Consumer Behavior

Shoppers want flexible delivery over free shipping

Photo: Adobe Stock

January 5, 2026

Consumers want reliable flexible delivery experience over free shipping, and 71% think about delivery before checkout and 41% consider delivery promise before browsing products.

Those are top findings from a Bringg's 2025 Delivery Experience Study that also revealed consumers expect free shipping

A good majority of shoppers, 75%, do more than half of their online shopping via Amazon which is known for free shipping. The data shows, however, competing on low-cost or free shipping isn't enough to stand out anymore, according to a press release on the study's findings.

Additional findings include:

• 72% rate on-time arrival as an essential delivery experience factor, outweighing delivery costs. 35% permanently abandon a retailer after a late delivery; this is a reliability failure, not a cost failure.
• 61% of shoppers abandon carts when delivery isn't flexible and 60% cite on-time guarantees as a key factor for completing checkout.
• 55% of shoppers stop buying from a brand after a single negative delivery experience.

"Delivery experience is embedded into retailers' brands and essential to loyalty. Price and speed don't build loyalty anymore; trust and consistency do," Guy Bloch, CEO at Bringg, said in the release. "Reliable, flexible delivery promises are the new differentiators as 80%-plus of power shoppers and 65% of regular shoppers spend more as a result of positive delivery experiences. Now, delivery is more than CSAT, it's margin."