TikTok Shop generates far more sales in the United Kingdom than in other European countries. This year, the platform’s gross merchandise value (GMV) in its pioneering European market is expected to rise to almost 5 billion euros.

Nine out of ten euros of online spending that left the European Union in 2025 went to Temu, Shein and AliExpress. In that year, 49.7 billion euros were spent on those platforms. In total, Europeans spent 55.1 billion euros abroad on physical goods. This comes down to 13.1 percent of the total online spending by consumers in EU-countries.

In the summer of 2026, up to 66.7 percent of retailers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland said that they have a maximum item-related return rate of 10 percent. The amount of retailers with return rates over 20 percent has decreased to 23.6 percent, a slight decrease from 25 percent in 2025.

As of today, Austria has introduced a national levy of 2 euros per parcel for large online sellers. The measure applies to online stores and marketplaces generating more than 100 million euros in annual sales to customers in the country. Thousands of other businesses are affected indirectly. Resistance to the levy is therefore considerable.

Growth in online consumer spending in Europe is slowing down. For the current year, Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce expect growth of 5 percent in nominal terms. The growth engine in Eastern Europe is grinding to a halt.