Lauren Mitchell
Bungii | Client Executive
Retail delivery has changed fast. Not long ago, performance was mostly judged on cost and speed. Those things still matter, but they no longer tell the whole story.
In my day-to-day conversations with retail operators, the ask is simple. Customers want to know what’s happening, when it’s happening, and trust that it’ll get done right. With large and bulky deliveries, that expectation only gets tighter because the complexity is real and the tolerance for failure is low.
As a result, retailers are taking a closer look at how their fulfillment strategies are set up and whether their last-mile delivery models can actually meet customer expectations.
What customers expect from retail delivery today
Across retail, delivery expectations are being set by how people shop and the level of service they’re used to everywhere else. Customers expect the same confidence and visibility whether they’re ordering a phone charger or a sectional couch.
In my experience, expectations today come down to a few core things:
- Customers want reliable, predictable timing: Same-day delivery matters, but reliable delivery matters more.
- They expect real-time visibility: Customers plan their day around delivery, and they want tracking that reflects what is actually happening.
- Damage tolerance is extremely low: When something arrives damaged, customers associate that experience with the retailer.
- Returns and reverse logistics need to be easy: Customers expect returns to be part of the delivery experience, not a complicated process they have to figure out after the fact.
- Coverage and flexibility also matter: Retailers are expected to serve rural and hard-to-reach areas, not just dense urban markets. Delivery outside normal business hours, including evenings and weekends, is also expected.
Even though big and bulky deliveries are much harder to execute, customers still compare every experience to the best delivery they’ve had anywhere else.
Where retailers struggle to meet these expectations
Most retailers shipping large, bulky items aren’t failing because teams aren’t trying. The issue is that many delivery models were built for a different era, and they’re now being pushed beyond what they were designed to handle.
Based on conversations with retail teams and what we see in the data, a few gaps show up again and again:
- Inconsistent carrier performance: To achieve coverage, retailers often rely on a mix of regional providers. Each carrier has its own standards, technology, and service levels. But that inconsistency leads to unpredictable delivery performance and uneven customer experiences across markets.
- Limited real-time visibility: Many retailers still rely on EDI-based updates that provide batched information rather than live tracking. Without up-to-the-minute data, it becomes difficult to proactively communicate with customers or resolve issues before they escalate.
- Rescheduled and missed deliveries: Industry averages show reschedule rates between 50-60% for large item orders. Retailers often underestimate how much these failures impact customer trust and internal teams. Every missed window increases support volume and operational cost.
- Driver standards: When retailers prioritize lowest-cost options, they often sacrifice training, certification, and consistent SOPs. That leads to poor handling, higher damage rates, and negative customer interactions.
- Friction within internal workflows: Managing bookings across multiple carriers, relying on manual processes, and handling reverse logistics reactively makes it difficult to standardize execution. Store-level inconsistency exacerbates the problem, particularly for retailers with national footprints.
These gaps get expensive fast when deliveries involve large or high-value items. The recoveries are harder, the downstream impact is bigger, and the damage to customer trust tends to stick.
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Why large and oversized items raise the stakes
Large and oversized items change how delivery works at a fundamental level. These products are heavy, awkward, and harder to handle, which means planning has to start well before a truck ever pulls up.
Once an order is placed, teams have to think through staging, handling requirements, and what’s needed to load and unload safely. If items aren’t staged and ready, dwell times increase and delay not only that route but create downstream impact on delivery operations.
Vehicle selection is another variable that can’t be an afterthought. Big and bulky deliveries need the right equipment, whether that’s a pickup, cargo van, box truck, or something larger. Put the wrong vehicle on the job and you’ve introduced risk before the delivery even starts.
Details around access and coordination matter on both ends. Gated communities, apartments, stairs, elevators, and tight hallways all impact execution and require realistic time buffers.
On top of that, many customers expect room-of-choice delivery or basic assembly, even when the retailer is planning for curbside or threshold delivery. When those expectations aren’t captured and communicated clearly, the experience breaks down fast.
What actually builds trust in the delivery experience
When delivery goes well, it builds trust in the brand. When it doesn’t, customers remember that, too. From what I’ve seen, a few things matter most if you want the delivery experience to meet customers expectations:
- Accurate delivery windows are essential: Once a window is provided, customers expect delivery within that timeframe. Shorter windows (like 2–4 hours) signal confidence, reduce missed handoffs, and make it easier for customers to plan without holding an entire day hostage.
- Real-time visibility supports that trust: Customers want to be able to track the delivery so they can plan their schedules accordingly, especially for high-value items.
- On-time delivery within the promised window is critical: Early delivery is not always better if the customer is not prepared to receive the item.
- Condition on arrival is non-negotiable: Damage leads to returns, refunds, lost future sales, and long-term brand distrust.
When issues do occur, recovery matters. Speed and responsive customer support make a measurable difference.
What a modern retail delivery strategy looks like
When retailers ask me what “good” looks like today, I usually start with execution that’s flexible but consistent enough to scale. That often means working with a nationwide last-mile partner, so performance and delivery KPIs don’t change market to market or customer to customer.
From there, fulfillment has to support how customers actually buy. Same-day and scheduled delivery, in-home service, reverse logistics, and internal transfers all need to run inside one coordinated setup, not as separate workflows.
Technology is what makes that coordination realistic. API integrations, shared dashboards, and real-time alerts give teams the visibility and control they need across the delivery network.
And clear SOPs hold it all together. Delivery standards defined by product, item, or store make expectations clear and help every delivery professional execute the same way, every time.
One practical step retailers can take today
Improving delivery performance doesn’t always mean buying new systems or adding headcount. One of the fastest ways to see improvement is tightening up how bulky items get handed off.
That starts with a single pickup-readiness checklist for store teams. Packaging, staging, and labeling for large items should be consistent, so drivers can show up and execute without friction.
It also means training staff to capture accurate delivery notes at the point of sale. When that information is documented clearly and passed along, everything downstream runs smoother.
Aligning fulfillment strategy with modern retail expectations
No matter the product or delivery location, retail delivery expectations will continue to evolve. Customers expect visibility from start to finish, along with careful handling and a clean handoff.
Retailers that align their fulfillment approach with how customers actually buy today are in a better position to protect margins and scale delivery without constant fire drills.
At the end of the day, a modern delivery strategy is about clear standards, consistent execution, and doing what you said you were going to do.
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