Consumer perceptions to support IoT based smart parcel locker logistics in China

Abstract

In recent years, the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) based smart parcel lockers has developed very rapidly in Asia due to the wider applications from retailers, e-commerce companies, logistics companies, and consumers. The revolution of smart technologies has transformed the traditional way of last-mile delivery from logistics outlets to IoT-based parcel lockers due to the flexibility, convenience, and 24/7 accessibility. However, there are still many obstacles affecting the transformation of last-mile delivery especially in consumers perceptions towards the smart technologies. Therefore, in this study, we performed research based on the theory of service quality and customer satisfaction in the adoption of relevant technologies. This article divides the smart parcel lockers' service quality into five dimensions: service price, service reliability, convenience, fault handling capability, and service diversity. In this study, 272 valid questionnaires were collected from China to investigate consumer satisfaction with the smart parcel locker services. Statistical analysis, including the reliability and validity, was performed, followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The correlation between variables and the degree of influence on customer satisfaction and regression analysis was also undertaken in this study. The results revealed that the service price does not positively affect consumer satisfaction, and the other four underlying factors have a positive effect on consumer satisfaction. This research has significant impacts by determining the parcel lockers' core factors so as to foster the further development of last-mile services in the future.