Of course. It's a fascinating and highly relevant challenge to reconcile speed with sustainability in e-commerce. A co-creation approach is perfect for this, as it allows you to tap directly into the creativity and latent needs of your consumers.

Here is a professional business research proposal outlining a step-by-step plan to guide your study.

Business Research Proposal: Reimagining the E-commerce Journey

This proposal details a research plan designed to generate actionable strategies for creating a future e-commerce experience that expertly balances speed, emotional satisfaction, and environmental responsibility.

The final output of this research will be a strategic playbook that includes:

1. A Redesigned E-commerce Journey Map: A visual blueprint of the ideal, co-created shopping journey.
2. Prioritized Feature & Service Concepts: 3-5 high-impact, validated concepts to bring the new journey to life.
3. Actionable Design Principles: Core tenets to guide the development and implementation of the new experience.
4. Persona-Specific Value Propositions: Clear messaging that shows how the redesigned journey appeals to both eco-conscious and convenience-focused consumers.
5. High-Level Implementation Roadmap: A phased plan for piloting and launching the most promising concepts.

Part 1: Information Collection

This phase is about gathering the raw materials for your analysis: understanding the current landscape and capturing the voice and ideas of your target consumers.

Recommended Frameworks: Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) & The Kano Model

• Framework Teaching:

  • Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD): This framework shifts the focus from "what products do people buy?" to "what 'job' are people trying to get done when they 'hire' a product or service?". These jobs have functional dimensions (e.g., "get a new pair of running shoes") but also crucial emotional and social dimensions (e.g., "feel like a prepared athlete" or "make a choice that reflects my environmental values").
  • The Kano Model: This is a tool used to prioritize features based on their potential to satisfy customers. It classifies features into categories: Must-haves (basic expectations), Performance (more is better), and Attractive/Delighters (unexpected features that create significant positive reactions).

• Applicability Explanation:

  • JTBD is ideal for this study because it will help you uncover the deeper motivations behind why one person prioritizes speed and another prioritizes sustainability. It allows you to understand the context and desired outcomes that define their shopping experience, moving beyond surface-level preferences.
  • The Kano Model will be essential in the analysis phase. Once you and your users have co-created a list of potential features (e.g., batched deliveries, reusable packaging), the Kano model provides a structured way to determine which ones will truly delight customers and which are simply expected, helping you prioritize development efforts effectively.

• Key Information to Collect:

  • The functional, social, and emotional "jobs" that both convenience-focused and environmentally-conscious consumers are trying to accomplish through e-commerce.
  • Consumer reactions to specific feature concepts to understand if they are basic needs or delighters.
  • Industry innovations and current best practices in sustainable logistics and e-commerce UX.

Step 1.1: Foundational Web Search

Before engaging with consumers, you must be informed about the current state of the industry.

• Web Search Content & Purpose:
  • Queries: "innovations in sustainable e-commerce logistics 2025," "consumer attitudes towards sustainable delivery options report 2024," "e-commerce packaging innovations eco-friendly," "best practices for co-creation workshops in UX research," "balancing speed and sustainability in last-mile delivery."
  • Analysis Purpose: This search provides critical context. The results on logistics and packaging innovations (e.g., reusable packaging, route optimization, recycled materials) will supply a menu of realistic ideas to introduce during co-creation sessions. The research on consumer attitudes and co-creation best practices will help you frame questions and structure the workshops effectively.

Step 1.2: User Co-Creation Workshops

This is the core of your information collection. You will facilitate workshop sessions with two distinct consumer groups.

• Interview Subjects (Personas): You must recruit participants that clearly fall into one of two groups. Use screener questions about past purchase behavior, decision-making priorities, and attitudes toward environmental issues.

