Delivery is now both a loyalty and revenue driver in retail. According to the Bringg 2026 Delivery Experience Survey, 65% of shoppers say a positive delivery experience convinced them to buy from a brand again, even if the price is higher than competitors’. Given that 67% of shoppers said they shop online at least once a week, retailers have ample opportunities to differentiate themselves and secure more customer lifetime value (CLV) with delivery.
But what defines a “great” delivery experience? What delivery elements keep shoppers coming back and let retailers stand out among the competition? It’s not faster or cheaper shipping. The “big three” of Amazon, Walmart, and Costco (the three biggest U.S. retailers) set the precedent for speed and costs and those are foundational expectations. Good delivery today is defined by experiences that are reliable, give the customer flexibility, and create trust.
What defines a great delivery experience?
The 2026 Delivery Experience Survey asked 1,040 consumers what factors contributed most to a great delivery experience. Low costs, package condition, and easy returns ranked at the top but they’re considered table stakes: baseline expectations that determine whether a shopper is willing to buy at all. These fundamentals don’t differentiate a retailer, they simply remove risk from the purchase.
Once these essentials are met, the factors that actually shape the quality of the delivery experience are reliability and flexibility signals.
Reliable delivery experiences: on time, as promised
- On‑time arrival within a clear window
- Live tracking and proactive communication
- Supportive customer service
Flexible delivery experiences: on their terms
- Delivery window selection
- Easy rescheduling
- Same-day or next-day delivery
73% of shoppers say on-time arrival defines a great experience
The majority (73%) of shoppers say the reliability of on-time arrival defines a great experience. Flexibility factors of same-day/next-day delivery and flexible scheduling are valued similarly at 43% and 42% respectively. Retailers that invest in these components are well-suited to create the satisfactory delivery experiences that customers reward with repeat purchases.
Explore more insights in the full 2026 Delivery Experience Survey
Great delivery starts before checkout
For most shoppers, a great delivery experience begins the moment they consider buying, long before the order ships. Almost three-quarters (71%) of shoppers think about delivery before they reach checkout, and 41% have delivery expectations before they even start shopping.
This means reliability and flexibility are now pre-purchase requirements. Shoppers want to see on-time expectations, delivery windows, shipping transparency, and the ability to adjust the experience before they commit. When retailers clearly communicate timing, options, and control upfront, they reduce uncertainty, increase conversion, and set the foundation for a great delivery experience that follows through on the promise.
The loyalty equation: reliability + flexibility
Across the survey, two themes define what converts a good delivery into customer loyalty.
Reliability earns confidence
When deliveries arrive on time and as promised, customers view the brand as dependable. And the downside of failure is steep:
- 38% report late delivery as their top negative experience.
- 35% say a late delivery will make them abandon a retailer permanently.
Reliability protects loyalty by building trust that the retailer can deliver (literally and figuratively).
Flexibility sustains confidence
Flexibility begins before checkout and continues after delivery:
- 61% abandon their carts when delivery isn’t flexible.
- 54% will permanently avoid a retailer after experiencing poor customer support.
Shoppers trust and spend more with brands that adapt to their schedules, not the other way around.
Retailers that root delivery experiences in reliability and flexibility create a cycle of loyalty that increases:
- Repeat purchasing
- Willingness to pay more
- Customer lifetime value
- Brand trust and forgiveness
The Bringg 2026 Delivery Experience Survey data shows that loyalty is earned at the doorstep today. In a landscape dominated by the big three, retailers can’t win on speed alone, but they can win on experience. The brands that operationalize reliable, predictable, and flexible delivery models both only meet expectations and become the trusted choice customers return to again and again.
Explore more insights in the full 2026 Delivery Experience Survey
