found that an omni-channel shopping environment enables the dynamic transfer of logistics activities between business operators and consumers; However, this interaction does not extend to the post-shopping last-mile context. Instead, last-mile logistics is characterised by a somewhat rigid extension/shift of logistics obligations to/from consumers. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a self-service and technology-dependence trend in consumer logistics, leading to the more active control of logistics activities by consumers. Four propositions along with a unified framework are proposed, based on which a list of future research questions is suggested.