  1. The "Eco-Innovator" (6-8 participants):
     • Profile: Actively seeks sustainable brands. They have knowingly chosen a slower delivery option for environmental reasons and are willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly products. They feel a sense of personal responsibility for their consumption habits.
     • Recruiting: Screen for individuals who follow sustainable lifestyle blogs, have purchased from explicitly "green" brands, and can name specific sustainable practices they value (e.g., plastic-free shipping).
  2. The "Convenience Maximizer" (6-8 participants):
     • Profile: Prioritizes speed, low cost, and ease of use above all. They are a frequent user of services like Amazon Prime for next-day or same-day delivery. Their loyalty is to the platform that is most efficient.
     • Recruiting: Screen for individuals who frequently shop online (>5 times a month), have paid for expedited shipping, and list "speed of delivery" as a top-3 factor in their purchasing decisions.

• Workshop Structure & Core Activities:

  • Introduction & Warm-up: Create a relaxed, collaborative atmosphere. An icebreaker like "What's the best and worst thing you've ever bought online?" can get people talking.
  • Activity 1: The Shopping Diary Debrief (JTBD Focus):
    • Action: Have participants share insights from a pre-workshop assignment where they documented their last two online purchases—what they bought, why they chose that retailer, and how they felt at each stage (discovery, checkout, delivery, unboxing).
    • Analysis Purpose: This grounds the discussion in real behavior and helps you identify the functional and emotional "jobs" each persona is trying to get done.
  • Activity 2: Journey Mapping - Pains & Gains:
    • Action: On a large wall, post a generic e-commerce journey map (e.g., Discover -> Compare -> Purchase -> Wait -> Receive -> Unbox). Give participants sticky notes and ask them to place their frustrations (pains) and moments of delight (gains) along the journey.
    • Analysis Purpose: This visually pinpoints the biggest opportunities and problem areas for each persona within the current system.
  • Activity 3: Co-Creation - "Build a Better Journey":
    • Action: In small groups (you can try mixing the personas here for interesting friction), provide a "toolkit" of ideas from your web research (e.g., "scheduled delivery day," "reusable mailers," "local pickup lockers," "carbon footprint score"). Ask them to redesign the journey map, adding, removing, or combining elements to create their ideal experience that is both fast and responsible.
    • Analysis Purpose: This is where you generate user-led solutions. Observing the trade-offs they are willing to make is the most critical insight.

Part 2: Information Analysis

This phase is about transforming the rich, qualitative data from your co-creation sessions into the strategic playbook you need.

Step 2.1: Synthesize and Frame the "Jobs-to-be-Done"

Your first step is to bring structure to the workshop outputs.

• How to do it:
  1. Affinity Diagramming: Take all the sticky notes from the "Pains & Gains" map and the key quotes from the diary debrief. Group them into common themes (e.g., "Anxiety of not knowing delivery time," "Guilt about excessive packaging," "Joy of a fast, easy checkout").
  2. Write Job Stories: For each major theme, write a "Job Story." The format is: When _____ (situation), I want to _____ (motivation), so I can _____ (expected outcome).
     • Example for an Eco-Innovator: "When I'm buying a gift, I want to see its carbon footprint at checkout, so I can feel confident my purchase aligns with my values."
     • Example for a Convenience Maximizer: "When I've had a busy week, I want to consolidate all my weekly purchases into one scheduled delivery, so I can stop worrying about being home for multiple drop-offs."
  • Benefit: This moves you from a list of complaints to a clear understanding of the underlying human needs you must solve for.

Step 2.2: Build the Future-State Journey Map

Combine the outputs from the co-creation activity into a single, cohesive narrative.

• How to do it:
  1. Create a Visual Master Journey: Design a clean, visual map of the ideal journey based on the participants' redesigns. This map should include the key stages and the innovative solutions they proposed.
  2. Add Persona-Specific Pathways: Use callouts or different colors to show how the "Eco-Innovator" and "Convenience Maximizer" might interact with the journey differently. For example, at the "Delivery" stage, both might appreciate a "Scheduled Delivery" option, but for different reasons (reducing carbon vs. increasing predictability).
  • Benefit: This delivers Final Output #1 and serves as the central artifact for communicating your vision to stakeholders.

Step 2.3: Prioritize Features with the Kano Model

Not all great ideas can be built at once. Use the Kano Model to prioritize ruthlessly.

