Tradebyte has released its latest industry report, E-Commerce in 2026, mapping online retail growth and how it is being redistributed as the market moves into 2026.
The report draws on real transactional and performance data from more than 1,000 brands and 90+ retailers on the Tradebyte platform, alongside wider industry research and expert insight from brands, retailers and marketplaces. It shows that, while overall e-commerce growth remains steady, the mechanics behind that growth have fundamentally changed. Demand is shifting toward new regions, value-driven categories and alternative discovery channels, while operational excellence and data quality are becoming decisive competitive advantages.
The story of e-commerce in 2026 is not one of slowdown, but of redistribution. Our position at the intersection of brands, marketplaces and retailers allows us to see shifts in demand and performance as they happen. We’re tracking how growth is moving across regions, categories and channels, and it’s clear that brands that understand where demand is heading, and can operate with speed and precision, are the ones pulling ahead.
– Matthias Schulte, CEO, Tradebyte
Mapping online retail
- European growth is shifting east and north – Tradebyte network data shows Western Europe still leads GMV, with the top five countries (Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland) accounting for over 73% of 2025 GMV, but share is tilting towards emerging regions. Central & Eastern Europe grew by 59%, while the Nordics expanded by 37%, making them the fastest-growing European regions in the network.
- Smaller markets are posting hyper-growth – While still small in absolute GMV, several markets accelerated rapidly in 2025, including Luxembourg, Norway, and Cyprus, Greece and Portugal, all of which recorded 100%+ growth. This momentum is largely driven by marketplace expansion and cross-border fulfilment.
- Category performance is diverging sharply – Underwear emerged as the fastest-growing category (+45%), followed by beauty (+16%) and sportswear (+10%), reflecting sustained demand for essentials, comfort and wellbeing. Fashion remains the largest segment, but growth is increasingly value- and utility-led.
- Returns are becoming a major margin differentiator – Tradebyte return-rate benchmarks reveal stark regional differences, with return rates around 14% in the UK, but exceeding 50% in markets such as Germany, Switzerland and Austria. As a result, many retailers are expected to phase out free returns in 2026, putting new emphasis on fit accuracy, sizing data and product content quality.
- Discovery is fragmenting across marketplaces, social platforms and AI-driven interfaces – Visibility is increasingly determined by algorithms rather than traditional search or advertising alone. Tradebyte data shows a growing share of demand now originates within platform ecosystems, with social channels and AI-driven interfaces shaping visibility long before consumers reach a product page.
- Structured product data, real-time availability and pricing consistency are now prerequisites for visibility – Brands with unified commerce foundations and clean, governed data are better positioned to qualify for algorithmic ranking, diversify across regions and channels, and prepare for regulatory requirements such as ESPR and Digital Product Passports.
The report also highlights the growing role of AI in e-commerce, moving beyond task automation to support forecasting, pricing, stock allocation and content orchestration at scale. While consumer adoption of AI-assisted shopping remains gradual, AI-driven ranking and discovery systems are already influencing what shoppers see and buy.
Consumers rely on more AI support to make their decisions. Retailers and brands need to do the same to stay successful. Pricing is the AI application with the best impact-to-effort ratio according to Gartner, and therefore a great place to start.
– Felix Hoffmann, CEO, 7Learnings.
When brands triple content output with AI, without losing accuracy, they don’t just go faster, they grow smarter. We see +5–15% sales and −5–20% returns thanks to better imagery, consistent branding, and channel-tailored content at scale.
– Gianni Serazzi, President at PIXELMODA.
E-commerce in 2026 is Tradebyte’s fourth major industry report and is intended to help brands, retailers, and marketplaces navigate a more complex, fragmented and data-driven retail environment.
