Evaluating Consumer Priorities for Sustainable Packaging in E-Commerce: An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Approach

Problem: The rapid growth of e-commerce has intensified single-use packaging waste, pushing retailers toward sustainable alternatives even as consumers show a gap between stated environmental concern and actual behaviour. Existing green packaging research relies on linear, survey-based models that rate attributes independently and cannot capture the trade-offs consumers make among protection, cost, environmental impact, and convenience.

Solution: This study applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to derive consumer priority weights across a four-criterion, twelve-sub-criterion hierarchy: Functional Protection, Environmental Performance, Economic Viability, and Post-Purchase Usability. Pairwise comparison data from 18 frequent e-commerce consumers and packaging experts were aggregated via the Geometric Mean Method, with all matrices meeting Saaty's consistency threshold (CR < 0.10).

Findings: Functional Protection dominates consumer priorities (w = 0.421), with Impact & Shock Absorption ranking highest overall (global weight = 0.246), ahead of economic and environmental attributes. Perceived Value for Money outweighs willingness to pay a green surcharge, and curbside recyclability is valued more than compostability. Consumers treat protection as non-negotiable and expect retailers, not surcharges, to absorb sustainability costs.

Applications: These weights give e-tailers an evidence-based basis for prioritizing protective performance and cost-neutral circularity over compostable materials, supporting packaging design that is commercially viable and environmentally sound.