For years, cross-border ecommerce platforms built part of their advantage on small parcels, flexible manufacturing, vast assortment and favourable customs treatment. That framework is changing. The United States maintains its suspension of the de minimis exemption for commercial shipments, while the European Union has applied a temporary €3 duty to item categories inside consignments worth less than €150 since 1 July 2026.
- The regulatory cost of buying inexpensive products from outside the domestic market is rising and becoming more visible.
- Shein, Temu and other operators can absorb part of the impact, raise prices, consolidate orders or move inventory closer to consumers.
- Travel retail gains an opportunity to compete on final value, but it needs evidence rather than broad claims about duty-free savings.
What is happening
The United States first removed de minimis treatment for products from China and Hong Kong in May 2025 and later suspended the exemption for commercial shipments from all countries. An executive order issued in February 2026 continued the policy. Parcels that previously entered free of duty below $800 are now subject to applicable duties, taxes and entry procedures.
The European Union has taken a different route. Since 1 July 2026, it has applied a temporary flat customs duty of €3 to each different tariff category contained in ecommerce consignments worth less than €150. The measure is due to run until July 2028, when a broader customs reform is expected to become operational.
Scale explains the urgency. The EU received 5.8 billion low-value parcels in 2025, 26% more than a year earlier. In the United States, 1.36 billion shipments used the de minimis channel in fiscal 2024, with a declared value of $64.6 billion. Around 73% came from China.
The commercial impact is already visible. Shein recorded a $99 million loss in the first quarter of 2026, compared with a $395 million profit a year earlier. The company linked part of the deterioration to the end of the US exemption and warned that the new European charge could produce similar effects.
Why the framework is changing
Parcel volumes overwhelmed a rule designed for another era
Low-value exemptions were created to simplify small shipments, gifts and transactions where administration could cost more than the potential duty. Ecommerce industrialised the mechanism. Millions of individual parcels became part of a global customer-acquisition and direct-distribution model.
Governments want competitive neutrality and greater control
The EU links its reform to competition, product safety, fraud and customs capacity. The United States has connected its suspension to revenue, security and import control. The reasoning differs, but both policies move more cost and responsibility towards platforms, logistics operators and sellers.
The consumer no longer sees the same final price
A very cheap garment can face a proportionally large fee. A parcel containing several categories can attract several charges in Europe. Platforms may absorb them, but that reduces margin. They may also raise minimum orders, consolidate baskets, use local warehouses or reduce promotions.
Visible price
Product price, promotion and perceived saving.
Added cost
Duty, shipping, handling, currency and payment effects.
Time
Delivery wait, returns, trip timing and immediate need.
Risk
Quality, authenticity, fit, warranty and service confidence.
Final value
The channel wins only when the full equation is clear.
Travel retail competes better when it makes the full equation visible.
What it means for tourism and travel retail
The regulatory shift reduces a historic advantage for cross-border ecommerce, but it does not remove the platforms’ ability to compete. They retain scale, personalisation, range and digital acquisition. They can move inventory into European or US warehouses and turn an individual import into a domestic sale.
For airport retail, the opportunity is to make existing benefits visible: product available now, authenticity, trial, advice, gifting, exclusivity and no delivery wait. In categories such as beauty, accessories, electronics, toys or lightweight fashion, this combination can narrow part of the price gap.
The message cannot stop at “duty free”. Travellers need to compare final cost with their origin market, destination and online platforms. An airport price may be attractive on one route and weak on another. Currency, promotion, baggage, available time and immediate need also change the decision.
There is also an implication for airports and airlines. Low-value ecommerce supported part of the growth in air cargo. IATA warned that removal of the US de minimis exemption could pressure cargo yields on China-US routes. Fewer direct parcels may change volumes, capacity allocation and the economics of selected routes.
Where the commercial opportunities appear
Turn price into useful information
Show market comparisons, availability and the benefits of immediate purchase.
Review the value architecture
Decide which categories compete on price, exclusivity, service or convenience.
Create hard-to-compare packs
Use travel sizes, gifts, bundles, samples and exclusive editions.
