Ryder 2026 E-Commerce Study Reveals Shifting Consumer Priorities Beyond Price
Ryder System, Inc. has released its 12th annual benchmark study examining the changing behavior, expectations and preferences of U.S. online shoppers. The 2026 study, titled “Beyond Price: What’s Driving Consumer Shopping Behavior,” provides insight into how consumers are navigating an increasingly complex retail environment in which convenience, affordability, technology, fulfillment and overall shopping experience all influence purchasing decisions.
The study is particularly significant as retailers continue to adapt to rapid changes in e-commerce. Consumers today have access to more shopping options, fulfillment methods and digital tools than ever before. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence are changing how shoppers discover products and evaluate brands, while expectations for faster delivery and easier returns continue to evolve.
Ryder’s research suggests that consumers are no longer making purchasing decisions based on a single factor. Instead, they are weighing multiple considerations simultaneously. Price remains important, but factors such as convenience, product quality, sustainability, delivery speed, fulfillment flexibility and returns can significantly influence whether a shopper completes a purchase or remains loyal to a retailer.
The 2026 findings are based on a survey of 1,160 U.S. online shoppers conducted in March 2026. The results offer brands and retailers actionable insights into how they can strengthen e-commerce and omnichannel strategies while responding to increasingly sophisticated consumer expectations.
Artificial Intelligence Becomes a Major Part of the Shopping Journey
One of the most notable findings from the study is the growing influence of artificial intelligence on online shopping. According to Ryder, 64% of consumers surveyed now use AI-assisted shopping tools.
The growing adoption of AI demonstrates that artificial intelligence is moving beyond experimentation and becoming part of everyday consumer behavior. Rather than relying exclusively on conventional search engines, product pages or individual retailer websites, shoppers are increasingly turning to AI-powered tools to help them identify products, compare options and understand information.
Among consumers using AI shopping tools, 45% use search and shopping assistants, making them the most popular AI-enabled shopping feature identified in the study.
Other popular AI applications include customer review summaries and key takeaways, used by 37% of AI-shopping consumers. Visual or image-based search follows at 33%, while 31% use voice assistants and another 31% use virtual try-on or visualization tools.
These findings have important implications for retailers and brands. Product visibility is no longer limited to traditional search engine rankings or placement within a retailer’s website. As consumers increasingly rely on AI-generated recommendations and summaries, brands must consider how their product information can be discovered, interpreted and presented by AI-powered systems.
Jeff Wolpov, Ryder Senior Vice President of E-commerce and Ryder Last Mile, said the company’s findings demonstrate that AI is fundamentally changing online shopping behavior. He noted that consumers are increasingly incorporating generative AI into activities that were traditionally handled through search engines.
For retailers, this creates a new digital optimization challenge. Product descriptions, specifications, reviews and other information must be clear, accurate and structured in ways that allow AI-powered shopping tools to understand and surface products effectively.
Consumers Are Looking Beyond Price
Price remains one of the most important factors influencing consumers, but Ryder’s research shows that shoppers are increasingly considering other aspects of a product and brand.
This shift is particularly visible in the apparel and beauty categories. The importance of price in purchase decisions among apparel shoppers declined 12% year over year, while its influence among beauty shoppers fell 13%.
The decline in beauty represents a particularly notable change, with price reaching a three-year low as a purchase consideration in that category.
At the same time, other product attributes gained importance. Factors including product materials and ingredients, environmental impact and ethical practices collectively increased by 13% for each group.
This suggests that consumers are increasingly interested in understanding what they are buying and how products align with their expectations and values. For brands, simply competing on price may therefore be insufficient.
Retailers may benefit from communicating information about product composition, sourcing, manufacturing practices and environmental considerations more clearly. Transparency can help consumers understand the value behind a product rather than evaluating it solely based on its price tag.
The trend also highlights the importance of product information across digital channels. As shoppers use AI tools, reviews, social content and online product pages to conduct research, brands need consistent and accessible information throughout the customer journey.
Omnichannel Fulfillment Is Becoming More Important
Another major theme emerging from Ryder’s 2026 research is the continued evolution of omnichannel shopping.
Consumers increasingly expect retailers to provide multiple ways to receive and return purchases. Ship-to-home remains an important fulfillment method, but shoppers are also embracing alternatives that provide greater flexibility.
One of the most significant changes in this year’s study is the rise of remote locker and location pickup, which increased 14% compared with the previous year.
The growth of this fulfillment method means that remote pickup locations and lockers have surpassed Buy Online, Pickup In-Store, commonly known as BOPIS, and curbside pickup as the leading alternative fulfillment option compared with traditional home delivery.
The trend demonstrates that convenience does not necessarily mean delivering every package directly to a customer’s home. Consumers may prefer pickup locations that fit more easily into their daily routines, particularly when those locations provide greater flexibility around timing and accessibility.
Retailers that offer multiple fulfillment choices can therefore appeal to consumers with different schedules and shopping preferences.
Stores Remain Valuable in an E-Commerce World
Although online shopping continues to grow, Ryder’s research also highlights the important role physical stores continue to play.
According to the study, 86% of consumers surveyed have picked up or returned an online purchase in a store, representing a 3% year-over-year increase.
Even more significant is what happens after shoppers enter the store.
