Tractor Supply is building its own drivers, trucks and trailers to deliver bulky items across sparsely populated markets, pushing more fulfilment through stores and regional mixing centres to boost digital sales, raise average order values and overcome the limits of parcel carriers in rural areas.
Tractor Supply is moving to own more of the final mile in its sparsely populated markets, rolling out drivers, pickup trucks and trailers to deliver oversized and hard‑to‑ship items such as cattle feed and chicken coops. The retailer says the shift is designed to overcome the practical limits of third‑party carriers in rural areas — gravel roads, tight driveways and properties that cannot accommodate standard box trucks — and to accelerate online and bulk sales across its roughly 2,300‑store footprint.
From its Brentwood, Tenn., headquarters the company is reworking its fulfilment network to push more orders out of stores, along with ten distribution centres and ten regional mixing centres that place extra stock closer to rural customers. Colin Yankee, Tractor Supply’s chief supply chain officer, said in an official statement that rural geography is the primary driver for the change: “We understand these markets and have the brand equity with our customers in order to be trusted onto their properties and for their business.” According to the company’s investor materials, the initiative sits inside its wider Life Out Here 2030 strategy, which positions enhanced final‑mile capabilities as a key enabler of digital and B2B growth.
The move reflects a broader retail trend of turning stores into fulfilment hubs, but Tractor Supply argues it has a geographic advantage. The company claims its dense network of rural locations and regional mixing centres can be used in an asset‑light way to reach customers that parcel carriers struggle to serve. Management points to rapid digital growth — digital sales grew more than 340% over the past four years and exceeded $1 billion in 2024 — and has set a target of growing e‑commerce to roughly 10–12% of revenue by 2029. The firm’s fiscal results and investor presentation frame final‑mile as central to driving higher‑value baskets and deeper customer loyalty as those digital ambitions scale.
Early operating metrics bolster the business case. Independent reporting on the programme highlights that deliveries handled in‑house tend to be heavier (a reported average delivery weight of about 48 pounds), carry markedly lower return rates and produce higher customer satisfaction than parcel‑partner fulfilment. Tractor Supply also reports that in markets where it operates its own final‑mile service the average order value approaches $400 — well above typical in‑store baskets — and that repeat purchase and retention rates trend higher. Retail analysts note that tailored delivery for bulky or high‑touch goods often reduces damage and mismatches at the doorstep, which in turn lowers returns and improves lifetime customer value.
Despite the growing emphasis on the retailer’s own fleet, Tractor Supply will retain a hybrid approach. The company continues to work with third‑party couriers and same‑day marketplaces for parcel‑friendly items, and explicitly names partners such as DoorDash, Roadie, UPS and FedEx as part of a “different tools for different jobs” strategy. DoorDash, for example, has a longstanding partnership to provide on‑demand delivery from nearly 2,000 Tractor Supply stores through its marketplace, giving customers immediate access to an assortment of home, farm and garden supplies.
There are strategic and financial reasons for the shift. Industry data shows parcel surcharges for oversized and rural deliveries have risen in recent years, and retailers with heavy exposure to low‑density markets can be especially vulnerable to carrier rate volatility and service disruptions. Owning the customer relationship at the point of delivery gives a retailer greater control over cost and service quality and can act as a buffer during tight freight markets, the company argues.
But scaling an in‑house last mile is not without trade‑offs. Tractor Supply’s investor materials acknowledge the programme will be a multiyear effort requiring investments in vehicles, labour, route planning and insurance, and careful use of store and centre inventory to avoid overburdening brick‑and‑mortar operations. Recruiting and retaining drivers for dispersed routes, managing seasonal demand swings across farm and rural categories, and integrating last‑mile operations with store teams are among the operational challenges that lie ahead.
The initiative also arrives amid intensifying competition for rural delivery. Amazon has publicly committed billions to expand its rural delivery network, and other national retailers are likewise scaling store‑based fulfilment. Tractor Supply presents its long‑standing presence in small towns and farm communities as a differentiator: the company claims the brand’s local footprint and customer trust make it better suited than many parcel carriers to access rural properties and handle bulky, high‑touch goods.
For rural customers, the practical benefits are clear: faster, more reliable delivery of items that are difficult to move through conventional parcel channels, and a single point of accountability when problems arise. For Tractor Supply, in‑house final‑mile is being framed as a strategic lever to lift average order values, deepen loyalty and support the retailer’s broader digital and B2B ambitions through to 2030. Whether the investment will deliver the expected returns will depend on the company’s ability to scale the service efficiently while managing the incremental costs and operational complexity that come with running a distributed final‑mile network.
Source: Noah Wire Services