• How to do it:
  1. Create a Feature List: Compile all the distinct ideas generated in the co-creation session and from your own research.
  2. Run a Follow-up Survey (or use workshop data): For your top 10-15 concepts, you need to ask two questions for each:
     • How would you feel if you had this feature? (Answers: I like it, I expect it, I am neutral, I can live with it, I dislike it)
     • How would you feel if you did not have this feature? (Same answers)
  3. Plot the Results: Based on the paired answers, classify each feature as a Must-be, Performance, or Attractive (Delighter) for each persona.
  • Benefit: This provides a data-driven method for creating your implementation roadmap (Final Output #2 and #5), focusing on features that will deliver the highest satisfaction. You will know what delights your Eco-Innovators versus what is a basic expectation for your Convenience Maximizers.

Step 2.4: Define Design Principles & Finalize the Playbook

Finally, synthesize everything into actionable guidance.

• How to do it:
  1. Extract Principles: Look for the big ideas that repeatedly came up. If participants constantly tried to make the green choice the easiest choice, a principle might be: "Make Sustainability Effortless." If they valued clarity on environmental impact, another could be: "Provide Radical Transparency." Aim for 5-7 of these principles.
  2. Write Value Propositions: For each prioritized feature, write a clear, benefit-oriented statement tailored to each persona.
  3. Assemble the Playbook: Combine the Future-State Journey Map, Prioritized Features, Design Principles, and Value Propositions into your final strategic document.
  • Benefit: This completes your final outputs, providing the business with a clear, user-validated, and actionable plan for how to move forward.

The collected interviews reveal diverse consumer perspectives on balancing delivery speed and sustainability within e-commerce, highlighting distinct personas ranging from staunch eco-conscious consumers to convenience-driven users. Together, these insights inform a nuanced vision for redesigning the online shopping experience.

1. EcoConscious (29, Environmental Scientist)

EcoConscious prioritizes environmental impact well above delivery speed, willing to accept longer wait times if it reduces the carbon footprint. Central frustrations include lack of transparency around product and shipping sustainability, vague green claims (“greenwashing”), and excessive, often non-recyclable packaging. EcoConscious advocates for a standardized “Environmental Impact Scorecard” on product pages detailing carbon footprint, materials, durability, packaging, and end-of-life options, akin to a nutrition label. At checkout, transparent carbon emissions for shipping choices would empower informed trade-offs. The ideal shopping journey incorporates eco-filters, sustainable default delivery options, packaging customization, and post-purchase support. This persona embodies the “buy less, buy better” philosophy with durable, high-quality purchases.

2. Convenience Maximizers

Three interviews—ConvenienceFirst (37, hospital pharmacist and divorced parent), Thabo Express (32, software developer), and Alex Urban (32, senior software engineer)—represent the “Convenience Maximizer” persona, all emphasizing speed, reliability, and effortless shopping above environmental concerns.

• ConvenienceFirst demands ultra-fast, predictable deliveries with minimal friction at checkout and returns. While aware of sustainability, she places time savings first, accepting sustainable options only if they impose negligible delays (maximum one day), consolidate orders into a single weekly delivery, or are baked invisibly into defaults without extra effort. Effortless reusable packaging returns and customizable scheduled deliveries rank high. Sustainability info should appear as simple, glanceable icons integrated into delivery choices, never requiring additional clicks or moral decisions.

• Thabo Express similarly values speed above all but would consider a sustainable delivery if it guarantees perfect order accuracy and effortless packaging returns, coupled with marginal time impact (5-15 mins). Misaligned stock status and missing items cause significant frustration. Sustainability cues must be minimalistic and integrated seamlessly, with a focus on direct, tangible benefits to his experience. The biggest positive innovation would be guaranteed order accuracy, even at a slight speed cost.

• Alex Urban balances convenience with environmental awareness, favoring transparency and frictionless sustainable options. He desires quantifiable, integrated “Eco-Impact Scores” for products and delivery, smart consolidation of orders, and packaged choices with easy return loops. For Alex, a “smart longer” delivery (e.g., consolidated, guaranteed windows) is preferred over arbitrary delays. Sustainability must be the path of least resistance in a fast, predictable experience.

