E-groceries and urban freight : investigating purchasing habits, peer influence and behaviour change via a discrete choice/agent-based modelling approach

Abstract

This paper presents a modelling framework to investigate the potential acceptability of digitalized services connected to groceries, i.e. e-grocery, via a discrete choice agent-based approach. A preliminary investigation of consumers’ preferences for buying groceries on-line has been performed via a stated preference survey. Besides, a new agent-based model is presented with the aim to test different e-grocery scenarios and the potential spreading of this solution, characterizing agents with the results of the survey. This will allow evaluating stakeholders’ acceptability and making a first assessment of the potential of e-grocery to improve the efficiency of urban freight transport. Keywords: e-grocery, stated preferences, agent-based model, behavioural analysis