Dropshipping Statistics Updated November 2026

Human Written & Fact Checked · Updated

202 Dropshipping Statistics for 2026

No statistics office counts dropshipping. It is a way of fulfilling orders, not an industry with its own code, so there is no official number of dropshippers, no official market size and no official success rate. The market sizes and success rates repeated across the web have no traceable primary origin, and none of them appears on this page.

What can be measured is what dropshipping runs on. US retailers took $340.2 billion of e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2026, 17.1% of all retail sales, on the Census Bureau's count. Third-party sellers accounted for 61% of Amazon's worldwide paid units in the third quarter of 2026. US customs processed over 1.36 billion duty-free low-value shipments in fiscal year 2024, before the exemption was suspended, and close to 5.9 billion low-value items were imported into the EU in 2025.

This page covers e-commerce sales, marketplaces and their third-party sellers, Shopify, cross-border platforms, low-value parcel imports and de minimis rules, returns, scams and complaints, and small business survival. Every figure links to the public body or company that published it, with the date. None of them is a dropshipping figure: each measures a wider population, which we name every time.

Headline figures

  • US retail e-commerce sales were $340.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026, seasonally adjusted, up 3.8% from the first quarter, on the Census Bureau's preliminary estimate for all online retail. (US Census Bureau (quarterly e-commerce report, Q2 2026), Aug 2026)
  • E-commerce accounted for 17.1% of total US retail sales in the second quarter of 2026, seasonally adjusted. (US Census Bureau (quarterly e-commerce report, Q2 2026), Aug 2026)
  • Third-party sellers accounted for 61% of Amazon's worldwide paid units in the third quarter of 2026, on Amazon's own metric, which covers every kind of third-party seller. (Amazon (Q3 2026 results), Oct 2026)
  • Shopify merchants worldwide took orders worth $378.4 billion in 2025, the gross merchandise volume Shopify reports for all stores on its platform, up 29%. (Shopify (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • The Etsy marketplace had 5.6 million active sellers and 86.5 million active buyers worldwide on 31 December 2025, on Etsy's own definitions. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Wayfair, which says in its 2025 annual report that its primary method of fulfilment is a drop-ship network, sells over 40 million products from approximately 20 thousand suppliers. (Wayfair (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • US Customs and Border Protection processed over 1.36 billion de minimis shipments, goods valued at $800 or less, in fiscal year 2024, almost ten times the 139 million it processed in 2015. (CBP (interim final rule, June 2026), Jun 2026)
  • Close to 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce items, in consignments worth €150 or less, were imported into the EU in 2025, up 26% on 2024, on European Commission customs figures. (European Commission (customs: goods bought online), 2025)
  • China was the origin of 93% of the low-value e-commerce items imported into the EU in 2025 and of 78% of their value. (European Commission (customs: goods bought online), 2025)
  • Temu has 75 million average monthly active users in the EU on the European Commission's list of designated platforms, last updated on 6 November 2026. The figure is reported by Temu. (European Commission (DSA designated platforms list), Nov 2026)
  • 28.8% of retail sales in Great Britain were made online in September 2026, on the Office for National Statistics measure. (ONS (Retail sales, Great Britain, September 2026), Oct 2026)
  • US retailers surveyed by NRF and Happy Returns estimated that 19.3% of their online sales would be returned in 2025. (NRF and Happy Returns (2025 returns report), Oct 2025)
  • More than 40% of people in the US who reported losing money to a scam on social media in 2025 said it began with buying an advertised item, and most said they paid for things that never arrived, on FTC complaint data. (FTC (Data Spotlight, social media scams), Apr 2026)
  • 55.2% of US retail trade establishments that opened in the year to March 2021 were still open five years later, in March 2026. This is an official survival rate for retail employers, not a dropshipping success rate. (BLS (Business Employment Dynamics, retail trade), 2026)

How big is the dropshipping market?

Nobody knows, because nobody measures it. No statistics office counts dropshipping sales or sellers, and the market sizes quoted online have no traceable primary origin, so none is used here. What official data does measure is online retail as a whole, of which dropshipped orders are an unknown part.

