Returns aren’t a seasonal spike or an edge case in U.S. retail anymore — they’re a structural part of the business. According to the National Retail Federation, U.S. shoppers returned an estimated $849.9 billion in merchandise in 2025, a return rate of 15.8% of total retail sales. Online-only purchases ran higher, at 19.3%, and NRF…
93% of US Shoppers Are Convenience-Driven: What D2C Brands Can’t Ignore in Fulfillment DHL’s 2026 E-Commerce Trends Report, released June 25, 2026, put a specific number on something most D2C brands already sense from their own return rates and support tickets: 93% of surveyed U.S. online shoppers identify as convenience-driven, prioritizing fast, free delivery and…
Section 122, 301, 232: A Shipper’s Map to U.S. Tariffs in 2026 A year ago, most importers could get a reasonable estimate of their landed cost by looking up an HTS code and checking the general duty rate. That’s no longer true. Depending on the product and its country of origin, a single shipment can…
Should You Import Early to Beat a Tariff Increase? The Front-Loading Cost-Benefit Framework U.S. container imports hit roughly 2.5 million TEU in July 2026 — the fourth-highest July on record — largely because importers rushed cargo in ahead of a tariff deadline. That pattern isn’t unique to July. Every time a new tariff, exclusion expiration,…
US De Minimis Exemption Is Over: What the August 2026 Court Ruling Means for $800 Imports On August 13, 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that the president had the legal authority to eliminate duty-free treatment for low-value shipments from China, Mexico, and Canada — the so-called “de minimis” exemption that used…
CPSC eFiling Mandatory From July 8, 2026: What It Means for US Import Customs Clearance As of July 8, 2026, most CPSC-regulated consumer products can no longer clear U.S. customs on a paper certificate alone. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) new eFiling requirement means the certificate data has to reach U.S. Customs and Border…
U.S. Container Imports Top 2.5 Million TEU in July 2026: Why Shippers Rushed Cargo Ahead of New Tariffs U.S. container imports surged to roughly 2.5 million TEU in July 2026, the fourth-highest July on record. The spike wasn’t driven by a sudden jump in consumer demand — it was driven by a tariff deadline. Importers…
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