With the rapid development of information and communication technologies, platform retailing has developed rapidly in recent years. The ensuing explosive growth of express packing boxes has created a considerable environmental impact. To reduce environmental pollution, in recent years, many retail platforms have begun to encourage consumers to recycle packing boxes since most of the packing boxes can still be used after one-time delivery. In this paper, we develop an analytical model to explore how the different delivery strategies of a platform affect packaging recycling, the platform’s profit and the environmental impact. We consider three typical delivery models: the express location model (EL), the home delivery model (HD) and the express cabinet model (EC). The optimal pricing and subsidy strategies under the three models are obtained. We also explore how consumer heterogeneities (valuation and transportation costs) affect the platform’s operations and consumers’ purchasing and recycling behaviors. The results show that none of the three strategies is dominant. In addition, we identify the conditions under which delivery model the platform performs best. We find that consumer surplus has a similar property to the platform’s profit, and the platform and consumers can achieve a win-win outcome in most cases. Finally, the HD and EL models are usually more beneficial to the environment since it is more convenient for consumers to recycle packing boxes under both models.

随着信息和通信技术的飞速发展，近年来平台零售发展迅速。随之而来的快速包装箱的爆炸性增长已经对环境产生了巨大影响。为了减少环境污染，近年来，许多零售平台已开始鼓励消费者回收包装盒，因为大多数包装盒在一次性交付后仍可以使用。在本文中，我们开发了一个分析模型，以探索平台的不同交付策略如何影响包装回收，平台的利润和环境影响。我们考虑三种典型的交付模型：快递位置模型（EL），家庭交付模型（HD）和快递柜模型（EC）。获得了三种模型下的最优定价和补贴策略。我们还探讨了消费者的异质性（评估和运输成本）如何影响平台的运营以及消费者的购买和回收行为。结果表明，这三种策略都不是主导策略。此外，我们确定平台在最佳交付模型下的条件。我们发现，消费者剩余与平台的利润具有相似的性质，并且平台和消费者在大多数情况下可以实现双赢。最后，HD和EL模型通常对环境更有利，因为消费者可以更方便地回收两种模型下的包装盒。结果表明，这三种策略都不占优势。此外，我们确定平台在最佳交付模型下的条件。我们发现，消费者剩余与平台的利润具有相似的性质，并且平台和消费者在大多数情况下可以实现双赢。最后，HD和EL模型通常对环境更有利，因为对于消费者而言，回收两种模型下的包装盒更为方便。结果表明，这三种策略都不是主导策略。此外，我们确定平台在最佳交付模型下的条件。我们发现，消费者剩余与平台的利润具有相似的性质，并且平台和消费者在大多数情况下可以实现双赢。最后，HD和EL模型通常对环境更有利，因为消费者可以更方便地回收两种模型下的包装盒。