9.1% Q4 2017 9.9% Q4 2018 11.2% Q4 2019 15.0% Q4 2020 14.6% Q4 2021 14.6% Q4 2022 15.5% Q4 2023 16.2% Q4 2024 16.7% Q4 2025
View data table
E-commerce as a share of total US retail sales in the fourth quarter of each year, seasonally adjusted, on the Census Bureau's series as revised on 18 August 2026. The measure covers all online retail sales, not dropshipping.
PeriodValue
Q4 20179.1%
Q4 20189.9%
Q4 201911.2%
Q4 202015.0%
Q4 202114.6%
Q4 202214.6%
Q4 202315.5%
Q4 202416.2%
Q4 202516.7%
E-commerce as a share of total US retail sales in the fourth quarter of each year, seasonally adjusted, on the Census Bureau's series as revised on 18 August 2026. The measure covers all online retail sales, not dropshipping. (US Census Bureau (quarterly e-commerce time series), Aug 2026)

The Census Bureau counts sales by US retailers where the order was placed online, and its current estimates cover employer firms only, which leaves out businesses with no employees. Nonstore retailers and electronic shopping and mail-order houses are industry groups, a different measure from e-commerce sales. Quarterly figures for 2026 are preliminary and are revised in later releases. None of these is a count of dropshipping.

How fast is US online retail growing?

How big is e-commerce worldwide?

  • Businesses in 46 developed and developing economies, which account for three quarters of global GDP, recorded nearly $28 trillion of e-commerce sales in 2024, 5.5% more than in 2023, on UNCTAD's compilation. (UNCTAD (Data Hub, digital economy), Oct 2026)
  • In most economies UNCTAD analysed, the majority of business e-commerce sales are made to other businesses, and sales to consumers are less than a quarter. (UNCTAD (business e-commerce sales technical note), 2024)
  • UNCTAD puts online retail at around 25 to 30% of all retail sales in China, the United Kingdom and South Korea, around 15% in the United States and roughly 5 to 10% in most other economies. (UNCTAD (business e-commerce sales technical note), 2024)
  • The value of transactions through 37 major digital intermediary platforms, a group that includes online marketplaces, increased by over 55% during the pandemic. (UNCTAD (business e-commerce sales technical note), 2024)

UNCTAD's total covers 46 economies, not the world, and most of it is sales between businesses. Its country shares come from a 2024 technical note on earlier data. Both are different measures from the Census Bureau's retail series and are not compared with it.

What is the success rate of dropshipping businesses?

There is no such figure with a traceable source. The official numbers that exist are survival rates for US employer businesses, which leave out businesses with no employees, so they are a benchmark and not a dropshipping success rate.

83.6% After 1 year 74.7% After 2 years 67.4% After 3 years 60.8% After 4 years 55.2% After 5 years
View data table
Share of US retail trade establishments opened in the year to March 2021 that were still open each March to 2026, on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employer establishments only; this is not a dropshipping success rate.
PeriodValue
After 1 year83.6%
After 2 years74.7%
After 3 years67.4%
After 4 years60.8%
After 5 years55.2%
Share of US retail trade establishments opened in the year to March 2021 that were still open each March to 2026, on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employer establishments only; this is not a dropshipping success rate. (BLS (Business Employment Dynamics, retail trade), 2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics series covers private-sector retail trade establishments with employees, and the Small Business Administration figures cover employer establishments in all industries. These are official survival rates for those populations. They are not dropshipping success rates, and no traceable source was found for any dropshipping success or failure rate.

How much of what Amazon sells comes from third-party sellers?

Most of the units, on Amazon's own quarterly metric. The figures cover third-party sellers of every kind, from brands to resellers, and do not separate out dropshippers.

55% Q4 2020 56% Q4 2021 59% Q4 2022 61% Q4 2023 62% Q4 2024 61% Q4 2025
View data table
Third-party sellers' share of Amazon's worldwide paid units in the fourth quarter of each year, on Amazon's own metric. The years come from Amazon's fourth-quarter releases for 2021, 2023 and 2025; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
Q4 202055%
Q4 202156%
Q4 202259%
Q4 202361%
Q4 202462%
Q4 202561%
Third-party sellers' share of Amazon's worldwide paid units in the fourth quarter of each year, on Amazon's own metric. The years come from Amazon's fourth-quarter releases for 2021, 2023 and 2025; the link is to the latest one. (Amazon (Q4 2025 results), Feb 2026)
  • In the fourth quarter of 2020, third-party sellers accounted for 55% of Amazon's worldwide paid units, and in the fourth quarter of 2021 for 56%. (Amazon (Q4 2021 results), Feb 2022)
  • The third-party share of Amazon's worldwide paid units was 59% in the fourth quarter of 2022. (Amazon (Q4 2023 results), Feb 2024)
  • It was 62% in the fourth quarter of 2024. (Amazon (Q4 2025 results), Feb 2026)
  • Amazon earned $46.5 billion of third-party seller services revenue in the third quarter of 2026, up from $42.5 billion a year earlier, growth of 10% excluding currency effects. (Amazon (Q3 2026 results), Oct 2026)
  • More than 60% of sales in Amazon's store come from independent sellers, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses, Amazon says. (Amazon (2025 Small Business Empowerment Report), Apr 2026)
  • Third-party sales on Amazon grew from 3% of the total in 1999 to 58% in 2018, from $0.1 billion to $160 billion. (Amazon (2018 letter to shareholders), Apr 2019)
  • Over 1999-2018 that was a compound annual growth rate of 52% for third-party sales, against 25% for Amazon's first-party business. (Amazon (2018 letter to shareholders), Apr 2019)
  • Independent sellers generated more than $2.5 trillion of sales in Amazon's store over the 25 years since 2000, Amazon said in November 2025. (Amazon (25 years of independent sellers), Nov 2025)
  • In the first ten months of 2025 independent sellers generated more sales than in the first ten years of the partnership, and they have shipped more than 80 billion units with Fulfillment by Amazon. (Amazon (25 years of independent sellers), Nov 2025)

