For Australian shoppers, delivery is no longer simply the final step of an online transaction. It is increasingly part of the purchase decision itself.

As e-commerce matures, customers are weighing up not only price, product range and convenience, but also how quickly and reliably an order can arrive. Australia Post’s eCommerce Report 2026 found Australians spent a record $82.6 billion online in 2025, while 73 per cent of shoppers said a positive delivery experience makes them more likely to shop online rather than in-store.

Same-day delivery is now a possibility for 24 million Australians, giving retailers a powerful way to meet customers’ need for speed when it matters most. The opportunity is underpinned by strong consumer demand, with 43 per cent of shoppers willing to pay more for same-day or next-day delivery, according to the report. This makes fast fulfilment a powerful differentiator at the point of purchase.

The store network becomes the advantage

As e-commerce competition intensifies, omnichannel retailers can draw on an advantage that many global pure plays do not have: An established network of local stores. By using those stores as fulfilment points, retailers can position inventory closer to customers and offer faster, more flexible delivery. The State of Shipping Report 2026 by Shippit found ship-from-store is already gaining momentum, with more than 15 per cent of orders now fulfilled and delivered within 15 kilometres of the customer, up five percentage points in two years.

Chemist Warehouse is using Rendr to deliver eligible over-the-counter pharmacy orders to customers within a two-hour service-level agreement, supporting its broader omnichannel fulfilment strategy by enabling orders to be fulfilled closer to customers. Based on July 2026 data covering approximately 32,000 orders, the model averaged 56 minutes from order placement to delivery. Today, eligible orders could be fulfilled from around 550 Chemist Warehouse stores across Australia, helping bring inventory closer to customers and supporting fast delivery.

David Brennan, GM of supply chain transformation at Chemist Warehouse, says this distributed model has changed the role stores play in its e-commerce operations. “With Rendr supporting fast delivery, we have been able to leverage our store network more effectively, keeping stock closer to customers and spreading fulfilment across the network,” Brennan stated.

The model also gives retailers a practical way to make use of their physical footprint as customer behaviour changes. Rendr’s delivery network map can help identify gaps in a retailer’s footprint and potential opportunities for new store locations. That insight can help inform future decisions around network planning, fulfilment capacity and customer access.

Fast delivery needs simple operations

Speed can quickly become a burden if it introduces multiple platforms, inconsistent processes or new tasks for store teams. The retail value of same-day delivery therefore depends as much on operational simplicity as it does on delivery velocity.

Before consolidating its fast-delivery service with Rendr, Chemist Warehouse offered same-day delivery through several providers. While this created options for customers, it also meant stores and franchisees had to navigate different delivery pathways.

The business consolidated its fast-delivery offer through Rendr, an Australia Post company, creating a single pathway for store teams to process these orders. Beyond enabling faster fulfilment, Rendr’s delivery-orchestration capability selects the most suitable provider according to the customer’s chosen delivery speed, all through a single platform. “There’s now one exit path for fast delivery,” Brennan said. “It comes in and says, you’re giving it to this driver, that’s it.”

Crucially, Chemist Warehouse did not have to create dedicated fulfilment roles in stores to support the additional channel. Instead, the process sits within the responsibilities of existing store teams.

That is an important consideration for retailers assessing faster delivery. The objective should not be to ask stores to become miniature warehouses overnight. It is to give them tools and workflows that fit naturally into day-to-day retail operations.

Turning urgency into growth

A fast-delivery proposition is most valuable when it responds to genuine customer urgency. In Chemist Warehouse’s case, that can mean a shopper who needs an everyday health product within hours, rather than days. Brennan believes customers often make “a value choice in the moment”, particularly when speed is paired with a relevant offer.

For retailers in other categories, the urgent need may look different: A last-minute gift, a replacement item, beauty essentials before an event or a household purchase that cannot wait. The common thread is choice. Customers do not necessarily expect every order to arrive the same day, but they increasingly expect retailers to offer delivery options that reflect their circumstances.

Younger shoppers are particularly receptive, with 59 per cent of Gen Z and Millennial consumers saying they are willing to pay more for same-day or next-day delivery, according to Australia Post’s 2026 e-commerce research.

Retailers do not need to build a new fulfilment network from scratch to compete. By connecting store inventory, delivery orchestration and an existing local footprint, they can make speed a more achievable and scalable part of the customer experience. In a market where convenience increasingly shapes loyalty, the retailers that turn proximity into a practical delivery advantage will be better placed to win the next purchase.

• To learn how Rendr can help simplify fast fulfilment and unlock store network value, head here.