Sustainability in B2C e-commerce: a literature review and future research opportunities in last-mile deliveries

During the past few years, last-mile distribution of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce has changed logistics, as there are new economic and environmental challenges. Besides, sustainability and high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with freight transport have not been considered. To help fill this gap, this paper reviews the literature on approaches used for environmental sustainability in B2C e-commerce goods deliveries and answers the research questions: What are the main approaches used to promote sustainability in last-mile distribution?; What benefits and opportunities generated by the sustainability of B2C e-commerce deliveries are related to the economic, environmental, and social axes?; What is the relation between the benefits and opportunities regarding the type of sustainability approaches of last-mile distribution (Logistics, Consumer, Logistics/Consumer)? For this, a systematic review of the literature was developed. The two primary aspects addressed in the literature are as follows: the first, concerning logistics and means of transportation; the second focus related to consumer behavior, suggesting consumer engagement based on conscious consumption and preference for more sustainable delivery options. The research was also based on the combination of logistics and consumers. The main benefits and opportunities identified were economical: logistics and operational costs; environmental: reduction of GHG emissions; and social: consumer behavior.