Designing Sustainable Delivery Choices at Checkout: Evidence from Digital Nudging Experiments

As e-commerce continues to expand, last-mile delivery has become a major source of environmental impact. Although research on sustainable logistics has traditionally focused on upstream operational solutions, delivery choices are increasingly made by consumers during the checkout phase. This research examines how digital choice architecture at checkout influences sustainable delivery decisions, focusing on informational complexity and default preselection. Drawing on Cognitive Load Theory, we argue that sustainability information embedded in checkout interfaces imposes varying cognitive processing demands that can shape delivery choices. Across one preliminary study and two experiments conducted with Italian consumers, we test how informational nudges and default preselection affect the adoption of Click & Collect as a more sustainable delivery option. Results show that informational nudges exhibit a non-linear effect: moderate informational complexity increases Click & Collect adoption, while highly detailed information reduces it. Process evidence indicates that this effect is mediated by perceived cognitive effort. Default preselection consistently increases Click & Collect adoption but does not reduce perceived cognitive effort. By conceptualizing checkout as a cognitively constrained decision environment, this research contributes to digital nudging literature and sustainable lastmile delivery research. The findings highlight the importance of balancing informational and structural nudges in digital interfaces designed to promote sustainable consumer behaviour.