3. Sarah Greenhome (Full-time mom of two)

Sarah balances eco-consciousness with convenience shaped by family demands. Packaging waste is her top frustration, alongside opaque sustainability data. She experiences tension between urgent needs (favoring speed) and non-urgent purchases (willingness to wait for greener options). Transparent carbon info at checkout and the option for a consolidated “weekly delivery day” are highly desirable. Reusable packaging with take-back programs, minor financial incentives for green choices, and clear sustainability scores on product pages would aid decision-making. She envisions smart personalized eco-swaps and local pickup/drop-off hubs to facilitate circular economy participation without adding burden.

Cross-Interview Synthesis & Key Recommendations

• Delivery Speed vs. Sustainability Trade-offs: Consumers fall on a spectrum but consistently prioritize speed unless sustainable options are seamless, transparent, and impose minimal delays (often 1-3 days max).

• Transparency & Information Needs: Vague green claims are widely mistrusted. There is a universal call for standardized, quantifiable, and easy-to-digest environmental impact indicators, such as product carbon footprints and packaging details, ideally integrated directly into product pages and checkout flows.

• Packaging Concerns: Excessive, non-recyclable packaging is a major pain point. Solutions include recyclable, minimal, or reusable packaging options with frictionless returns.

• Consolidated Deliveries: Offering consumers a scheduled, consolidated delivery option reduces carbon footprint and appeals both as an eco-friendly and convenience-enhancing feature, especially if configurable and reliable.

• Seamless Sustainability: Sustainable options must be embedded into the default user experience, requiring no extra cognitive load or effort, especially for convenience-driven users.

• Post-Purchase Support: Providing environmental impact summaries and guidance on proper disposal or return helps reinforce consumer trust and closes the loop on sustainability.

• Biggest Innovations:

  • Standardized Environmental Impact Scorecards on products.
  • Transparent carbon emissions displayed for shipping options.
  • Reliable, customizable consolidated delivery services.
  • Guaranteed order accuracy and reliability as a trust foundation.
  • Effortless, scalable reusable packaging and return programs.

Conclusion

Redesigning e-commerce to balance speed and sustainability requires differentiated approaches tailored to user priorities. Eco-conscious consumers demand radical transparency and are comfortable with slower deliveries that maximize environmental benefits. In contrast, convenience maximizers seek frictionless, rapid shopping where sustainability is “invisibly” integrated without sacrifice. By embedding clear, quantifiable environmental data, offering smart consolidated deliveries, and ensuring reliable, easy logistics, e-commerce platforms can create a more sustainable experience that appeals broadly while maintaining efficiency and trust.

Summary of Interview Insights on Balancing Speed and Sustainability in E-commerce

The interviews with five distinct personas—Lena, Maya, Cathy, Chloe, and Kenji—provide a rich, multifaceted understanding of consumer attitudes, needs, and emotional drivers around integrating sustainability into the fast-paced world of e-commerce.

1. Common Pain Points

• Packaging Waste: Universally criticized for being excessive, non-recyclable, or inconsistent. Consumers strongly desire minimal, compostable, recyclable, or reusable packaging options.
• Lack of Transparency: A major frustration is vague or greenwashed sustainability claims. Interviewees want clear, verifiable, third-party certified data on product materials, carbon footprint, supply chains, and packaging.
• Delivery Practices: The prioritization of speed often leads to fragmented shipments, higher emissions, poor consolidation, and unclear environmental costs. Consumers prefer consolidated, slower deliveries that emphasize emission reduction but often find these options unavailable or poorly communicated.
• Returns: Wastefulness and environmental impact from returned items without transparent disposal or reuse pathways.

