Retail fulfillment has dramatically evolved over the past decade, shaped by changes in consumer expectations, technological advancements and the growing importance of seamless omnichannel experiences. As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, it’s clear that retailers must continue aligning their capabilities with strategic goals to remain competitive and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

The Retail Fulfillment Journey: A Decade of Transformation

2014-2019: Early Growth and Adoption

From 2014 to 2019, retailers experimented with new fulfillment strategies and technologies. Click-and-collect services gained momentum, with a significant portion of retailers showing interest, although utilization remained low. Curbside pickup was piloted by major players like Target in 2014, anticipating the rapid rise in demand for this service in later years.

During this period, omnichannel strategies became more sophisticated, with investments in order management systems (OMS) to support growing ecommerce operations. However, manual cross-channel inventory management and increasing returns highlighted inefficiencies that needed to be addressed. Despite these challenges, the industry began to recognize the need for a more unified and customer-centric approach.

2021-2024: Rising Consumer Expectations

As the pandemic accelerated ecommerce adoption, both B2B and B2C customers demanded faster and more flexible last-mile delivery options. Real-time notifications, delivery modifications and speed options became essential, even as sustainability took a back seat to convenience. Double-digit growth in ship-from-store and on-demand delivery services became the norm, while OMS helped manage inventory more effectively.

However, ecommerce fulfillment costs continued to rise, often equating to 70-100% of the order value, challenging retailers to find more cost-effective and sustainable solutions.

2025 and Beyond: The Future of Fulfillment

Looking ahead, artificial intelligence (AI) will take center stage in retail fulfillment, driving multi-level decision-making for order management, demand forecasting and optimization. Unified commerce will further consolidate omnichannel efforts, creating a seamless customer experience regardless of the platform. Data-driven decisions will become the norm, helping retailers enhance predictability and optimize operations.

Sustainability will return as a top priority, with circular supply chains and eco-friendly delivery options taking precedence. Personalization, last-mile innovation and flexible fulfillment models will allow retailers to offer tailored experiences based on customer preferences, while composable commerce and operational excellence will be critical for staying competitive.

Building a Maturity Model for Retail Fulfillment

To successfully transform their fulfillment operations, retailers must align their capabilities with their strategic goals. This involves investing in the right people, processes and technology.

Initial Stage

At the early stage of fulfillment maturity, businesses often face siloed data and manual order handling processes. These inefficiencies lead to high error rates, frequent customer complaints and a reactive approach to problem-solving.

Bridge Stage

In the next phase, businesses begin to define and document basic processes, incorporating some automation into order processing. Although manual tasks remain prevalent, retailers monitor key metrics such as order accuracy and delivery time to track progress.

Standardized Stage

As companies mature, fulfillment processes become standardized and more highly automated. Predictive analytics and data-driven decisions are integrated into operations, leading to better customer satisfaction and greater operational efficiency.

Optimized Stage

By this stage, fulfillment is continuously optimized, with advanced data analytics predicting and preventing issues. Businesses can adapt quickly to demand changes and scale operations efficiently, while maintaining low error rates and high on-time delivery performance.

Advanced Stage

In the most advanced stage, fulfillment becomes a strategic advantage. AI-driven automation and real-time visibility enable retailers to offer hyper-personalized customer experiences. Fulfillment operations are fully aligned with business and brand imperatives, providing a seamless, customer-centric journey across all channels.

2025 Retail Fulfillment Strategies and Trends

As retailers plan for the future, key trends will continue to shape fulfillment strategies:

1. Omnichannel and Unified Commerce: Retailers will focus on creating a consistent experience across platforms, supported by real-time inventory visibility and centralized order management systems.
2. AI and Automation: AI will enhance decision-making across the supply chain, optimizing inventory management, forecasting and product personalization. Automation will also play a crucial role in increasing warehouse efficiency and reducing human error.
3. Sustainability: Circular supply chains, eco-friendly products and delivery methods will return to the forefront as retailers seek to minimize their environmental impact and meet consumer demand for greener solutions.
4. Last-Mile Delivery Innovation: Technologies such as autonomous vehicles, drones and micro-fulfillment centers will help retailers reduce time and costs while improving flexibility in last-mile delivery.
5. Flexible Fulfillment Options: Retailers will meet customers where they are by offering more personalized, flexible fulfillment choices, which will become a critical competitive differentiator.

AI and Automation: The Future of Fulfillment in 2025

By 2025, AI will play an integral role in retail fulfillment. enVista’s poll revealed that 77% of retailers named AI onboarding as a top priority. AI will transform various aspects of retail operations, from inventory management to customer experience.

AI-driven inventory management will offer more predictability and accuracy in forecasting, helping retailers reduce stockouts and optimize inventory levels. Personalization, driven by AI, will enable retailers to offer tailored recommendations and dynamic pricing strategies, further enhancing customer engagement. Additionally, AI-powered supply chain optimization will streamline route planning and demand prediction, improving overall fulfillment efficiency.

Key Takeaways: Assessing and Aligning Capabilities for Success

Businesses need to regularly assess their current capabilities and align them with their strategic goals. This requires a comprehensive evaluation of people, processes and technology to ensure operational excellence.

1. Strategic Assessment: Retailers must conduct regular assessments of their fulfillment operations to identify areas of improvement and ensure they are on track to meet future goals.
2. Capability Alignment: Businesses should align their fulfillment capabilities with their long-term objectives, ensuring that technology, processes and personnel are all positioned to support growth.

By aligning their goals with the right capabilities, retailers can drive operational efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction and remain competitive in an increasingly complex marketplace.

Retail fulfillment is on the cusp of a major transformation as retailers invest in AI, sustainability and unified commerce strategies. By optimizing their fulfillment processes and aligning their capabilities with their strategic goals, retailers can ensure long-term success in the face of growing consumer demands and technological advancements. Interested to learn more? Let’s have a conversation!^® Contact enVista today.