Among consumers who have picked up or returned online purchases in-store, 52% now say they often make additional purchases while there, an increase of 17% year over year.
The finding demonstrates that stores can function as more than fulfillment points. They can also create opportunities for retailers to generate additional revenue and strengthen relationships with customers.
A consumer arriving at a store to collect an online purchase may browse additional products, discover promotions or make an unplanned purchase. This creates a connection between digital commerce and physical retail that retailers can use to improve both convenience and sales.
The results suggest that an effective omnichannel strategy should not treat online and offline channels as separate operations. Instead, retailers can integrate inventory, fulfillment, customer service and returns across channels to create a more consistent experience.
Consumers Want Faster Delivery
Delivery expectations are also changing.
Free shipping remains the leading shipping-related purchase factor, with 62% of consumers identifying it as influential. However, its influence declined 14% year over year.
At the same time, expectations for faster delivery are rising sharply. Thirty-nine percent of shoppers now expect their orders to arrive within one to two days, representing a four-year high.
This creates a complicated challenge for retailers. Consumers continue to value free shipping, but they are also becoming more demanding about how quickly their purchases arrive.
Retailers must therefore balance shipping costs with delivery speed. Faster fulfillment can require strategically positioned inventory, efficient warehouse operations, reliable transportation networks and sophisticated last-mile capabilities.
The findings indicate that consumers increasingly view delivery as a core part of the shopping experience rather than simply the final step after a purchase.
Unexpected Shipping Costs Continue to Drive Cart Abandonment
Despite the declining influence of free shipping as an overall purchase factor, shipping costs remain extremely important when consumers reach checkout.
Ryder found that 71% of surveyed consumers have abandoned items in their carts because of unexpected shipping fees.
This highlights the importance of transparency throughout the purchasing process. A customer may be willing to buy a product at a particular price but reconsider the transaction when additional shipping charges appear late in checkout.
Nearly half of consumers, 48%, also research which brands provide free or lower-cost shipping before making purchases.
Meanwhile, 73% of shoppers have added products to their carts to qualify for free shipping, representing the highest level recorded in the study since 2023.
For retailers, free-shipping thresholds can therefore serve both as a conversion tool and a mechanism for increasing basket size. However, unclear or unexpected fees can have the opposite effect by causing customers to abandon purchases.
Returns Can Determine Whether Customers Come Back
The importance of fulfillment extends beyond delivery. Returns have become another critical component of the customer experience.
Ryder’s findings show that consumers are almost evenly divided when it comes to their preferred return method. Fifty-two percent prefer returning online purchases in-store, while 48% prefer returning products through the mail or a drop-off location.
The near-even split demonstrates why retailers may need to provide multiple return options rather than relying on a single method.
The consequences of a poor returns experience can be substantial. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they had experienced a returns issue that prevented them from shopping with a brand again.
Among these consumers, the lack of options to return online purchases either in-store or through the mail was cited equally as a problem.
This finding reinforces the idea that flexibility is central to customer loyalty. Different shoppers have different preferences, and retailers that restrict return options may create unnecessary friction.
Return Fees Are a Major Customer Loyalty Concern
Return shipping costs emerged as the most common complaint among consumers whose returns experiences negatively affected their loyalty. Fifty-five percent cited return shipping fees as an issue.
More broadly, 52% of all consumers surveyed said they are unwilling to purchase from a retailer that does not offer free returns.
For retailers, this creates a difficult economic balancing act. Returns can be expensive, particularly when transportation, processing, inspection, repackaging and inventory management are involved.
However, consumers increasingly view flexible and affordable returns as part of the value proposition of online shopping.
Retailers may therefore need to invest in more efficient reverse-logistics operations to control costs while maintaining customer-friendly policies.
Retailers Must Balance Multiple Consumer Expectations
Ryder’s 2026 study ultimately paints a picture of an e-commerce market that is becoming more sophisticated.
Consumers still care about price, but they are also evaluating product quality, ethical practices, sustainability, convenience and brand experience. They want fast delivery but continue to value free shipping. They shop online but remain willing to visit physical stores for pickup and returns. They increasingly use AI to discover and evaluate products while also expecting retailers to provide flexible fulfillment and return options.
These expectations mean retailers cannot rely on a single competitive advantage.
Wolpov emphasized that the retail environment is becoming more complex while simultaneously creating new opportunities for brands that can respond effectively. Successful retailers, he said, will need to balance pricing with customer experience, provide seamless omnichannel fulfillment and use AI and data-driven insights to respond to rising expectations for personalization, visibility and convenience.
The findings suggest that the next phase of e-commerce will be defined by integration. AI discovery, digital commerce, physical stores, fulfillment networks, shipping policies and returns operations are increasingly interconnected.
For brands and retailers, the challenge is not simply selling products online. It is creating a shopping ecosystem that makes every stage of the customer journey easier—from product discovery and comparison to checkout, delivery, pickup, returns and future purchases.
As consumer expectations continue to evolve, retailers that successfully combine technology, convenience, transparency and operational efficiency may be better positioned to build lasting customer relationships. Ryder’s 2026 study provides a clear indication that the modern consumer is looking for more than the lowest price: shoppers increasingly want a retail experience that delivers value, flexibility, speed and convenience at every step.
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