2. Desired Environmental Information & Placement

• Product Pages: Clear sustainability data such as lifecycle-based carbon footprint scores, material origin and content (especially recycled/organic), third-party certifications (e.g., B Corp, GOTS, Blue Angel), durability/repairability, and packaging specifics.
• Checkout: Dynamic display of carbon footprint for delivery options, packaging choices (defaulting to minimal, recycled, or reusable), and consolidation impact. Some support packaging preference mandates.
• Post-Purchase & Tracking: Transparent, real-time environmental impact tracking—like actual carbon emissions of the shipment, delivery vehicle type, and clear instructions for end-of-life or packaging return.

3. Ideal Checkout & Delivery Redesign

• Default to Sustainable Choices: The most sustainable delivery (consolidated, slower, low-CO2 options) should be pre-selected with clear communication of environmental benefits and incentives.
• Explicit Delivery Options: Faster options remain available but are clearly labeled with their environmental costs, often accompanied by mandatory carbon offset options (opt-out preferred).
• Packaging Choices: Mandatory packaging preference sections defaulting to minimal/recycled/reusable materials with explanations and return programs for reusable packaging.
• Consolidation: Encouraged via prompts or offering scheduled weekly deliveries to reduce emissions and packaging waste.
• Local Pickup Lockers & Bike/Friendly Delivery: Seen as effective last-mile emission reducers when convenient.
• Real-Time Tracking: Orders show environmental "journeys," reinforcing transparency and empowering consumers.

4. Trust in Sustainability Claims

• Third-Party Certification & Auditing: A critical trust factor across all personas, enabling verification beyond marketing slogans.
• Radical Transparency & Detailed Reporting: Desire for publicly accessible, independently audited environmental impact reports covering full supply chains, resource use, and emission scopes.
• Avoid Greenwashing: Clear, quantified metrics preferred over vague terms.
• Honesty About Limitations & Improvement Plans: Trust grows with brands that openly acknowledge challenges and demonstrate consistent progress toward sustainability.
• Carbon Offsets: Viewed skeptically; accepted as a last resort only after all emission reductions have been made, requiring high transparency and verifiable impact projects.

5. Emotional Drivers and Trade-offs

• Eco-Innovators (Lena, Maya, Chloe, Kenji): These environmentally conscious consumers feel strong guilt, frustration, and internal conflict when forced to choose speed over sustainability. However, they experience satisfaction, pride, and emotional alignment when sustainable options are clear, accessible, and transparent—even if it means waiting longer. Transparency reduces emotional burden and helps align purchases with deep values.
• Convenience Maximizer (Cathy): Prioritizes time-saving, reliability, and convenience. Open to sustainability only if it does not add friction, cost, or delays. Sustainable options must compete with or exceed the ease and predictability of fast delivery. The emotional reward primarily comes from reducing stress and managing a busy life, with sustainability seen as a welcome bonus rather than a driver.

6. Reactions to Specific Solutions

• Consolidated Weekly Deliveries: Strongly favored by all—viewed as a huge win for reducing carbon footprint and packaging waste, as long as it offers predictability and convenience.
• Pickup Lockers: Positively received, provided they are conveniently located and easy to use.
• Reusable Packaging Programs: Enthusiastically supported by eco-conscious personas but require effortless return logistics and clear hygiene practices to gain broad acceptance.
• Carbon Offsets: Generally viewed as a necessary but insufficient "band-aid"; acceptable only when transparent, credible, and supplementary to direct emission reductions.

Conclusion

To successfully integrate sustainability into e-commerce for a broad range of consumers—from eco-innovators to convenience maximizers—retailers must:

• Make sustainable choices the default and easiest option without sacrificing reliability or convenience.
• Provide radical transparency through standardized, verifiable environmental impact information throughout the shopping journey.
• Offer clear, comparative options for shipping speed vs. environmental cost, backed by trustworthy third-party certifications.
• Enable behavioral nudges with incentives, consolidation, reusable packaging, and low-emission last-mile delivery.
• Address emotional drivers by reducing guilt and frustration through honesty and empowerment, accommodating both the urgency of fast delivery and the ethics of sustainability.

This customer-centric approach presents a holistic pathway to reimagine e-commerce that honors both speed and sustainability, fostering trust and encouraging genuine, actionable consumer engagement.