Recently, a comprehensive report on the state of ecommerce order fulfillment was released by ShipBob. It mentions the importance of delivery speed and distributed networks, and features hundreds of other key insights that ecommerce brands need to keep in mind. It highlights both how the industry performed in 2025 and the things companies are prioritizing in 2026.
Recent Report Reveals the State of Ecommerce Fulfillment in 2026
The report released by ShipBob, a global ecommerce fulfillment company, is based on anonymized data from the hundreds of millions of units that the company fulfilled globally in 2025, as well as insights from a survey of over 400 ecommerce brand executives about their plans for 2026.
It touches on a variety of topics related to ecommerce fulfillment, and gives brands an inside look at what their peers are doing in 2026 and what they did in 2025.
The Importance of Rapid Delivery Speed
One of the major keys to fulfillment, according to the research, is speed. In fact, the report indicates that 69% of brands aim to deliver domestic orders in 2 to 3 days. Many companies are prioritizing delivery speeds and going even beyond these numbers, as well.
For example, Amazon recently broke its record for delivery speed in 2025, as it delivered 13 billion items either same-day or next-day globally.
This prioritization by companies makes sense due to how much people value getting their items quickly. Delivery speed is one of the most important elements of online shopping for customers, and is among the fulfillment details that matter the most to them, alongside things like free shipping and customer service quality.
Quick deliveries ensure optimal convenience for customers and give them the instant gratification they seek without having to wait forever to use the item they were just so excited to buy. Rapid deliveries also reduce anxiety and increase trust among customers.
If someone is waiting a long time for a package to arrive, they’ll often be worrying when it’ll come, if it got lost, or whether they got scammed. If it arrives soon after ordering, they don’t have the time to start worrying or questioning its legitimacy.
Also, if people are buying essentials like groceries, medication, and other items online, quick deliveries are often necessary, as opposed to simply being a “nice-to-have” luxury.
A Distributed Fulfilment Network Is a Differentiator
Another crucial aspect of fulfillment going forward is having a distributed fulfillment network. Instead of relying on a single fulfillment center to deliver your products across the country, a distributed network spreads your inventory across multiple strategically-placed locations.
This allows for faster and more affordable deliveries, improves your operational efficiency, and even lowers your carbon footprint thanks to items needing to travel a shorter distance to reach their destination.
Many companies are realizing these benefits and making the switch to a distributed fulfillment network. In fact, while 36% of companies still just ship from one fulfillment center, 35% ship from two, 12% ship from three, 5% ship from four, and 7% ship from five or more. The number of companies shipping from two fulfillment centers is also up 17% year-over-year.
Also, 44% of brands are planning to increase the number of fulfillment centers they ship from, compared to only 4% that are planning to decrease the number.
According to the report, 16% of companies use self-fulfillment, 34% use third-party logistics (3PL) providers only, 44% use hybrid fulfillment, 5% use Amazon only, and 1% use another method.
However, the number of companies using self-fulfillment is down 15% year-over-year, while the use of hybrid fulfillment is up 8% year-over-year. This highlights that more companies are open to expanding their networks to provide faster, cheaper, and more reliable deliveries to customers.
A Major Shift to Omnichannel Selling
In addition to going over the importance of delivery speed and having a distributed fulfillment network, the report also covered the growing prevalence of omnichannel selling. 86% of brands are already selling on two or more channels (up 8% year-over-year), and 75% of brands are planning to add at least one more sales channel in 2026.
Also, only 13% of companies sell on a single channel, which is less than the 15% that sell on five or more. As a result, if your company is relying on a single channel to sell, it may be time to broaden your scope, or you risk lagging behind your competition.
Selling on multiple channels can drastically expand your reach and sales opportunities, reduce risk, boost brand visibility, and improve customer experience, as you give them the flexibility to shop and engage with your brand in different ways.
As ecommerce brands fine-tune their fulfillment strategies for 2026, I believe the insights covered in this report are crucial to consider. They show that companies are prioritizing the speed and cost of deliveries, and also identifying opportunities to improve the experience for customers.
When customer expectations change, it’s up to ecommerce brands to meet them. While costly deliveries that take a week or longer were once the norm, customers now expect more. If you can’t offer them the speed, reliability, and overall experience that they’re after, they may search for it elsewhere.