These are Amazon's own figures and three different measures: the share of paid units, the value of goods sold by third-party sellers, and third-party seller services revenue, which is the commissions, fulfilment and shipping fees Amazon charges sellers and not the value of what they sold. The paid units metric excludes Whole Foods Market. None of the three identifies dropshippers.

How much do sellers on Amazon make?

Amazon publishes an average of gross sales for US independent sellers. It is sales and not profit, an average is not the typical seller, and it says nothing about what a dropshipper earns.

>$250,000 2023 >$290,000 2024 >$375,000 2025
View data table
Average annual sales of US independent sellers in Amazon's store, on Amazon's own reports, which give each year as more than the amount shown. Each year comes from the report for that year; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
2023>$250,000
2024>$290,000
2025>$375,000
Average annual sales of US independent sellers in Amazon's store, on Amazon's own reports, which give each year as more than the amount shown. Each year comes from the report for that year; the link is to the latest one. (Amazon (2025 Small Business Empowerment Report), Apr 2026)

All figures are Amazon's own, from its yearly small business reports. They are gross sales, not profit or income. The counts of sellers above $1 million do not say whether they cover the US or all countries, and the 2023 count is of sellers passing $1 million for the first time.

How much do Shopify stores sell?

Hundreds of billions of dollars a year. The figures cover every merchant on the platform and do not separate out dropshipping stores, and Shopify's annual report gives the number of merchants only as "millions".

$175.4bn 2021 $197.2bn 2022 $235.9bn 2023 $292.3bn 2024 $378.4bn 2025
View data table
Shopify gross merchandise volume by year, in billions of dollars. 2021 and 2022 come from Shopify's 2022 filing and 2023 to 2025 from its 2025 Form 10-K; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
2021$175.4bn
2022$197.2bn
2023$235.9bn
2024$292.3bn
2025$378.4bn
Shopify gross merchandise volume by year, in billions of dollars. 2021 and 2022 come from Shopify's 2022 filing and 2023 to 2025 from its 2025 Form 10-K; the link is to the latest one. (Shopify (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Shopify's gross merchandise volume was $235.9 billion in 2023 and $292.3 billion in 2024, a rise of 24% in 2024. (Shopify (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Shopify's GMV was $175.4 billion in 2021 and $197.2 billion in 2022. (Shopify (MD&A 2022), Feb 2023)
  • In the third quarter of 2026, Shopify merchants processed $119 billion of GMV. (Shopify (Q3 2026 results), Nov 2026)
  • Shopify's own revenue grew 32% year on year in the third quarter of 2026. (Shopify (Q3 2026 results), Nov 2026)
  • At the end of 2025 Shopify had merchants in more than 175 countries: 44% in the United States, 31% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 16% in Asia Pacific, Australia and China, 5% in Canada and 5% in Latin America. (Shopify (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • 65.6% of Shopify GMV, $248.1 billion, was processed through Shopify Payments in 2025, up from 61.9% in 2024. (Shopify (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Shopify's monthly recurring revenue was $205 million at the end of 2025, against $178 million at the end of 2024 and $144 million at the end of 2023. (Shopify (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Monthly recurring revenue was $102.0 million at the end of 2021 and $109.5 million at the end of 2022. (Shopify (MD&A 2022), Feb 2023)

GMV is Shopify's own measure: the value of orders through its platform, net of refunds and including shipping and handling, duty and value-added taxes. It is not Shopify's revenue. The merchant shares are shares of the number of merchants, not of sales.

How many sellers does Etsy have, and who are they?

Millions, and most are one-person businesses run from home, on Etsy's own filings and seller survey. The figures cover all Etsy sellers and none of them identifies dropshippers.

