Consumer logistics: a systematic literature review

Abstract

The research field of Consumer Logistics (CL), initiated by Granzin and Bahn, deals with consumer logistics participation in product handling, from the point of acquisition to destruction. Research into CL stems from the premise that consumers’ logistics activities resemble those of businesses closely. With consumers’ increasingly active logistics role in acquiring goods or services, transporting, and storing goods, but also disposing or getting rid of them, this field is receiving growing attention. However, there is no general view or synthesis of this fragmented field, located at the interface of different disciplines. With the objective of investigating current knowledge, we conducted a systematic literature review that analyzes 155 articles on CL spanning the last 32 years (1990–2022). Based on an analysis of the research themes, the article summarises and maps CL research, highlighting five areas of interest: 1) consumers’ choice of physical channel, 2) consumer transportation, 3) consumer storage, 4) systemic consumer logistics and 5) consumer outbound logistics. The article provides the first interdisciplinary synthesis of the fragmented CL literature and concludes with some suggestions to stimulate more systemic and sustainable CL research in the future.