Design for E-commerce Sustainability: Contribution to a Sustainable Proposal for Supermarket Delivery Services

In recent years, there has been substantial growth in e-commerce services. Regarding food retail services, several requirements and peculiarities for product preservation during transport cause excessive consumption of single-use plastics, which can be harmful to the environment. The aim of this study is to contribute to sustainable solutions for supermarket e-commerce services, replacing single-use plastics with reusable equipment with high longevity. Mixed methods were applied for this study including a participant observation of a real-operations context test of the proposed solution in the store of Continente in Aveiro, where the picking and expedition processes were evaluated with extensive data collection. The solution comprises a set of components designed to adapt to the equipment currently used in Continente, as well as many other supermarkets worldwide. It is expected that this solution will contribute to a significant reduction in single-use packaging materials, such as plastic bags and protective, spill-resistant plastic packaging. In addition, the designed components improve product protection during transport, ensuring their physical integrity. The results of a real-operations test, coupled with the collaboration of designers, engineers and experienced operation employees of Continente Online, substantiate this proposal as a viable solution, providing important improvements to the service.