Ecommerce delivery benchmark report 2026
9 minute read
Excelling at ecommerce in an AI era: how retailers are competing on speed, choice and reliability
We benchmarked leading UK retailers to understand how ecommerce delivery performance is evolving in 2026
Delivery has moved from a functional fulfilment activity to a frontline brand experience. In an environment where customer acquisition costs are rising and loyalty is fragile, delivery performance is now a strategic differentiator. This benchmark report evaluates how leading retailers are performing across speed, flexibility, cost transparency and returns execution — identifying where competitive advantage is being built and where performance gaps remain.
What you can learn from this report
• How your delivery proposition compares against leading UK retailers across speed, cost and service flexibility
• Where delivery choice architecture is strengthening customer trust and repeat purchase behaviour
• How pricing transparency and threshold strategies are shaping perceived value
• What best-in-class returns journeys look like in a cost-pressured ecommerce market
• Strategic actions retailers can take to close performance gaps and build delivery-led loyalty
Key report insights
• The research draws on insights from 8,000+ consumers across eight major ecommerce markets and 400 senior decision-makers, providing one of the most comprehensive views of AI-assisted commerce and delivery readiness in 2026.
• 33% of North American retailers and 36% of European retailers identify adopting AI and emerging technologies as their main performance challenge in 2026, signalling the scale of operational transformation underway (Fig 1).
• Despite the AI focus, 14% of North American retailers and 24% of European retailers still cite meeting demands for fast and flexible delivery as a key business challenge, reinforcing delivery’s role as a competitive pressure point (Fig 1).
• Retailers are navigating a dual mandate: integrating AI into discovery and conversion while simultaneously strengthening fulfilment networks to support higher customer expectations around speed, choice and reliability.
• The convergence of AI-led shopping journeys and delivery performance means fulfilment is no longer a back-end function but a visible part of the competitive experience layer.
• Regional variation in delivery pressure suggests European retailers are currently feeling more acute strain around fast and flexible fulfilment expectations compared with North America.
• AI readiness and delivery resilience are emerging as parallel strategic imperatives, requiring coordinated investment across technology, operations and customer experience.
Taken together, these benchmarks demonstrate that delivery excellence is no longer about absolute speed alone. It is about consistency, transparency, optionality and operational resilience. Retailers that treat delivery as a strategic growth lever — rather than a transactional necessity — will be better positioned to convert traffic, strengthen loyalty and protect margin in an increasingly competitive ecommerce landscape.
📥 Download the report now to benchmark your delivery performance against the UK market leaders
