Poor Delivery: A Stark Reality Costing UK Retailers Billions at Checkout

You Know Your Abandonment Rate. Do You Know What It’s Costing You?

In 2025, an estimated

£36 Billion

worth of online baskets are abandoned across UK retail. While shoppers abandon checkout for many reasons, delivery remains one of the biggest factors retailers can influence.

The latest GFS & Retail Economics UK Delivery Benchmark Report 2026 found that 22.3% of shoppers abandon checkout because the delivery experience doesn’t meet their expectations, rising to 29% among high-value, high-frequency shoppers.

For retailers, this presents one of the biggest opportunities to improve conversion.

22.3%

Average basket abandonment rate due to delivery across UK retail.

That’s nearly 1 in 4 online purchases failing to reach completion due to poor delivery options, rising to 29% among the highest-value shoppers retailers most want to retain.

Why Are Customers Abandoning?

77%

Of retailers charge more than £3.50 for standard delivery — the upper limit shoppers say they’re willing to pay.

51%

Of shoppers have abandoned a purchase because delivery charges didn’t meet their expectations.

59%

Of all shoppers have abandoned a purchase or switched retailer because delivery options didn’t match what they needed, rising to 73% among high-value shoppers.

73%

Of shoppers are less likely to shop again with a retailer that misses its delivery promise. Our mystery shop found 29% of retailers either missed or nearly missed their own delivery estimate.

Source: GFS Battling Basket Abandonment Report 2026

The Delivery Choice Gap

5

Delivery options high-value shoppers expect to see at checkout.

Only 2.6

The average number retailers actually offer.

Just 15%

of retailers meet the benchmark high-value shoppers expect, and 15% offer neither next-day nor express delivery.

Delivery is one of the biggest conversion opportunities retailers can influence

Retailers can’t control every reason a customer abandons their basket.

Pricing, product availability and payment preferences all play a role.

Delivery is different.

It’s one of the few checkout factors retailers can actively improve.

Whether it’s offering greater delivery choice, clearer delivery information, more competitive delivery pricing or a broader carrier mix, improving the delivery experience can help reduce delivery-related checkout abandonment and recover revenue that might otherwise be lost.

Understanding the commercial impact of delivery is the first step towards making smarter delivery decisions.

How Much Revenue Could Your Delivery Experience Be Costing You?

Calculate impact

Understanding your basket abandonment rate tells you what is happening.

Understanding your delivery impact helps you understand what it could be costing your business.

Our eCommerce Delivery Impact Calculator estimates the potential revenue your business could be losing due to delivery-related checkout abandonment using exclusive benchmarks from the latest UK Delivery Benchmark Report 2026.

Your tailored results will help you:

  • Estimate the revenue at risk due to delivery-related checkout abandonment.

  • Understand the commercial impact of your current delivery proposition.

  • Build a stronger business case for delivery improvements.

  • Identify opportunities to improve conversion through delivery.

  • Prioritise initiatives that can help recover lost sales and strengthen customer loyalty.

Calculate impact