What's Happening in Online CX in 2026

3 Takeaways from This Year's Report

The 2026 Online CX Report is out - our second annual benchmark with Shopify and Humii, covering 94 leading Australian retailers across nine categories through thousands of real mystery shopping experiences. Here are three takeaways that stood out to us this year.

AI is now part of the customer experience - for better or worse

For the first time, AI is showing up in the data as a measurable CX factor, and the results are mixed. When it's well trained and context-aware, it reduces effort and speeds up resolution. When it loops, produces generic answers, or blocks the path to a human, it becomes the friction - and "chatbot obstruction" has emerged as its own abandonment trigger this year.

Our take: automation only builds trust when it resolves issues, and provides a reliable path to a person when it can't. The full report breaks down where AI is helping and where it's costing retailers customers.

~70%

rise in “useless bot” complaints, year on year

Speed and consistency are separating the leaders

The strongest performers this year are consistent on three fundamentals: does it work as promised, is key information easy to find, and are updates timely after purchase. Speed is where this shows up most visibly - fashion brands targeting younger shoppers lead the benchmark on dispatch, delivery, and service response times.

The competition is also tightening. Only four of last year's top ten retailers held their positions, and the gap between category leaders and laggards narrowed across the board. Standing still now means going backwards.

4 out of 10

top retailers held their position this year

Returns and refunds are where trust is won or lost

A retailer can deliver a smooth search and checkout experience, but the post-purchase journey is where loyalty is decided. A difficult returns process is now the single biggest reason shoppers don't return to a retailer, and inconsistency - not averages - is the real problem. Shoppers in 2026 want certainty: clear steps, realistic timelines, and visible progress from return to refund.

#1 reason

why shoppers don't come back is due to difficult returns processes

The report goes deeper on all of this - the category-by-category benchmarks, the biggest year-on-year movers, a new omnichannel deep dive into Click & Collect, and the retail outlook for 2026.