AI Spend Is Surging: What Operations Leaders Need to Do Now (Insights from ShipStation's 2026 Report)
Retailers are betting big on AI to fix delivery speed, cost, and visibility. According to ShipStation's Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report 2026, 90% of global retailers plan to increase AI investments over the next 12-24 months. North America is setting the pace, with more retailers there actively scaling and exploring AI than in Europe.
The driver is simple: customer expectations have outpaced current delivery capabilities. If you own delivery performance in your org, this is your window to tighten SLAs, compress costs, and rebuild trust in the last mile.
Key findings that matter for ops
- US retailers are the most optimistic globally about ecommerce growth in 2026 and expect higher online sales vs. last year.
- 90% of global retailers plan to increase AI investments to optimize operations within 12-24 months.
- North America leads: 61% are actively growing AI usage (vs. 50% in Europe), and 28% have scaled AI across several functions (vs. 17% in Europe).
- Delivery gap: 59% of North American consumers expect two-day delivery, but only 40% of retailers offer it as standard.
- Pricing signal: $5-$9 is the sweet spot customers will pay for premium delivery, yet only 42% of U.S. retailers price within that band.
Where AI will move the needle first
- Delivery execution (44%): Faster SLAs, better tracking accuracy, proactive customer comms.
- Predictive fulfillment (39%): Demand forecasting, inventory placement, and pick-pack-ship optimization.
- Reverse logistics (26%): Smarter returns routing, refurbishment decisions, and cycle-time reduction.
"AI is no longer a futuristic concept-it's a necessity for shippers looking to compete effectively and meet evolving consumer demands," said Kelly Vincent, Chief Product Officer at Auctane, ShipStation's parent company.
What to do in the next 90 days
- Close the two-day gap: Model ZIP3 coverage and commit to two-day SLAs in your top metro clusters. Use carrier-service mapping with automated rules to protect margins.
- Get promise dates right: Combine order cut-off logic, fulfillment capacity, and lane-level transit predictions to set accurate delivery promises on PDP and checkout.
- Reduce WISMO at the source: Trigger proactive alerts on exceptions, missed scans, and weather holds. Push ETA updates via SMS/email before customers ask.
- Tune premium shipping price points: A/B test $5-$9 and watch conversion, attach rate, and margin. Reprice weekly until you hit stability.
- Streamline returns: Auto-approve low-risk SKUs, issue dynamic labels, and route to the nearest node or resale partner to shrink cycle time.
Stack and data prerequisites
- Unified data layer: Orders, inventory, location capacity, carrier events, and cost-to-serve need to be accessible in one place.
- Decisioning at the edge: Automate carrier selection, packing logic, and exception handling inside your WMS/TMS or shipping platform.
- Human-in-the-loop: Keep ops oversight for edge cases (hazmat, oversized, tight delivery windows) while your models learn.
Costs and constraints you'll face
- Top 2026 hurdles in North America: Adopting AI and emerging tech (33%), fulfillment costs (29%), and multi-channel inventory management (26%).
- Smaller retailers (under $125m): 53% cite high AI development costs; 35% struggle to integrate with legacy systems.
- Larger retailers ($625m+): 47% report shortages in skilled expertise; 53% face customer resistance and trust issues.
Practical ways to de-risk adoption
- Pilot with tight scopes: Start with delivery promise accuracy or returns triage. Define a clear pre/post KPI set.
- Use proxy metrics: Track WISMO contacts per 1,000 orders, scan-to-scan latency, and on-time delivery confidence bands-not just average speed.
- Create a change playbook: SOPs for exceptions, escalation paths, and weekly reviews until variance stabilizes.
Metrics that prove it's working
- Two-day coverage (% of orders with guaranteed two-day)
- On-time delivery rate and ETA accuracy variance
- Cost per order by lane and package profile
- WISMO rate and first-contact resolution
- Return cycle time and recovery rate
- Premium shipping attach rate at $5-$9
Why this matters for 2026 planning
Demand is up, expectations are higher, and tolerance for missed promises is down. AI won't fix a broken process, but it will scale a good one. If you can align inventory placement, carrier selection, and customer comms under one decision layer, you'll gain speed without inflating costs.
Get the report and background
The Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report 2026 was developed by ShipStation with research from Retail Economics, surveying more than 8,000 consumers and 400 senior ecommerce decision makers across the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, and Australia. For a copy of the report, reach out to media@auctane.com.
Learn more about ShipStation at shipstation.com and the research partner at retaileconomics.co.uk.
Further resources for operations and supply chain leaders
About ShipStation
ShipStation is an intelligent shipping and logistics platform used by tens of thousands of ecommerce businesses to import orders and process shipments across 400+ integrations, including carriers and commerce platforms such as USPS, UPS, FedEx, GlobalPost, Amazon, Shopify, and BigCommerce. ShipStation is part of the Auctane family and is headquartered in Austin, TX. Visit shipstation.com for more.
Your membership also unlocks:
