What Customers Actually Value About Faster Delivery in 2026

Sep 30

6 min read

Consumers still value speed — but reliability, convenience, sustainability and the overall delivery experience are shaping what “fast” really means.

Smiling delivery man in red cap and jacket hands a package to a woman at a bright doorway.

For years, faster delivery has been one of the clearest ways retailers have competed for online customers. Two-day shipping became a standard, next-day delivery raised the bar again, and more recently, same-day delivery has moved from a premium offering toward a competitive capability.

In 2026, however, the more useful question isn’t whether customers want faster delivery, but what they actually value about it.

Findings from Ryder’s 2026 E-commerce Consumer Study suggests that speed still carries significant weight. The study, based on a March 2026 survey of 1,160 consumers who shop online, found that expectations for one to two-day delivery reached a four-year high.

It also found that 39% of shoppers make online purchases often or sometimes specifically because a company offers same-day delivery.

But those findings are only part of the story. Ryder’s research describes a consumer who is increasingly balancing speed with cost, convenience, sustainability, and a broader shopping experience.

In other words, shoppers are weighing multiple forms of value when deciding where and how to buy.

For retailers, this perspective suggests that faster delivery is not automatically a better delivery. If an order arrives quickly but outside the promised window, provides little visibility along the way, or creates additional friction for the customer, some of the value of speed is lost.

Similarly, a study published in Sustainability finds that last-mile delivery is an important part of the online retail experience, with factors such as delivery speed, tracking, delivery options, and service quality influencing customer satisfaction — and future purchasing behavior.

Speed Is Only Part of the Equation

Ryder’s research suggests that retailers cannot simply move past speed as a consumer priority. Expectations for one to two-day shipping have rebounded, while 76% of shoppers say fast shipping is more important than being able to choose a specific delivery date.

That figure alone represents a sizeable shift from recent years, when delivery-date flexibility had gained more ground.

It’s clear that customers will continue to expect orders to arrive quickly, but for retailers, meeting that expectation should be viewed as the beginning of the delivery experience, not the end.

Speed has value because it reduces waiting. The broader delivery experience determines whether that reduced waiting actually feels convenient, reliable, and worthwhile.

Let’s consider reliability. Ryder found that 42% of shoppers cited a lack of confidence in the stated delivery time as a reason for choosing to shop in-store rather than online, meaning that the promise surrounding a delivery can matter almost as much as the delivery itself.

42% of shoppers cite a lack of confidence in the stated delivery time as a reason to shop in-store.

Academic research supports that broader view. In its analysis of last-mile delivery quality, Khalid Aljohani’s 2024 study in Sustainability found that customers’ perceptions of delivery quality are influenced by factors including whether deliveries arrive within the promised timeframe and whether convenient collection and tracking options are available.

The study also found that poor delivery experiences can negatively affect customers’ willingness to purchase again. Simply put, retailers and delivery providers shouldn’t make promises they can’t keep.

Fast delivery creates an expectation, while reliability determines whether that expectation translates to value.

That distinction helps explain why the latest consumer research is not simply a story about retailers needing to move packages faster but rather a story about consumers becoming more discerning about the delivery experience.

Convenience Goes Beyond Delivery Speed

Like speed, reliability is only part of the equation. Customers also place value on how easily delivery fits into their personal lives.

A package that arrives in two hours is not necessarily more convenient than one arriving tomorrow if the customer has no idea when it will arrive.

Ryder’s 2026 research points to a growing preference for flexibility across the broader fulfillment experience. The study found that consumers continue to use alternatives to traditional ship-to-home delivery, including Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS), curbside pickup and remote pickup locations. Remote pickup in particular saw substantial year-over-year growth.

The research also highlights how delivery and physical retail experience increasingly overlap. Among shoppers who had picked up or returned an online purchase in-store, 52% said they often made additional purchases during those visits.

52% of shoppers who pick up or return online purchases in-store often make additional purchases.

Ryder also found that shoppers choose in-store fulfillment for several delivery-related reasons, including avoiding shipping fees, avoiding porch piracy, and importantly, a lack of confidence in the stated delivery time.

