Q1 2026 Retail Ecommerce Industry Trends Report
Tighter media allocation, demand-aligned inventory, and profitable growth over scale.
Q1 2026 extended the 2025 pattern:
This Q1 2026 State of Ecommerce report brings total industry and category breakdowns that reflect ecommerce retail and insights that set the ground for a strong performance in 2026.
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Key takeaways
Revenue is growing on volume, not value:: Brands are broadly trading revenue quality for volume, compressing gross margins from 20% to 18% across the portfolio.
Conversion efficiency is masking a shrinking top of funnel:: Overall conversion jumped to 28.1% in March even as glance views declined ~5% YoY — fewer browsers but more buyers.
Supply chain execution improved materially, but unevenly:: The overall PO fill rate rose ~7pp YoY to ~86%, and fulfilled units grew 15.4% in March — a meaningful operational step forward.
Ad spend is ccaling faster than it is earning:: Early-quarter spend showed the weakest efficiency, with returns back-loaded toward March.
Margin outcomes are increasingly a function of assortment discipline:: Categories that reduced discounts and shifted toward higher-ASP items saw margins expand dramatically, while those that chased volume through lower prices saw margins collapse.
Stockout losses are concentrated where growth is fastest: E: espite on-hand inventory running well above prior year in several high-growth categories, OOS losses widened.
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