MerchantPro Compass: eCommerce order volumes stagnate in the first six months of 2026. Vertical performance diverges, ranging from +42% to −20%
MerchantPro data, based on a sample of online stores active on the platform in both periods analysed, shows that in the first six months of 2026, sales value increased by 4% year-on-year, while the number of orders remained flat.…
MerchantPro data, based on a sample of online stores active on the platform in both periods analysed, shows that in the first six months of 2026, sales value increased by 4% year-on-year, while the number of orders remained flat. Performance across verticals, however, varied significantly. Electronics, Gadgets and Accessories advanced by more than 42% in sales value, supported by a 35% increase in the number of orders. Pharma recorded a 30% increase in order volume, while average order value remained virtually unchanged, making it the only major vertical in the sample to follow this pattern. Beauty, by contrast, posted the steepest decline in transactions during the first half of the year, at nearly 20%. Fashion remained stable, with variations of less than 3% across both indicators.
The comparison is based on a constant pool of merchants active in both periods and therefore reflects genuine changes in consumer behaviour rather than the expansion of the merchant base on the platform.
Verticals moving in opposite directions The aggregate figures conceal substantial differences. The strongest growth in the first half of the year came from Electronics, Gadgets and Accessories, which increased by 42% in sales value and 35% in the number of orders. Growth was driven simultaneously by a higher number of buyers and a higher average order value, suggesting that technology purchases remained a priority even during a year marked by cautious consumption. Part of the increase may be explained by replacement cycles postponed in 2025, when political and fiscal uncertainty pushed major purchasing decisions into 2026. Pharma followed a different pattern: sales value increased by 26%, while the number of orders rose by more than 30%, with average order value declining slightly from €29 to €28. It is the only category growing exclusively through volume, without an increase in average order value. Sporting Goods and Food Products increased by more than 10% in sales value, supported mainly by growth in the number of orders. Books & Music recorded a similarly positive performance, up 16% in value, but this increase was generated almost entirely by an 11% rise in average order value, most likely caused by last year's increase in the VAT rate applied to publishing products, which was gradually reflected in retail prices. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Beauty recorded the steepest decline of the first half: −20% in sales value and −21% in the number of orders. Average order value remained virtually unchanged, indicating that consumers are not shifting towards cheaper products but are effectively reducing purchase frequency, with cosmetics among the first categories to be cut back or postponed when household budgets come under pressure.
