What Cross-Border Shoppers Actually Want in 2026, and Whether You’re Ready to Deliver It

Landmark Global’s new global insight report draws on data from 12 countries across Europe, North America and Australia. Here’s what stood out, and why it matters for your cross-border strategy.

Cross-border ecommerce has quietly crossed a threshold. The question for most international retailers is no longer whether to sell abroad. It’s whether their operations can actually sustain growth once they get there.

That’s the premise behind The e-seller’s guide to cross-border growth, a new global insight report published by Landmark Global. Spanning 12 destination markets (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Switzerland, the US, Canada and Australia), the report synthesises consumer survey data, market statistics and proprietary logistics research into a coherent picture of where cross-border ecommerce stands today, and where operational gaps are most likely to cost you.

It’s a dense and data-rich document. This article highlights the themes we think will resonate most with the CB Commerce Europe community.

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Three structural shifts you may be underestimating

The report opens by identifying three macro-level trends reshaping the cross-border landscape. None of them are entirely new, but the pace and scale may surprise you.

Markets are becoming more open. Cross-border participation has hit significant levels in most mature ecommerce markets. In some countries, it already exceeds half of all ecommerce activity. Some countries stand out: Italy, Canada, Germany, the Benelux. The supply side (global marketplaces, international brand platforms) has expanded dramatically, and so has consumer appetite for variety beyond national borders.

Carts are getting bigger. Average order values are rising consistently across markets. For logistics and fulfilment teams, this trend has clear implications: higher-value goods demand tighter handling, more reliable tracking and lower tolerance for failure.

And, perhaps the most strategically important shift, the domestic/international distinction is disappearing. Consumers no longer accept degraded delivery experiences just because a parcel crossed a border. They apply the same benchmarks (reliable timing, end-to-end visibility, easy returns) to international orders as they do to domestic ones. Tracking adoption illustrates the point: between 76% and 92% of online shoppers in the markets studied actively track their parcels. In practical terms, post-purchase visibility is no longer a differentiator but a baseline infrastructure.

What do shoppers universally expect?

Across all 12 markets, the report identifies several consumer expectations that show up consistently regardless of country or product category.

Cost transparency ranks as either the top or near-top priority everywhere. Shoppers want to see the full landed cost, including duties and taxes, before they commit. Hidden fees at delivery don’t just generate complaints, they generate cart abandonment. Nearly a third of Canadian shoppers cite unexpected final costs as a reason they abandon checkout.

Reliability over speed. Delivery speed matters, but not quite in the way it’s often discussed. Canada and the US lead on speed sensitivity yet even in those markets, consistent and predictable delivery outranks raw pace. European consumers have broadly settled on 3–7 business days as a reasonable standard for cross-border orders. Can your business deliver on this?

Simple returns. Nearly 100% of respondents across all markets have returned at least one item in the past year. The friction of cross-border returns remains one of the more persistent barriers to repeat purchase, and the report dedicates specific attention to what shoppers want: clear processes, easy label generation, accessible drop-off points, and no surprises on cost or timing.

Mobile-first by default. Smartphones now dominate ecommerce browsing and purchasing in every market analysed. In the US, more than half of cross-border purchases happen on mobile. Across most European markets, the figure is more or less the same. Retailers who haven’t optimised their checkout, delivery selection and tracking flows for mobile are creating friction at precisely the moment it hurts conversion most.

Any regional patterns worth knowing?

The report also surfaces clear behavioural clusters across three broad regions. Anglo-Saxon markets (UK, US, Canada, Australia) combine high speed expectations with rapid adoption of alternative delivery points and mobile-first habits. Western and Southern European markets (Spain, Italy, Belgium, France) show stronger sensitivity to return convenience and delivery cost transparency, alongside growing sustainability expectations. Northern and Central Europe prioritises carrier trust, customs clarity and precision over speed.

These aren’t just cultural curiosities. They have direct implications for how you configure delivery options, communicate costs, and structure your post-purchase experience by market.

Two trends you can’t ignore

Before wrapping up, the report flags two trends that may already be shaping your competitive landscape without yet appearing in your analytics.

The first is the rise of pick-up and drop-off networks (PUDO). Home delivery remains dominant, but consumer appetite for locker and collection point options is growing across all markets, driven partly by convenience, partly by missed-delivery fatigue.

Belgium, as it happens, has one of the densest PUDO networks in the world, a data point that will resonate with many in this community.

The second is the normalisation of sustainability expectations. Overpackaging is consistently unpopular and a majority of consumers recycle packaging. Many say they’d accept slower delivery for environmental reasons, but only when reliability isn’t sacrificed. Sustainability, the report argues, is no longer emerging. It’s now embedded.

The bottom line

Logistics has become a brand variable. The retailers who will grow cross-border in 2026 and beyond are those who treat delivery performance, returns management and customs handling not as backend functions but as direct contributors to conversion, trust and loyalty.

The full report goes considerably deeper, with country-level data, parcel economics by size, weight and category, and detailed factsheets on Belgium, the US and Canada. If cross-border growth is on your roadmap, it’s worth the read.

Download the free ebook: The e-seller’s guide to cross-border growth. Delivery preferences and global trends from 12 international markets.

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This article is based on “The e-seller’s guide to cross-border growth” published by Landmark Global, a CB Commerce Europe partner. The report draws on IPC Cross-border E-commerce Shopper Surveys 2024–2025, Statista, Digital Commerce 360, eMarketer and Landmark Global proprietary research.