Retail and e-commerce – March 2026
How Hormuz has hit the hottest online retailers
The “Hormuz situation” has sharply increased fuel, shipping, and production costs, strongly affecting ecommerce. Skyrocketing expenses for the whole supply chain including the last mile delivery, force e-tailers to reconsider their fulfilment. The procurement of (petrol-based) plastic packaging materials has also become less reliable. On the demand side, rising fuel and food prices are reducing disposable income, causing consumers to cut back on discretionary online purchases. You can download the NVC analysis (86 kB) here.
Unpacking Eid al-Fitr retail top-selling products
As retailers play into the Eid al-Fitr festivities, an indicative overview of their top-selling (packaged) products includes glamour products, a wealth of exquisite cuisine food products, gifts sweets and chocolates and books, ladies clothing and self-care indulgence products.
Consumer behaviour and Reusable Transport Packaging for ecommerce in Germany
The rapid growth of e-commerce has led to research in Reusable Transport Packaging (RTP) solutions in Germany. A study by Dresden University of Technology analyses consumers’ intention to adopt RTP. The study (1.01 MB) is published in Electronic Markets.
Cross-border e-commerce forecasts for a post de-minimis (USA, EU) world
Ti Insight has published a report describing the impact of the USA customs changes on cross-border e-commerce logistics. For the USA, the removal of the U.S. $800 de minimis threshold in August 2025 increased duties, compliance costs and customs friction for low-value imports, particularly impacting high-volume parcel flows from Asia. For Europe similar structural changes are foreseen. You can download the report after filling in your details.
USA retail sales might increase in 2026 with +4.4% says NRF
The National Retail Federation (NRF) has issued a forecast that USA retail sales in 2026 will grow to $5.6 trillion (+4.4%), based on a newly enhanced forecasting approach developed in partnership with Oxford Economics.
India retail developments to the year 2030 analysed by KPMG
KPMG has issued a forecast for the Indian retail market (275 kB) stating that the Indian retail sector is poised for sustained growth, driven by tier II and tier III city expansion, rising organised penetration, unified payments interface (UPI)-led digital adoption and rapid quick-commerce expansion.
Temu versus Shein according to Alibaba
An analysis by e-commerce giant Alibaba compares e-tailers Shein and Temu, who together have over 240 million active users across North America, Europe, and Australia. The analysis assesses what truly matters to informed shoppers today.
E-commerce in France
Ecommerce Europe has published an article about a Fevad report on e-commerce in France. In 2025, e-commerce reached €196.4 billion in online sales, a 7% increase compared to the previous year. Growth was primarily driven by shopping online more often, with less value per purchase basket.
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