Sustainable omnichannels

Which delivery method is most sustainable - home delivery or Click and Collect? How should consumers be able to know which choice is the best to minimize the emissions when they shop online? The project "Sustainable omnichannels" is based on the premise that e-commerce and physical commerce will become increasingly integrated. The purpose of the project is to describe which factors are required for various forms of omnichannel to be sustainable and the goal is that companies should be able to enable consumers to make informed choices.

In trade, many companies are working to build up so-called omnichannels, a combination between physical and digital trade where customers themselves can choose to shop in the channel that suits them best - in store or online. The distribution of the goods also takes place in both channels, which further increases the complexity for the trader.

In order to meet customers' expectations of being able to shop in omnichannels, companies need to build new strategies to be able to efficiently deliver goods to consumers, both from a cost and sustainability perspective. So far, the focus has been on exploring above all the economic aspects of omnichannels. But, there is a need to understand when and in which situation one or the other omnichannel is more or less sustainable. This needs to be explored and explained so that merchants can guide the customers to make the right choice.

Purpose and project goals

The project is based on the premise that e-commerce and physical commerce will become increasingly integrated. The purpose of the project is to systematically describe the characteristics and prerequisites for different forms of omnichannel to be sustainable. The goal is to create conditions for companies to build up such channels and thereby enable consumers in different geographical areas to shop in a more sustainable way.

The project will result in a planning framework with concrete guidelines in a so-called roadmap. The road map becomes a guide aimed for traders and urban planners and how they can act do to create the conditions for sustainable trade.

The ambition is also to build new skills for both companies and municipalities linked to sustainable omnichannels in retail and in the city. This includes prerequisites, mandates, challenges and needs for land acquisition and trade and e-commerce planning.

The project will be guided by four questions:

Which environmental factors are most important to address in each omnichannel for deliveries in cities, suburbs and rural areas?
Which consumer characteristics fit with each omnichannel in order for it to be environmentally efficient?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each omnichannel from the merchants' perspective?
How can companies, municipalities and their stakeholders address the environmental factors for each omnichannel?

Project set-up
Lindholmen Science Park is in the charge of the coordination.
The University of Lund is project partner and in charge of the research related to the project.

Project leader
Erika Gustafsson

Project partners:
Adlibirs, Gina Tricot and NetOnNet which complement each other in terms of products and have different distribution methods.

Swedish Trade Association participates as advicer.

Kalmar and Umeå municipality, Postnord and the estate owner and developer, Vasakronan contributes with insights linked to trade from a social planning perspective.