New research traces how Americans’ use of home delivery diverged by geography and why this matters for retailers and logistics firms. The article, published in the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, reports on an analysis by Micah Marzolf of Iowa State University and coauthors Jason Miller and Simone Peinkofer of Michigan State. The team reviewed transaction data from NielsenIQ covering roughly 60,000 households and analyzed millions of US shopping trips from 2010 to 2023.
The researchers define last-mile fulfillment as the final step in getting a product from a warehouse to a customer’s home. Their findings show a persistent urban–rural gap: demand for last-mile services rose nationwide between 2010 and 2019, but it increased substantially faster in the most urban areas. When COVID-19 arrived in 2020, online shopping surged everywhere, yet the rise in the likelihood of shopping online in urban areas was twice that of rural areas. After lockdowns, delivery demand remained elevated through 2023.
Practical factors help explain the pattern: dense urban areas face congestion and limited parking, and higher order volumes permit faster, lower-cost delivery options. Rural consumers often prefer a single trip to town and face longer delivery wait times; slower adoption persisted even when Amazon fulfillment centers were present. The study concludes that urban demand will continue to shape where companies place fulfillment centers, micro-warehouses, parcel lockers, and store-based fulfillment, and that geographic differences will affect which markets receive premium delivery services. As Marzolf puts it, “Disruption can move everyone forward, but it doesn’t move everyone to the same place.”
Difficult words
- diverge — to move apart or become different over timediverged
- last-mile fulfillment — final step delivering goods to home
- congestion — crowding that slows traffic or movement
- fulfillment center — warehouse where orders are prepared and sentfulfillment centers
- parcel locker — secure public box for picking up packagesparcel lockers
- transaction — a record of a purchase or sale
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How might faster, cheaper delivery in urban areas affect shoppers and local stores in rural areas? Give reasons.
- What practical steps could logistics firms take to reduce delivery delays and costs in rural markets?
- Should public policy or infrastructure change to support more equal delivery services across regions? Why or why not?
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