Investigating Opportunities in Crowd-Shipping by Parcel Receivers: A Behavioural Analysis

This paper investigates the idea of hiring parcel receivers for more effective e-commerce Last Mile Delivery (LMD), specifically within Crowd-Shipping (CS) initiatives that utilise alternative delivery points such as parcel lockers. The potential of such a concept is operationally important, particularly when receivers are increasingly interested in receiving parcels (either at their doorstep or at an alternative location) via new LMD initiatives. Therefore, this study proposes a new form of an in-service crowd, called at-locker receivers, who are willing to deliver parcels from lockers to their neighbours when they pick their own items from such facilities. To effectively plan such a system, assessing CS delivery job attractiveness from the perspective of at-locker receivers is crucial. Accordingly, we surveyed citizens within the Sydney Metropolitan Area and modelled at-locker receivers’ intention to participate in the program (i.e., participation model) and their likelihood of accepting CS tasks (i.e., acceptance model). Our analysis reveals, while demographic factors are important, familiarity with parcel lockers, frequency of home delivery, and their attitude towards sustainability are important factors influencing people’s willingness to participate in the program. Furthermore, we developed an acceptance model using a Latent Class (LC) choice structure, which identified two major classes among the respondents: Class 1 (conditionally enthusiastic users) and Class 2 (hesitant users). Class 1 exhibits a greater propensity for CS tasks, particularly among part-time employees with parcel locker experience and with middle-to-high level income. Class 2, though initially hesitant, may respond favourably to increased incentives. Analysis of willingness-to-accept (WTA) reveals distinct compensation preferences between clusters, emphasising the importance of tailored compensation structures.