Crowd Logistics Delivery Determinants: A Stated-Preference Survey

Abstract

"the environment. Consumers’ attitudes toward CL are understudied, especially in Qatar, where CL is currently unavailable. The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ reactions to the theoretical attributes of a crowd-sourced delivery smartphone application along with customers’ willingness to pay for particular features. A stated preference survey was distributed to potential consumers in Qatar and analyzed using a multinomial logit model. Package insurance was identified as the most important attribute, followed by a flexible delivery place and time with GPS tracking and a transparent delivery person profile. Respondents did not want their packages to be delayed by 30 minutes but did not mind a 15-minute delay. This model suggests that consumers are willing to pay up to 13.8 QR for package insurance, implying a lack of trust in CL. This research offers valuable insights for businesses (e.g., to help them design relevant platforms) and policymakers (e.g., to potentially mitigate consumers’ trust concerns around using occasional people for delivery). This study also helps fill a gap in CL behavioral studies and confirms extant research findings relative to customers’ trust in CL."