5.4m 2022 7.0m 2023 5.6m 2024 5.6m 2025
View data table
Active sellers on the Etsy marketplace at the end of each year, in millions, on Etsy's own definition. Each year comes from the filing for that year; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
20225.4m
20237.0m
20245.6m
20255.6m
Active sellers on the Etsy marketplace at the end of each year, in millions, on Etsy's own definition. Each year comes from the filing for that year; the link is to the latest one. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • At the end of 2022, 89.4 million buyers and 5.4 million sellers were active on the Etsy marketplace. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2022), Feb 2023)
  • At the end of 2023, 92.0 million buyers and 7.0 million sellers were active on the Etsy marketplace. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2023), Feb 2024)
  • At the end of 2024, 89.6 million buyers were active on the Etsy marketplace. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2024), Feb 2025)
  • Etsy's consolidated gross merchandise sales were $11.92 billion in 2025, of which the Etsy marketplace was $10.46 billion (87.8%) and Depop $1.07 billion. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • 74% of Etsy marketplace GMS came from US buyers and 26% from buyers outside the US in 2025. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • 45% of Etsy marketplace GMS was transacted through the Etsy app in 2025, up from 42% in 2024. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Etsy's top six categories (home and living, jewellery and personal accessories, apparel, craft supplies, paper and party supplies, and toys and games) made up about $8.9 billion, or 85%, of Etsy marketplace GMS in 2025, from more than 100 million items for sale. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • In Etsy's 2024 Seller Census, 89% of sellers were businesses of one and 97% ran their businesses from home. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • In the same survey, 80% of Etsy sellers identified as women and 51% were multi-channel sellers. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Etsy estimates that about 17% of adults in the US and UK shopped on Etsy at least once in 2025: about 30% of women and about 10% of men. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Etsy's habitual buyers, who spent $200 or more and bought on six or more days in 12 months, numbered 5.9 million in 2025, about 7% of active buyers, and accounted for about 40% of 2025 GMS. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • About half of Etsy's active buyers bought only once during 2025. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Etsy marketplace GMS was $2.6 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 8.8% year on year, with a take rate of 26.2%. (Etsy (Q3 2026 shareholder letter), Oct 2026)
  • eBay agreed in February 2026 to buy the Depop resale marketplace from Etsy for $1.2 billion in cash. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • Depop had about 55.6 million registered users at the end of 2025, including 7.0 million active buyers and 3.2 million active sellers. (Etsy (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)

Active buyers and sellers are Etsy's own definitions and the year-end counts cover the Etsy marketplace only, leaving out Depop. GMS is the dollar value of items sold, excluding shipping fees and net of refunds, and is not Etsy's revenue. The Seller Census is Etsy's own survey of its sellers.

How much is sold on eBay and Walmart Marketplace?

eBay reports tens of billions of dollars of sales between its users each year, and Walmart reports marketplace sales growing faster than its online sales as a whole. These are each company's own measures for all sellers, and neither separates out dropshipping.

$73.2bn 2023 $74.7bn 2024 $79.6bn 2025
View data table
eBay gross merchandise volume by year, in billions of dollars, on eBay's own definition. Each year comes from the release for that year; the link is to the latest one.
PeriodValue
2023$73.2bn
2024$74.7bn
2025$79.6bn
eBay gross merchandise volume by year, in billions of dollars, on eBay's own definition. Each year comes from the release for that year; the link is to the latest one. (eBay (Q4 and full year 2025 results), Feb 2026)
  • eBay's gross merchandise volume was $79.6 billion in 2025, up 7% as reported, and its revenue was $11.1 billion. (eBay (Q4 and full year 2025 results), Feb 2026)
  • eBay's GMV was $74.7 billion in 2024, and it had 134 million active buyers at the end of that year. (eBay (Q4 and full year 2024 results), Feb 2025)
  • eBay's GMV was $73.2 billion in 2023, and active buyers were 132 million at the end of 2023, against 134 million at the end of 2022. (eBay (Q4 and full year 2023 results), Feb 2024)
  • eBay had 135 million active buyers and 2.5 billion live listings worldwide at the end of 2025. (eBay (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • 51% of eBay's GMV in 2025 was generated outside the United States. (eBay (Form 10-K 2025), Feb 2026)
  • In the third quarter of 2026, eBay's GMV was $23.2 billion, up 15%, and its active buyers rose to 147 million. (eBay (Q3 2026 results), Oct 2026)
  • eBay's US GMV in the third quarter of 2026 was $12.5 billion, up 27%, and its international GMV $10.6 billion, up 4%. (eBay (Q3 2026 results), Oct 2026)
  • eBay's quarterly US GMV was $9.87 billion in the third quarter of 2025, then $10.72 billion, $11.50 billion and $11.69 billion in the three quarters that followed. (eBay (Q3 2026 results), Oct 2026)
  • eBay's international GMV was $10.23 billion in the third quarter of 2025, then $10.52 billion, $10.69 billion and $10.71 billion in the three quarters that followed. (eBay (Q3 2026 results), Oct 2026)
  • Walmart U.S. eCommerce sales grew 24% in the second quarter of Walmart's fiscal 2027, the quarter ended July 2026, and Walmart's global eCommerce sales grew 23%. (Walmart (Q2 FY27 earnings), Aug 2026)
  • Walmart's marketplace net sales grew by more than 50% in the same quarter. (Walmart (Q2 FY27 earnings), Aug 2026)
  • Nearly 50% of Walmart's marketplace business flowed through its fulfilment services in that quarter. (Walmart (Q2 FY27 earnings), Aug 2026)
  • eCommerce made up about 23% of Walmart U.S. sales in the quarter. (Walmart (Q2 FY27 earnings), Aug 2026)
  • eCommerce sales grew 19% at Walmart International and 26% at Sam's Club U.S. in the quarter. (Walmart (Q2 FY27 earnings), Aug 2026)

