With labour, fuel and maintenance costs continuing to rise, consumers are forking out an average of $11.30 for a delivery in 2026, up from  $10.39 a year ago, shipping software platform Shippit says.
More than 71 per cent of carrier companies said fuel price volatility was now their biggest operational challenge, while more than two in five had implemented fuel surcharges as a result, according to Shippit's State of Shipping report.
While delivery was faster and more reliable than ever, providing an accurate timeline for buyers was becoming crucial as players such as Amazon, Temu and Shein continued to grow market share.
The increasing share of Australia's retail spend heading to overseas companies was a major concern, Shippit co-founder and joint chief executive Rob Hango-Zada said.
"Protecting Australian retail and encouraging greater competition is super important, not just for the consumer, but also for the national economy," he told AAP.
Amazon accounts for roughly one in every five Australian dollars spent online, and, along with Temu and Shein, the three companies are forecast to control 36 per cent of e-commerce revenue nationally in 2026.
But it isn't just cost that attracts buyers to the platforms, with speed, accurate postage timelines, free returns and bad prior experiences driving preferences.
Amazon's automated, 24-seven distribution centres allow the US tech giant to give consumers an accurate countdown timer from the moment of purchase for delivery.
"That's exceptionally difficult for a retailer to offer in the Australian market because you've got a whole bunch of disconnected systems that work through that process," Mr Hango-Zada said.
"Where Shippit comes in is to connect a lot of these disparate parts and enable a retailer to provide a very accurate promise, and it's also about bringing certainty to the delivery experience itself."
More than one in two Australians said Amazon had increased their expectations of other retailers.
Retailers advertise an average 5.2-day delivery time, but actual delivery transit times are on average 2.2 days.
"Retailers are essentially under-promising so they can over-deliver, but it has a massive impact on conversions," Mr Hango-Zada said.
Local chains, however, have an edge in the distribution of physical stores.
"We see potential sitting in store locations that are right around the country ... and moving that product that is already sitting quite close to the consumer and putting it in a van to get to the doorstep," Mr Hango-Zada said.
"You know, we see a very big opportunity, but the window is certainly closing."
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