YIWU, Zhejiang - On July 28, 2026, the Yiwu Municipal Market Development Committee released data showing that in the first half of 2026, Yiwu's total e-commerce transaction volume reached 324.093 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.62%. Notably, cross-border e-commerce transactions hit 100.084 billion yuan, up 11.25%, marking the first time half-year cross-border e-commerce volume surpassed the 100 billion yuan threshold.
The surge was driven by multiple factors: extreme heat across Europe, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia drove demand for cooling products including handheld fans, cooling textiles, and portable refrigeration devices; overseas holiday and festival merchandise orders spiked; and TikTok-driven viral products created new demand channels.
However, the industry also faces new challenges. On July 1, 2026, the European Union officially abolished its long-standing 150-euro duty-free de minimis threshold for small parcels, imposing a 3-euro temporary tariff based on product category, with additional customs administrative fees to follow. This directly impacts the direct-mail small-package model that many Yiwu small merchants have relied upon for years.
Source: Yiwu Municipal Market Development Committee, Zhihu, Baijiahao, 2026