eBay's GMV is its own measure of the value of paid transactions between its users, a different definition from Etsy's GMS and Shopify's GMV, so the three are not compared. eBay's 2026 quarters include marketplaces it acquired, so they are not like for like with 2025. Walmart's figures are its own, for one quarter, and are growth rates and shares, not dollar totals.

Does any large retailer run on drop shipping?

Yes. Wayfair says in its annual report that its primary method of fulfilment is a drop-ship network. Its figures describe one large listed company, not the small online stores the word dropshipping usually means.

These are Wayfair's own figures for its whole business. They describe one company that uses drop shipping and are not a measure of dropshipping in general.

How many people in the EU use Temu, Shein and AliExpress?

Each has tens of millions of monthly users in the EU or more, on the numbers the platforms report under the Digital Services Act. These are counts of users, not of buyers or orders, and they say nothing about the sellers behind the listings.

  1. 1 Amazon Store 181.3m
  2. 2 Shein 108m
  3. 3 AliExpress 104.3m
  4. 4 Temu 75m
  5. 5 Zalando (retail) 74.5m
  6. 6 Google Shopping 70.8m
Average monthly active users in the EU of online marketplaces designated under the Digital Services Act, in millions, as listed by the European Commission on 6 November 2026. Each figure is reported by the platform itself, and the list does not state the reporting periods. (European Commission (DSA designated platforms list), Nov 2026)

The user numbers are reported by each provider under the Digital Services Act and listed by the Commission without prejudice to its assessment of the method. Temu's figure is the one on the Commission's list on 6 November 2026; later numbers attributed to Temu could not be checked at the source and are left out. The China export figure is a customs measure of goods ordered digitally, not a count of dropshipped parcels.

How many low-value parcels entered the US duty free, and what has changed?

More than a billion a year by fiscal 2023, after which the exemption for goods worth $800 or less was suspended in stages from May 2025. The counts cover every low-value shipment, whoever sent it, and do not show which were dropshipped.

139m 2015 1.36bn+ FY 2024
View data table
De minimis shipments processed by US Customs and Border Protection in 2015 and in fiscal year 2024, in millions, as stated in CBP's June 2026 interim final rule. The fiscal 2024 figure is given as over 1.36 billion.
PeriodValue
2015139m
FY 20241.36bn+
De minimis shipments processed by US Customs and Border Protection in 2015 and in fiscal year 2024, in millions, as stated in CBP's June 2026 interim final rule. The fiscal 2024 figure is given as over 1.36 billion. (CBP (interim final rule, June 2026), Jun 2026)
  • In fiscal year 2023 the US processed over 1 billion de minimis shipments, worth over $50 billion. (CBP (FY 2023 trade sheet), Jun 2024)
  • Nearly 90% of all shipments coming into the US in fiscal year 2024 entered through the small package environment. (CBP (FY 2024 trade sheet), Jun 2025)
  • In fiscal year 2024, 90% of all US cargo seizures originated as de minimis shipments, including 98% of narcotics seizures by number of cases, on figures in a White House fact sheet. (The White House (de minimis fact sheet), Jul 2025)
  • The same fact sheet says 97% of intellectual property rights seizures in fiscal year 2024 originated as de minimis shipments, totalling 31 million counterfeit items. (The White House (de minimis fact sheet), Jul 2025)
  • In fiscal year 2024 CBP seized narcotics in postal de minimis shipments at a rate of 277.8 seizures per million shipments, against 15.8 per million for informally entered type 11 shipments and 2.6 per million for formally entered shipments. (CBP (proposed rule on low-value shipments), Oct 2026)

De minimis shipments, postal entries and type 11 informal entries are different customs categories, so counts from before and after the suspension are not like for like. The seizure shares come from a White House fact sheet that cites CBP data. All of these figures cover low-value shipments of every kind.

When did the US de minimis exemption end?

