In the third quarter of 2026, Temu, Shein, and AliExpress generated significantly lower combined revenue in Germany. According to data from the German E-Commerce and Mail Order Association (bevh) reported by trade and news media, the value declined by 35.5 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year, reaching 566 million euros.
The association links this development to higher costs for small shipments from third countries. Third countries are nations outside the European Union. This explanation should be understood as an assessment by the association. It does not prove that every revenue change resulted exclusively from customs costs.
For logistics, an additional distinction is important: revenue is not the same as package volume. If goods values, order sizes, or sales prices change, these two metrics can develop differently. Therefore, the stated decline does not allow calculation of an equally large reduction in air freight or delivery volume.
Parcel service providers and freight forwarders should base their planning on their own customer orders. It is advisable to inquire about expected shipment numbers, average weights, and possible changes in shipping warehouses. The question of whether goods come directly from Asia or from a European warehouse is also relevant.
For shippers, it is worthwhile to calculate total import costs carefully. In addition to the goods price, this includes transportation, applicable duties and taxes, and agreed customs clearance services. Which amounts actually apply must be verified for the specific procedure and the particular goods in question. The revenue report alone is not a legal basis for determining a specific customs rate.
In customer communication, the comparison period should also be mentioned. It concerns July through September and three platforms combined. An assertion about the entire German e-commerce sector would be too broad a conclusion. Capacity decisions therefore require additional data from one's own business.