Reduce purchase risk
Strengthen authenticity, trial, returns and immediate delivery before travel.
Explain final cost
Integrate currency, tax, promotions and card benefits without confusing claims.
Compare channels in real time
Link airport prices with origin, destination and ecommerce markets.
Anticipate cargo changes
Model how consolidation and local warehouses affect route capacity and economics.
Activate the right advantage
Communicate authenticity, availability or exclusivity by route and mission.
Can you prove your final price is competitive before the traveller opens another app?
Risks and practical barriers
- Assuming an automatic win. Platforms can absorb cost, change suppliers or localise inventory.
- Incomplete comparisons. Displayed price may exclude tax, promotions, currency and return conditions.
- Different category effects. A flat charge matters more for inexpensive products than higher-value items.
- Consumer demand reduction. Shoppers may buy fewer units or delay purchases rather than switch channels.
- Regulatory uncertainty. Rules will continue to evolve in Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom.
- Excessive promotion. Competing only through discounts can destroy margin without creating loyalty.
- Insufficient data. Without external pricing and digital behaviour, the opportunity cannot be measured.
The European duty and US suspension change competitive conditions, but there is no public figure that directly attributes additional sales to travel retail. The impact needs to be measured by category, route and market.
How Marksyte can help
Marksyte can help travel retail, FMCG, payment, technology and tourism companies turn the regulatory shift into practical commercial decisions.
Price intelligence
Compare final price across airport, origin, destination and ecommerce.
Elasticity and promotions
Estimate response to duties, discounts, bundles and minimum orders.
Traveller segmentation
Separate digital shoppers, value seekers, premium, gifting and immediate need.
Assortment optimisation
Prioritise products with a clear price, availability, format or exclusivity advantage.
Demand forecasting
Include regulation, routes, currencies, external prices and seasonality.
Retail media
Activate messages by audience and measure visits, conversion and incremental sales.
AI assistants
Answer questions about price, authenticity, stock, carriage and customs limits.
Commercial measurement
Separate regulatory effect, passenger mix, promotion and operational improvement.
A practical 90-day agenda
- Select categories. Identify where changed import cost may alter consumer choice.
- Build the comparable price. Include product, tax, shipping, duty, currency and returns.
- Define messages. Test final price, authenticity, availability and exclusivity separately.
- Update forecasts. Add ecommerce, currency and regulatory shifts to demand models.
- Measure incrementality. Compare routes, segments and periods with different exposure.
The end of low-value exemptions opens a window for travel retail. The opportunity is not to celebrate that ecommerce is becoming more expensive. It is to prove, precisely, when the airport offers the better purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Has the European Union fully removed its low-value exemption?
From 1 July 2026, a temporary €3 customs duty applies to item categories contained in ecommerce consignments worth less than €150. The permanent customs reform and full removal of the threshold are expected in 2028.
Does this mean airport shopping will be cheaper?
Not necessarily. The result depends on category, market, local pricing, promotions and added costs. The change removes part of ecommerce’s tax advantage, but airport retailers still need to prove final value, availability and convenience.
What should a travel retailer measure?
Comparable final price, conversion, elasticity, availability, transaction value, margin, response by nationality and route, promotion use, digital searches, cart abandonment and the incremental effect of messages about authenticity, immediate delivery or exclusivity.
Sources
- Council of the European Union, final approval of the temporary duty for small parcels, 11 February 2026
- European Commission, guidance and legal text for the temporary €3 duty, 8 June 2026
- European Commission, questions and answers on the €3 duty, 30 June 2026
- White House, continuation of the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment, 20 February 2026
- Reuters, what the end of de minimis means for US shoppers and businesses, 29 August 2025
- Reuters, 5.8 billion low-value parcels entered the EU in 2025, 26 January 2026
- Reuters, Shein results and the impact of new import charges, 26 July 2026
- IATA, Global Outlook for Air Transport, June 2025
The rules, dates, volumes and financial results come from the cited sources. The travel-retail opportunities are a commercial interpretation and should be validated using market and category data.