The formula behind a winning delivery experience

That delivery has become a buying decision, not a back-end detail. 48% of European shoppers abandoned their cart due to delivery issues in the last 3 months, 77% experienced at least one problem with their most recent delivery, and 76% prefer stores that show a specific delivery date at checkout. In 2026, shoppers make up their mind at checkout. And when the experience falls short, they don’t stick around.

Three structural shifts stand out in the data:

1. Marketplaces dominate the start of the journey. They are used by 49% of all European shoppers, and by a remarkable 93% in the UK.
2. AI-assisted shopping has gone mainstream. 43% of European shoppers have used an AI tool to decide where to buy a product, and 19% say it influenced their final decision.
3. The post-purchase experience has quietly become a loyalty battleground. 77% of shoppers are more loyal to retailers who handle delivery issues transparently.

These trends point to the same thing. The buying decision is happening earlier in the journey, and the loyalty decision happens after delivery. Most retailers are still not planning for this shift.

Delivery, by a clear margin. 48% of European shoppers abandoned their cart due to delivery issues in the last 3 months, and 29% stopped ordering from a store after a bad experience.

Most of these issues can be fixed at checkout, before logistics even come into play.

Quite a lot. Online shopping data from the UK, Germany, and France looks very different from Belgium, Italy, or Spain. German shoppers prioritise speed. Belgians are happy to wait. French shoppers reward easy returns and expect clear delivery dates. And shoppers in Italy and Spain are the most active on WhatsApp.

A single pan-European delivery promise won’t perform across all markets.

Buying internationally is mainstream, but still fragile. 64% of European shoppers ordered from a store outside their country in the last 6 months, led by Austria and Italy at 73% each.

But the biggest barriers aren’t speed. They’re uncertain. Unexpected delivery costs (19%), longer delivery times than expected (17%), and surprise customs duties (16%) still hold shoppers back.

The unlock isn’t faster shipping. It’s clear that landed costs and reliable delivery dates. In fact, 20% of shoppers say this would make them more likely to buy internationally.

The E-commerce Delivery Compass study is based on an online survey of 8 000 consumers across 8 European markets: the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, France, the UK, Italy, and Spain. Each country includes 1 000 respondents aged 18–65, all online shoppers, with an even split across genders.

The survey was conducted in March 2026 and covered 28 questions on shopping habits, checkout behavior, delivery expectations, returns, post-purchase communication, cross-border shopping, and AI-assisted buying.

Every finding is benchmarked against a global average and broken down by country, so you can compare performance and spot opportunities.

It’s built for e-commerce decision-makers (retailers, operations and logistics leads, CX, and marketing teams) who want reliable data to guide delivery, returns, and post-purchase decisions.

It’s also useful for partners, carriers, and press looking for fresh, pan-European e-commerce insights.

The report is free and ungated. You can download it, share it, cite it, and use it in your own content. If you reference it, please attribute it to “Sendcloud, E-commerce Delivery Compass 2026.”