The Logistics Loyalty Loop: Why Delivery is Becoming a Brand Strategy

We caught up recently with Matthew Hibberd, Senior Director, Logistics, VF Corporation, to talk about the growing overlap between logistics, customer experience and brand loyalty. From channel conflict and delivery promises to AI-driven forecasting and the limits of hype culture, the conversation explored why supply chain teams are increasingly shaping not just operational efficiency, but consumer perception too.

Ed Lawson, The Retail Hive: Could logistics actually become a competitive advantage one day?

Matthew: Yes, I think it can. If we deliver against a promise, if we’re reliable and we give customers choice and flexibility, it absolutely can become a differentiator.

There is analysis (8% conversion uplift for checkout flexibility, 20% for expanded PUDO/Locker choices, 15% abandon cart)  showing customers are more likely to convert if there’s delivery choice, and more likely to complete checkout if there’s flexibility in the proposition. Even if customers don’t use every option, the feeling of choice matters.

I had a conversation recently where someone said: sometimes you offer a service simply because customers want to know it’s available. That reassurance alone improves conversion.

But you have to do it deliberately, and you have to measure it properly. You can promise the world and not deliver, and then all you create is WISMO, poor customer experience and increased customer service costs.

Ed: And increasingly the customer isn’t just comparing you to your direct competitors anymore, they’re comparing you to Amazon.

Matthew: Exactly, why would someone buy a pair of black Vans from Amazon versus buying them directly from Vans.com? We have to create reliability and create a special moment within that purchase journey that justifies the direct relationship and protects margin.

If someone wants it in an hour, then Amazon probably wins that battle. But if they want the branded experience, loyalty points, birthday discounts, access to collaborations, early launches, that sense of being part of the Vans community, then that’s where we can create value.

The risk is when you fail operationally. No matter how strong the marketing is or how good the product is, if you miss the delivery promise, customers will simply go elsewhere. Maybe you still get the sale through another retailer, but strategically that’s very different for the brand.

Ed: How much would you say logistics is influencing acquisition, loyalty and even search performance?

Matthew: One thing we’re working on at the moment is how delivery promises appear directly within Google search. If you search for something like “black Vans”, some retailers are already surfacing fulfilment hooks underneath the product listing. Things like “order by 5pm for delivery tomorrow”.

Macy’s are doing it well in the States and we’re moving towards that too. At the search stage, customers are already deciding where to click. The product image alone isn’t enough anymore. The fulfilment proposition is becoming part of the marketing message.

Ed: A lot of retailers still talk about supply chain and technology separately. How do you see it? 

Matthew: There’s definitely a danger of organisations overcomplicating it with jargon and acronyms. We’re quite lucky in that our leadership team really champions practical action. The conversation internally isn’t “here’s a deck”. We dig into: what’s the problem, what’s the burning platform, and what are we tangibly going to do about it?

You need leaders who can cut through some of the corporate speak and clearly articulate the commercial impact. Because supply chain is competing for investment alongside technology, finance and commercial teams all the time.

Ed: Where do you think AI genuinely helps in this space, and where is the industry perhaps overestimating it?

Matthew: One of the challenges for us is the difference between macro supply chains and micro trends. You can suddenly get a product exploding because of TikTok or Instagram. A collaboration takes off and demand spikes overnight, but our supply chains are planned so far in advance that reacting to those moments is incredibly difficult, I’m not sure AI completely solves that.

Where AI can really help is with continuity products, core basics, steady demand forecasting and inventory management. That’s where the data is more stable and predictable.

But with hype products and micro trends, maybe the smarter thing is actually to embrace scarcity a bit more. Celebrate the sell-through. Enjoy the margin. Don’t immediately place a massive replenishment order and flood the market.

Historically, brands have overbought trends, saturated the market, gone off-price and ultimately devalued the product.

Sometimes the better strategy is to let the trend happen, then evolve it. If green shirts suddenly explode, maybe the next move isn’t ordering ten times more green shirts. Maybe it’s introducing blue or red instead.

There are still launches where we have people queueing outside stores waiting for a drop. As a retailer, that’s still a great feeling.

So I think AI has a really important role in forecasting and continuity. But when it comes to hype, emotion and cultural moments, retail still needs a bit of instinct.