  • The US suspended de minimis treatment for low-value packages from China and Hong Kong effective 2 May 2025. (The White House (de minimis fact sheet), Jul 2025)
  • Effective 29 August 2025, the suspension was extended globally to imported goods valued at or under $800 that are sent through means other than the international postal network. (The White House (de minimis fact sheet), Jul 2025)
  • The White House fact sheet says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act repeals the statutory basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide effective 1 July 2027. (The White House (de minimis fact sheet), Jul 2025)
  • In October 2026 CBP wrote that the exemption had been suspended since at least 29 August 2025, and that two interim final rules published on 24 June 2026 announced its indefinite suspension in CBP's regulations, effective 24 June 2026. (CBP (proposed rule on low-value shipments), Oct 2026)

What has happened since the exemption was suspended?

How many low-value parcels are imported into the EU and the UK?

Billions of items a year in the EU and hundreds of millions of consignments in the UK, nearly all of the EU's from China, and both are ending duty relief on them. Customs counts cover all low-value e-commerce imports and do not show which were dropshipped.

  • China 93%
  • Great Britain 2%
  • United States 1%
  • Others 4%
Origin of low-value e-commerce items imported into the EU in 2025, by number of items, on European Commission customs figures. (European Commission (customs: goods bought online), 2025)

The EU figures count items in consignments with an intrinsic value of up to €150, from customs declarations. The 2024 figure comes from an earlier Commission document. None of these counts separates dropshipped goods from other imports.

How many low-value parcels enter the UK?

The UK figure is an HMRC estimate from sample data on one kind of bulk customs declaration, counted in consignments. The EU figures count items. The two are not comparable.

Do low-value imports into the EU meet product rules?

The control operation was a programme of intensified checks, not a random sample of parcels, so its failure rates are not rates for all imports.

How much of UK retail is online?

More than a quarter of retail sales in Great Britain, on the Office for National Statistics measure, well above the share before 2020. The measure covers the online sales of all retailers and has no dropshipping category.

12.5% 2015 14.7% 2016 16.3% 2017 18.0% 2018 19.2% 2019 28.1% 2020 30.7% 2021 26.6% 2022 26.7% 2023 27.1% 2024 27.5% 2025
View data table
Internet sales as a percentage of total retail sales in Great Britain, annual, on the Office for National Statistics series J4MC.
PeriodValue
201512.5%
201614.7%
201716.3%
201818.0%
201919.2%
202028.1%
202130.7%
202226.6%
202326.7%
202427.1%
202527.5%
Internet sales as a percentage of total retail sales in Great Britain, annual, on the Office for National Statistics series J4MC. (ONS (internet sales ratio, series J4MC), Oct 2026)

ONS figures are for Great Britain, not the whole UK, and count online sales by all retailers, with or without shops. The September 2026 share is the seasonally adjusted figure from the monthly bulletin; the annual and monthly values come from a separate ONS series, and the two are not mixed. This is a different measure from the US Census Bureau and Eurostat figures on this page.

How many people in the EU shop online, and where do they buy from?

About three in four people aged 16 to 74, on Eurostat's household survey, with wide gaps between countries. A growing share buy from sellers outside the EU, on the Commission's consumer survey.

  1. 1 Ireland 95.1%
  2. 2 Netherlands 94.2%
  3. 3 Denmark 91.2%
  4. 4 Sweden 88.8%
  5. 5 Germany 81.4%
  6. 6 France 80.2%
  7. 7 EU-27 73.6%
  8. 8 Spain 70.8%
  9. 9 Poland 69.7%
  10. 10 Romania 60.3%
  11. 11 Italy 56.2%
  12. 12 Bulgaria 51.2%
Share of individuals aged 16-74 who bought online in the previous 12 months, 2025, in selected EU countries and the EU as a whole, on Eurostat's household survey. (Eurostat (dataset isoc_ec_ib20), Apr 2026)

Eurostat gives two bases, internet users and all individuals, and they are kept apart. The Commission's Consumer Conditions Survey is a separate survey of adults over a 12-month window, while Eurostat's origin-of-seller series covers purchases in the last 3 months and ends in 2023, so the two cross-border figures are not compared. These are EU measures and are not set against the US or UK shares on this page.

What do people in the EU buy online?

