Customer value in parcel lockers. An initial qualitative investigation

Abstract: If you live in Sweden (and I guess you do), there is a two in three chance that youhave shopped online at least once in the last month. You may also know that inSweden on average, each of us spends over 3000 SEK per month buying goods andservices online. It is expected that over 2 billion people will be shopping online bythe year 2020, thus generating a global revenue of 4.1 trillion USD. One image thatdoes not usually come to mind when depicting the modern state of e-commerce isthe gigantic mountain of parcels that will have to be delivered along with the growthof e-retail. The parcel locker is one of the tools that has the potential to address theemerging delivery challenges. This form of self-service technology has beenimplemented in some national markets, but the research has yet to pay significantattention to this tool that can partly resolve issues in the e-commerce last miledelivery.The research presented follows an inductive qualitative design in order togenerate and present knowledge that can answer the question that keeps e-retailersand logistics service providers from committing themselves to this technologyenabledservice: What’s in it for the consumer? The research features two studies:a two-stage systematic literature review and a parcel locker usability test with focusgroup interviews. These studies resulted in the three appended papers. The findingsare presented in the form of primary statistical analyses, frameworks, models, andthree propositions about customer values in parcel lockers.The main findings and research contributions are presented in the three papers,where the knowledge necessary to answer the research question is developed in acontinuous manner. The research concludes that the customer experience and valueco-creation of self-service kiosks – and parcel lockers in particular – are cyclical innature. The elements of the customer value created with parcel lockers can beclassified into four types: functional, emotional, social, and financial. The valuecreated is built upon various interrelated elements that can weigh positively ornegatively in the value creation process. The findings support managerial decision-making for service providers of parcel locker networks in the stages of design andin actual operations. They also provide the foundation for further investigations.This licentiate thesis theoretically merges the frames of the three appended papersand maps potential research directions for further studies.