2026 E-Commerce Trends Report: Track the forces shaping the future of the industry - for businesses and for shoppers.
A study of the most active e-commerce markets across the globe, which compares the gap between what online shoppers expect and what e-commerce businesses deliver. It highlights key industry trends, friction points, and growth opportunities across areas like cross‑border commerce, delivery, returns, payments, AI, and sustainability.
The e-commerce landscape
Shoppers are spreading their purchases across multiple motivations and channels – but are businesses always present where demand is strongest? While choice is expanding, logistics and price remain the most powerful motivators.
- 63% of businesses sell on social, yet only 45% of shoppers buy through social commerce channels.
- Over 1 in 2 shoppers have sold something on marketplaces - 59% of global shoppers and 68% of Europeans are sending their sold items via out-of-home locations.
- 18% of shoppers will purchase ‘‘more’’ during the seasonal holidays over the next 5 years whilst 45% of businesses think their seasonal sales will ‘‘increase’’ during this time.
Explore what’s next for how shoppers and businesses will buy and sell online.
Cross-border shopping
While shoppers tend to gravitate towards a small number of major markets, like the USA and China, many English-speaking markets still haven’t adapted their full e-commerce experience for international shoppers
- 70% of shoppers buy internationally up +10% year-on-year (60% in 2025) and 45% of shoppers buy across borders more than once a month.
- Over 3 in 10 orders are being sent internationally and for those businesses not currently sending across borders – 25% are prioritizing cross-border delivery capabilities in the next 12 months.
- 51% of Baby Boomers worry about fraud when it comes to purchasing across borders, yet 69% still buy overseas for lower prices.
Understand where global demand is building and how to capture it.
Buy Now & Cart Abandonment
With only a quarter of shoppers stating they never abandon their carts – most shoppers drop off at the final step, often because delivery is too expensive, slow, or unclear. Even when they're ready to buy, that last bit of friction can stop the sale.
- 67% of online shoppers have abandoned their cart because of the delivery offering and 52% of businesses see the same drop off reason.
- ‘’Free shipping’’ is the No1 reason that would encourage shoppers to complete their purchase but for businesses providing discounts and offers is the top factor.
See what’s breaking the journey and how to fix it.
Payments
Shoppers use an average of 4 payment methods vs. businesses who offer an average of 7 ways to pay.
- The payment sweet spot for shoppers and businesses is still credit/debit cards, digital wallets and buy now pay later options.
- Shoppers overwhelmingly want choice and flexibility, but they are sharply divided on newer methods like crypto, subscriptions and biometrics.
- The clear opportunities lie in the overlap: BNPL, open banking, cards stored with retailers and gift cards. These all sit at the intersection of rising shopper interest and merchant intent.
Transform payments from a drop-off point to a growth driver.
Product and logistics subscriptions
Premium delivery & returns are going mainstream, with some markets already treating them as standard.
- 40% of shoppers and 53% of businesses have delivery & returns subscriptions – premium logistics is leading in markets like the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
- Over 1 in 10 shoppers now have three or more logistics subscriptions with retailers, yet 1 in 2 shoppers have cancelled a subscription in the last 3 months stating it costs too much.
- 36% of shoppers hold product subscriptions with retailers, yet only 24% of businesses currently offer them. The biggest opportunity lies in Latin America where 39% of shoppers are already subscribing to products but only 12% of businesses offer them.
Discover how to build subscriptions that last.
AI
AI is going mainstream for younger shoppers, emerging markets & larger businesses but misinterpretation and trust is emerging as the top AI concerns for shoppers and businesses.
- 38% of shoppers and 36% of businesses are using AI-powered chat or virtual assistants to buy and sell
- Despite 23% of shoppers stating they are ‘‘hands free’’ - 41% of all shoppers would not want voice-enabled search. The second and third highest features they don’t want are automated reordering and predicting their future needs.
- Businesses broadly agree - 28% would not want voice search but 26% already offer it.
Make AI useful and shoppers will follow.
Sustainability & the circular economy
Businesses and shoppers are aligning on sustainability being a critical ‘buy now’ trigger - and increasingly, a dealbreaker.
- 35% of shoppers have abandoned an online purchase over lack of sustainability credentials and 32% of businesses state their customers have abandoned their carts because of the businesses lack of sustainability credentials.
- 30% of shoppers want to see green logistics as standard in the next 5 years and 42% of businesses agree.
- Closing the logistics convenience gap will unlock circular growth as 58% of shoppers would be encouraged to take part in a retailer’s recycling or buy-back program if offered free and easy returns of items.
Learn how to make sustainability simple and scalable.
Delivery, returns and out-of-home
“Free” logistics gets attention but trust and choice closes the sale for shoppers and for businesses.
- 7 in 10 shoppers won't shop with a brand if they don't ''trust'' the delivery & returns provider. The same amount will ''abandon their cart'' if they are not offered the delivery & returns options they want at the checkout.
- 9 in 10 businesses say the delivery & returns offering is important to securing online sales
- Almost 3 in 10 shoppers now have their deliveries sent directly to OOH locations, whilst over 6 in 10 returns happen out-of-home.
Turn delivery into your competitive edge.
Explore how trends vary by market:
From today’s realities to tomorrow’s opportunities - navigate around our interactive map to get a snapshot of the most important insights in each market.
- Take a deep dive into shopper personas, buying behaviors and preferred channels, alongside a snapshot of how businesses sell, what they export and the markets they reach.
- Compare the growing role of marketplaces, brand websites, and social commerce platforms, and see how delivery and returns preferences differ by country - including the continued shift toward out‑of‑home locations.
All stats and figures are taken from the DHL eCommerce Trends Surveys conducted between December 15th 2025 and February 11th 2026. Within the last three months prior to the survey, shopper respondents were required to have made at least one purchase online and business respondents were required to have regularly sold items online. For shoppers, 50+ questions were asked to 29,000 respondents across 29 countries (1,000 per country), and 50+ questions were asked to 5,800 respondents in 28 countries worldwide, with an equal split across demographics – where possible. Note Morocco did not have a large enough number of business respondents to be included in the business data, as such, results for this country are not included. The countries chosen for this survey represent some of the most active e-commerce markets across the globe. Where percentages do not equal 100%, this is due to certain questions having multiple-choice options. Where there is a deviation of percentages over 100%, this is due to rounding of answer options. Not all data from the survey is displayed on this page or within our report. Country, regional, generational, shopper and business profile data is provided, but this does not reach a level of statistical significance to make definitive statements about specific groups globally. Figures are correct at the time of publishing.