  • In 2024, 59.0% of EU individuals aged 16-74 bought physical goods online in the previous 3 months, and 42.3% bought clothes, shoes or accessories. (Eurostat (dataset isoc_ec_ibgs), Apr 2026)
  • 18.8% of EU individuals bought cosmetics, beauty or wellness products online in that period, 18.0% furniture, home accessories or gardening products and 15.4% sports goods. (Eurostat (dataset isoc_ec_ibgs), Apr 2026)
  • 14.7% bought printed books, magazines or newspapers online, 14.6% medicine or dietary supplements and 13.7% computers, tablets, mobile phones or accessories. (Eurostat (dataset isoc_ec_ibgs), Apr 2026)
  • 12.1% bought children's toys or childcare items online and 10.8% consumer electronics or household appliances. (Eurostat (dataset isoc_ec_ibgs), Apr 2026)

How many EU businesses sell online, and through marketplaces?

Eurostat's enterprise survey leaves out the smallest businesses, and its e-sales include orders placed between businesses, so it is not a count of small online stores.

How many online orders are returned?

Close to a fifth of online sales in the US, on retailers' own estimates, and more than for retail as a whole. These are rates for the retailers surveyed and are not return rates for dropshipped orders.

  1. 1 Online purchases 17.6%
  2. 2 All retail 14.5%
  3. 3 In store 10.02%
US retail return rates in 2023 by channel, on the NRF and Appriss Retail report for that year. (NRF and Appriss Retail (2023 returns report), Dec 2023)

The 2025 figures are estimates by retailers in a survey by NRF and Happy Returns. The 2023 figures come from an earlier NRF report with Appriss Retail that used a different method, so the two years are not a series. All of them cover US retail in general.

What does Appriss Retail estimate for 2025?

Appriss Retail's total is its own estimate. It is a different producer and a different method from the NRF and Happy Returns retailer survey above, so the two 2025 totals differ and are not compared or averaged.

How common are online shopping scams and complaints?

Online shopping is among the most reported kinds of fraud in the US, on FTC and BBB complaint data, and reports of it in England and Wales rose in the latest year. These are complaints and survey estimates about online shopping in general, and none of the datasets here records whether the seller was a dropshipper.

  1. 1 Apparel 6,426
  2. 2 Pets 3,145
  3. 3 Cars and machines 3,049
  4. 4 Footwear 2,439
  5. 5 Furniture and appliances 2,121
  6. 6 Medical and nutrition 1,444
  7. 7 Toys and collectibles 1,376
  8. 8 Jewellery 1,276
  9. 9 Cosmetics 1,117
  10. 10 Digital devices 977
Most mentioned products in online purchase and counterfeit scam reports to BBB Scam Tracker in 2025, by number of mentions, in the US and Canada. (BBB Institute (2025 Scam Tracker Risk Report), Aug 2026)
  • US consumers filed 3 million fraud reports with the FTC in 2025 and reported $15.9 billion in losses, across all kinds of fraud. (FTC (testimony on fraud, March 2026), Mar 2026)
  • In 2024 the FTC received about 2.6 million fraud reports, with reported losses of $12.5 billion. (FTC (testimony on fraud, March 2026), Mar 2026)
  • Online shopping issues were the second most commonly reported fraud category in the US in 2024, after imposter scams. (FTC (2024 fraud data release), Mar 2025)
  • 38% of people who reported a fraud to the FTC in 2024 said they lost money, up from 27% in 2023. (FTC (2024 fraud data release), Mar 2025)
  • Reported losses to scams on social media reached $2.1 billion in the US in 2025, about eight times the 2020 level. (FTC (Data Spotlight, social media scams), Apr 2026)
  • Among 2025 US fraud reports with a loss, 31% gave a website or app as the contact method, 28% social media, 11% a phone call, 10% email and 7% text. (FTC (Data Spotlight, social media scams), Apr 2026)
  • The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 56,478 non-payment or non-delivery complaints in 2025, with reported losses of $503.4 million. (FBI (2025 IC3 Annual Report), 2026)
  • The center received 49,572 non-payment or non-delivery complaints in 2024 ($785.4 million lost) and 50,523 in 2023 ($309.6 million). (FBI (2025 IC3 Annual Report), 2026)
  • Across all crime types, the center received 1,008,597 complaints in 2025 with reported losses of $20.877 billion, a 26% increase in losses from 2024. (FBI (2025 IC3 Annual Report), 2026)
  • Online purchase scams were the most reported scam type on BBB Scam Tracker in 2025, at 28.4% of all published scams in the US and Canada. (BBB Institute (2025 Scam Tracker Risk Report), Aug 2026)
  • 89.3% of people who reported an online purchase scam to BBB Scam Tracker in 2025 lost money, with a median loss of $68, and BBB ranked it the No. 3 riskiest scam type. (BBB Institute (2025 Scam Tracker Risk Report), Aug 2026)
  • Among businesses reporting to BBB Scam Tracker in 2025, online purchase scams were the riskiest type, with 64.1% of reports involving a loss and a median loss of $857. (BBB Institute (2025 Scam Tracker Risk Report), Aug 2026)
  • Apparel was the most mentioned product in BBB online purchase and counterfeit scam reports in 2025, with 6,426 mentions, followed by pets (3,145) and cars and machines (3,049). (BBB Institute (2025 Scam Tracker Risk Report), Aug 2026)
  • Footwear had 2,439 mentions in those reports, furniture and appliances 2,121, medical and nutrition products 1,444, toys and collectibles 1,376, jewellery 1,276, cosmetics 1,117 and digital devices 977. (BBB Institute (2025 Scam Tracker Risk Report), Aug 2026)