These findings, take together, suggest that convenience should not be reduced to a single delivery speed.

In some situations, same-day delivery may be the most convenient choice. In others, scheduled delivery, store pickup, or another fulfillment option may create more value.

The Delivery Experience Does Not End at the Door

Customer experience also extends beyond the moment a package arrives. What customers receive, how it is packaged, and what the delivery communicates about the brand can all influence how they perceive the transaction.

Ryder's packaging findings provide an interesting example. Among shoppers who preferred boxes for online orders, 32% said they believed boxes provided better protection in transit, while 29% cited reusability.

Meanwhile, 20% identified environmental benefits as a reason for their preference — a figure that increased six percentage points year over year.

Supply Chain Dive's coverage of the Ryder study highlights this shift as part of a broader change in consumer packaging priorities. The important point for retailers is not that sustainability has replaced speed or other considerations. Rather, consumers appear to be evaluating more dimensions of the transaction at the same time.

That is also reflected in Ryder's findings on the unboxing experience. Sustainable packaging became more influential year over year, while premium packaging experiences also gained ground as factors that could encourage customers to shop with a brand again.

That said, retailers should consider that the last mile is not experienced solely as transportation. From the delivery promise and tracking experience to the condition and presentation of the order at the doorstep, multiple interactions contribute to the customer's perception of fulfillment.

Research on last-mile customer experience supports this broader view. A study published in Mathematics identified several dimensions of the last-mile experience, including delivery efficiency, parcel tracking, smooth delivery, convenience, and the customer's anticipation of receiving the order. The research suggests that the delivery experience encompasses both functional elements — such as getting the package to the customer — and experiential elements surrounding that process.

For retailers, that means improving delivery may require looking beyond the delivery time itself. A faster order can create value, but so can a clearer delivery window, better visibility, fewer points of friction and an experience that feels consistent with the brand.

Sustainability Shows That Faster Is Not Always the Goal

If speed were the only thing customers valued, the fastest possible delivery would always be the preferred option. Ryder's research suggests otherwise. While consumers increasingly expect fast shipping, 74% say they would be willing to wait longer for an online order if doing so reduced its environmental impact.

That does not mean consumers have suddenly become indifferent to delivery speed. Instead, it shows that customers are willing to make tradeoffs when another benefit matters to them.

74% of consumers would wait longer for an online order if it reduced its environmental impact.

Ryder found that 57% of shoppers would be willing to pay more for a brand that takes at least one step to reduce the environmental impact of e-commerce, including using eco-friendly packaging, more fuel-efficient transportation methods or ethically sourced materials.

These findings align with research published in Transportation Research Part D, which examined U.S. consumers' preferences for sustainable last-mile delivery alternatives. The study found that delivery time and cost remain important, but consumers' willingness to choose more sustainable options can increase when those options provide meaningful benefits and convenience.

More recent research adds another dimension to the issue. Another study from the publication found that customers' willingness to wait can give retailers and logistics providers greater flexibility to manage delivery volumes. Under certain operating models, flexibility can reduce fleet requirements and associated emissions.

The implication is not that retailers should make customers wait. It is that the fastest possible delivery should not automatically be treated as the most valuable delivery. When customers are given meaningful choices — and understand the value of those choices — speed can become one consideration among several.

The Future of Fast Delivery Is Not Just Faster

Consumers have not stopped caring about delivery speed. If anything, Ryder's 2026 research shows that expectations for fast delivery are strengthening. But the same research also reveals a consumer who is increasingly evaluating the broader value of the purchase experience — from shipping costs and delivery flexibility to packaging, sustainability and returns.

That creates a more nuanced challenge for retailers. The goal is not simply to move orders from a fulfillment location to a customer's doorstep as quickly as possible. It is to make that process reliable, visible, convenient, and consistent with what the customer expects from the brand.

In 2026, faster delivery still matters. But the real opportunity for retailers is to stop treating speed as the entire customer experience and start treating it as one component of a better one.