E-grocery and ICT: Connection and Its Influence in Making the Sicilian Cities Smart

E-commerce is a new digital and business transaction channel that refers to the sale of items, including daily groceries, i.e., food and beverages, through web-based digital shops. Its rapid growth is also strongly facilitating the development of smart cities while taking advantages of ICT infrastructure and evolving transportation. The recent pandemic and related travel-related restrictions have stimulated the spread and vigorous use of online-based channels, influencing behavioral choices and travel frequencies. The increased diffusion of technology and greater exemplification of digital platforms has helped attract more users predisposed to use e-grocery. There is no doubt that passenger and freight mobility is one of the key issues for integrated planning in urban areas. Therefore, the growth of e-commerce and home delivery is likely to affect the structure and performance of the urban supply chain: the development of smart cities will have to consider last-mile distribution issues with those related to food perishability, influencing the success and profitability of e-commerce companies while assessing which parts of the city may be most “attracted” to online shopping by defining factors and relationships among them. This paper focuses on the evaluation of smart city planning and evolution strategies in the context of Sicily, Italy. Particular attention was paid to residents of the Sicilian hinterland area with critical focuses on infrastructure and transportation services. To have a better understanding of the operation of e-grocery in Sicily, a virtual “snowball sampling” survey was conducted considering users who live in different areas of the island and have the experience of using e-commerce for groceries. This study brought out a number of considerations that can improve and make last-mile distribution more sustainable taking into account the location type (i.e., historic centre, expansion areas and suburbs), consumer behavior and preferences. The data were analysed and processed through descriptive statistical analysis. The results not only highlight the important growth of e-commerce for groceries in Sicily with reference to specific categories, but also pave out the foundation for improvement of planning by allowing the implementation of strategies that are based on better interactions between urban space, consumption and flow management of goods to help create smarter and more liveable cities.