“Any gaps in delivery experience directly threaten profitability. The customer experience, especially delivery, is the new battleground for retail success,” said Bringg Market Research Analyst Deborah Laloum
In today’s retail economy, last-mile delivery is a revenue engine and (all too often) a blind spot at the same time.
According to Bringg’s 2025 State of the Last Mile report, 75% of retailers say delivery directly impacts conversion, retention, and lifetime value. With eCommerce set to make up nearly 50% of all retail sales by 2040, retailers are quickly scaling their digital operations to keep up. But many overlook the one piece of the customer journey that decides whether shoppers come back: the delivery experience.
Bringg Market Research Analyst Deborah Laloum analyzed these findings through the lens of customer experience. Her takeaway: the last-mile sits at the core of modern retail strategy.
“As more revenue moves online, delivery becomes a core part of the customer journey rather than an afterthought,” said Laloum. “Delivery is part of the strategic journey—from the moment a customer lands on the site to the second a product arrives at their door. If that experience isn’t consistent, the entire business is at risk.”
Key takeaways from the report:
- 75% of retailers report that delivery impacts cart conversion, loyalty, and lifetime value
- 39% of carts are abandoned because of a lack of delivery options
- Operational inefficiencies often stem from siloed systems, not from customer experience (CX) investments
- 72% of retailers invested in real-time visibility in 2024 but it remains a major challenge
- Future-ready retailers invest in carrier diversification, delivery personalization, and tech integration
Retailers lose customers at the front door
“A missed promise at the doorstep pushes customers toward competitors.”
Retailers know the numbers but often miss the stakes: 65% of consumers will abandon a retailer after just 2–3 late deliveries, and 81% won’t shop again after receiving the wrong item. Add rising customer expectations, and these risks compound. The outcome is that a single delivery misstep isn’t just a bad customer experience, it’s a long-term revenue loss.
Shoppers today are unforgiving. They expect flexible options, full visibility, and accurate fulfillment every time. When retailers fall short, customers defect and it’s usually to a competitor who meets those expectations.
The 2025 State of the Last Mile report backs this up: 75% of retailers confirm delivery impacts every stage of the lifecycle, including:
- Cart conversion
- Repeat purchases
- Customer loyalty
- Subscription rates
- Lifetime value
“Any gaps in delivery experience directly threaten profitability because the front door experience is where loyalty is won or lost,” said Laloum. “A missed promise at the doorstep pushes customers toward competitors and erodes long-term revenue streams. Retailers that win at the front door win repeat business and protect future margins.”
Silos are the real efficiency problem—not customer experience
“Customer experience and operational efficiency only contradict each other during the transition from brick-and-mortar operations to digital-first, omnichannel operations.”
There’s a false tension many retailers buy into: customer experience investments undermine operational efficiency. Laloum disagrees. She believes when organizations remain siloed, it becomes impossible to optimize individual customer experiences and profitability.
“Today, both the tech and the way retailers think about delivery are siloed and that’s a recipe for failure,” said Laloum. “Look at delivery from the lens of the entire customer journey. It’s part of the brand promise, not a separate operation.”
Most brands want to personalize fulfillment. But if systems can’t talk to each other, that kind of dynamic response is out of reach. Retailer leaders eliminate silos between customer-facing functions, backend logistics, and technology teams. Then they make informed, profitable, real-time decisions.
“Customer experience and operational efficiency only contradict each other during the transition from brick-and-mortar operations to digital-first, omnichannel operations,” said Laloum. “Conflicts arise in siloed organizations that can’t look at the full customer experience. Once the company vision, technology, and decision-making are all integrated, the conflict disappears.
“In the future, retailers will personalize customer journeys and fulfillment outcomes to perfectly balance customer experiences and profitability.”
Real-time visibility empowers teams and customers
“Customers are more forgiving when they aren’t left in the dark. Visibility reduces friction and increases trust.”
According to the report, 31% of retailers cite delivery and customer-support visibility as a primary last-mile challenge and 72% already invested in real-time visibility platforms.
Laloum stressed that real-time visibility unlocks two critical capabilities:
- Operational agility: the ability to quickly respond to disruptions, adjust fulfillment flows, and prevent minor delays from escalating.
- Customer empowerment: keep customers informed and allow them to participate in delivery decisions, which creates a smoother and more predictable experience.
“Real-time visibility improves last-mile quality in two ways,” said Laloum. “First, it allows retailers to respond to changes and disruptions quickly without affecting too many customers. It also improves overall service quality.
“Second, it makes customers a part of the process. Customers should be able to see updates to their order and have a say if any change is needed. Overall, customers are more likely to react better to changes, expectations, and delays if they receive clear communication.”
Same-day delivery is only possible with smarter infrastructure
“Retailers are over-relying on 3PLs. Without the right orchestration, outsourcing creates more problems than it solves.”
Retailers are under pressure to deliver faster and many use third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to do it. Nearly 48% use 3PLs to regionalize networks and create faster deliveries. 72% say same-day delivery increased with 3PLs, especially in high-volume verticals like grocery and apparel.
But with this flexibility comes complexity. External carrier management often means dealing with inconsistent experiences, fragmented data, and higher costs. Laloum warns that without a robust tech layer to orchestrate deliveries across regions and partners, retailers trade speed for control.
“It doesn’t surprise me that retailers outsource to 3PLs to increase their delivery speed, but visibility and control create new challenges,” said Laloum. “Most retail fulfillment networks are not built for the increased delivery expectations. Plus, the cost and complexity to upgrade these networks is high.”
Strategies to prepare for tomorrow’s delivery reality
“You can’t improve what you can’t see. You can’t fix what you can’t control.”
Laloum shared three strategies to build an omnichannel delivery infrastructure that adapts to changing customer expectations:
- Diversify carrier networks: Use a mix of national, regional, and on-demand carriers. Ensure the custom-built carrier network can shift volumes dynamically to handle spikes or delays.
- Make delivery options visible before checkout: Customers make purchase decisions based on fulfillment. A/B test the UI to identify which options improve conversion.
- Connect the entire delivery stack: From routing and visibility to customer communication and support, systems should talk to each other and be able to react fast.
“If possible, connect these steps through a single, integrated system,” said Laloum.
The bottom line: delivery promises are brand promises
“The customer experience isn’t separate from delivery. It’s defined by it. If a business can’t deliver well, it can’t compete.”
Businesses that treat delivery as a secondary function will lose relevance as eCommerce climbs.
“Engage around delivery from the beginning of the shopping experience to increase conversion rates,” said Laloum. “Then, meet the delivery promise and it will improve market position and customer loyalty.
“Retailers that neglect the customer experience will lose market share and relevance. It’s not just about improving the experience, it’s about transforming the entire business model to stay viable.”
Want even more insight? Download the full 2025 State of the Last Mile report.
