According to a Washington State University study, the smaller carbon footprint, or wheelprint, of automated delivery robots could encourage customers to use them when ordering food.
Suitcase-sized, self-driving electric vehicles are greener than many traditional food delivery methods because they emit little, or zero, carbon. In this study, participants who had more environmental awareness and knowledge about carbon emissions were more likely to choose robots as the delivery method. The green effect was lost when people perceived the robots as a high-risk choice—that is, they were concerned that their food would be late, cold, or otherwise spoiled before it arrived.
Results, reported in International Journal of Hospitality Management, Identify ways to promote the use of delivery robots.
“Much of the marketing focus has been on the functionality and convenience of these automatic delivery robots, which is really important, but this will also fuel efforts to promote their green aspects,” lead author Jennifer Hahn said. Said, who is a doctoral student. WSU's Carson College of Business.
Working with WSU researchers Hyun Jeong Kim and Soobin Seo, Han conducted an online survey with 418 adult participants recruited through Amazon's crowdsourcing platform, Mtruck. More than half were from urban areas, and many were already familiar with delivery robots, which are gaining popularity in big cities. Participants watched short videos about automated delivery robots and answered questions about robots as well as carbon emissions.
The researchers found a strong correlation between high levels of statements about carbon emissions and willingness to use automated delivery robots, or ADRs. However, this connection was broken, among those who thought that using the technology was dangerous.
“When people had a high perceived risk of using ADRs, they didn't really care about environmental concerns, but people who had a low perceived risk were more strongly influenced by this decision process,” Hahn said. were connected to,” Hahn said. “So, it was pretty clear that all these essential functional properties have to work. Then the environmental issues come after that.”
According to Statista, the pandemic has led to a 63 percent increase in online food ordering, leading to increased congestion and carbon emissions as more gas-powered vehicles hit the road to deliver food. Many automated delivery robots, which can travel on sidewalks and streets, are electric, and some rely on renewable energy sources such as solar power. Other research has estimated that using ADR can reduce congestion by 29% and carbon emissions by 16%.
More food service businesses are turning to automated delivery robots to make so-called “last mile” deliveries. Some companies like Domino's already have their own delivery fleets, but smaller restaurants are also using them through services like Grubhub and Starship Technologies.
ADRs may appeal to businesses simply because they help meet growing demand for delivery services, but as this study shows, their ability to offset carbon emissions is also a powerful incentive for consumers. Can be a trigger.
Hahn suggested that companies could highlight delivery robots' green credentials by showing emissions calculations for each delivery method.
“They can show consumers that they're reducing such a large amount of carbon footprint through the delivery robot service. If consumers have a strong interest in environmental issues, that's a signal to promote shopper behavior.” It will happen.”