FTC, FBI and BBB figures are counts of complaints that people chose to file, not measures of how often fraud happens, and the three systems are separate and are not added together. The FTC and FBI totals cover all fraud or internet crime, not shopping alone. BBB counts mentions in reports, not victims.

How common is online shopping fraud in the UK?

Report Fraud figures are crimes reported to the national reporting centre, and the Crime Survey is a household survey of adults; consumer and retail fraud is wider than online shopping fraud. The survey has no estimates for the years to March 2021 and March 2022. UK Finance reports cases from its member banks and payment firms. The three are different measures.

How often do EU online shoppers run into problems?

The Commission's Consumer Conditions Survey and Eurostat's household survey ask different questions of different samples, so their problem rates are not compared.

Glossary

Dropshipping
A way of fulfilling orders in which the seller holds no stock and a supplier ships the goods straight to the customer. It is not an industry in official statistics, which is why no official count exists.
E-commerce sales (US Census Bureau)
Sales of goods and services by US retailers where the order was placed online. The quarterly series covers all online retail.
Nonstore retailers
A US industry group of retailers without shops, including electronic shopping and mail-order houses. It is an industry measure and not the same as e-commerce sales.
Third-party seller
A business that sells through a marketplace run by another company, such as an independent seller in Amazon's store.
Paid units
Amazon's count of items sold. Its seller unit mix is the share of worldwide paid units sold by third-party sellers.
GMV and GMS
Gross merchandise volume (eBay, Shopify) and gross merchandise sales (Etsy): the value of goods sold through a platform, on each company's own definition. Neither is the platform's revenue.
Take rate
Etsy's revenue as a share of the value of goods sold on its marketplace.
Active seller and active buyer
Each marketplace's own count of accounts that sold or bought in a recent period, on its own definition.
De minimis
A customs exemption that lets low-value goods enter without duty. In the US it covered shipments valued at $800 or less until it was suspended.
Low-value consignment
In EU customs, a consignment with an intrinsic value of €150 or less. The UK threshold for its low-value import relief is £135.
Type 11 informal entry
A US customs informal entry type. CBP reports type 11 shipments separately from postal entries.
DSA and VLOP
The EU Digital Services Act and its Very Large Online Platforms, those reporting more than 45 million average monthly users in the EU.
Employer establishment and nonemployer firm
A US business location with paid employees, and a business with none. Official survival rates cover only the former.
CSEW
The Crime Survey for England and Wales, a household survey of adults run for the Office for National Statistics.
Authorised push payment fraud
Fraud in which the victim is tricked into sending a payment themselves. A purchase scam is the kind where the goods paid for never arrive.
CBP, FTC, NRF and UNCTAD
US Customs and Border Protection, the US Federal Trade Commission, the US National Retail Federation and UN Trade and Development.

Methodology and sources

No statistics office counts dropshipping, and the dropshipping market sizes and success rates that circulate online have no traceable primary origin, so they are not on this page. The page measures what dropshipping runs on: e-commerce sales, marketplaces and their third-party sellers, cross-border platforms, low-value parcel imports and de minimis rules, returns, fraud and complaints, and small business survival. No e-commerce, marketplace or parcel figure here is a dropshipping figure. Figures come from the public bodies and companies that run each measure: the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Small Business Administration, US Customs and Border Protection, the White House, the FTC and the FBI; the Office for National Statistics, HM Treasury and HMRC and UK Finance; Eurostat and the European Commission; UNCTAD; the filings and reports of Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Shopify, Walmart and Wayfair; and reports from NRF, Appriss Retail and the BBB Institute. Each figure links to the document that published it, with the date, and names the population it covers. Company figures are each company's own metric for the stated quarter or year. US, UK and EU online retail shares are different measures and are never merged. Survival rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Small Business Administration cover employer establishments and are not dropshipping success rates. Where a producer published two values, the later is used, so the fiscal 2024 de minimis volume comes from CBP's June 2026 rule. Temu's EU user number is the one on the European Commission's list. The 2025 US returns totals from NRF and Appriss Retail use different methods and are kept apart. A figure for China's cross-border e-commerce trade that could not be checked at its source is left out. The page gives no advice on how to dropship. It is reviewed monthly.