Retail and e-commerce –August 2026
Home delivery: retailers face rising costs and a new loyalty battleground
AlixPartners has released findings from its annual Home Delivery Survey of US consumers and supply chain executives. According to the respondents, consumers now expect free delivery in under three days. 52% will boycott a retailer after just 1–2 botched deliveries. 64% of the executives say home delivery is not yet profitable. But AI is emerging as a critical lever for cost and customer experience. The study basically reveals a sector under mounting pressure: delivery has become the decisive battleground for customer loyalty, yet the economics of fulfilment continue to deteriorate for most retailers.
UK supermarket growth cools, World Cup drives online and promotional spending
According to Nielsen, UK shoppers continued to hold a negative outlook on their personal circumstances in the four weeks ending 13th June. The FIFA World Cup exerted an impact though, with retail spend on promotion rising to 25% of total FMCG sales, up from 23.5% last year, which was helped by some new World Cup themed promotions. In the online channel, promotional spend was even higher (29%). Retailers increasingly rely on promotions, targeted price cuts and own label ranges to sustain demand, with own label sales growing three times faster than branded sales. This was further supported by strong performance from premium own label lines, which recorded +9.1% value growth and +6.2% unit growth.
Value-seeking shoppers and new channel battlegrounds in China FMCG
Interesting insights as Bain & Company and Worldpanel by Numerator have collaborated now for the 15th year on a row to track and analyse the shopping behaviours of Chinese consumers. Over this period, they have built a rich, longitudinal view across 27 fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) categories that households purchase for in-home consumption in China. These categories span four major sectors—packaged food, beverage, personal care, and home care—and together capture how Chinese consumers meet their everyday needs for eating, drinking, and caring for themselves and their homes.
Ensuring fairness and safety: EU €3 customs duty for low-value parcels
The European Commission reports that as of 1 July 2026, the EU is charging a temporary €3 customs duty on low-value parcels imported from outside the EU, mainly through e-commerce. This includes a wide range of products commonly bought online, such as clothing, toys, electronics, and other consumer goods worth up to €150. Every day, millions of low-value parcels enter the EU. Many contain products that do not meet EU safety standards or are undervalued or falsely declared to avoid customs duties. At the same time, the current customs duty exemption gives non-EU sellers an unfair advantage over businesses that manufacture or sell products in the EU. The new duty will apply per item, based on tariff classification and not quantity.
State of the Consumer 2026: When tech acceleration and cost pressures collide
The consumer is changing fast and McKinsey reports extensively on the topic. Together, advances in technology and rising price sensitivity underpin four global trends that McKinsey believes will define the sector in the years ahead: the new tech-driven path to purchase, the health revolution, the experience economy, and the rise of the resourceful consumer.
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