With transatlantic trade uncertainty showing no signs of easing, British retailers are turning their attention back to the EU.
Andrew Scanlon from Paxon – a newly formed third-party logistics brand created by bringing together three specialist providers: Active Ants, Staci and Radial – looks at how to successfully fulfil cross-border trading.
The EU opportunity
British brands are seeing a resurgence of retail opportunities in Europe. Last year saw UK businesses export more than £388 billion worth of goods and services across the Channel, figures from the Department for Business & Trade reveal.
As e-commerce continues its upward trajectory throughout Europe, the potential for cross-border sales keeps expanding. The number of online shoppers grew from 62% of the population a decade ago to 78% in the past year, spanning multiple demographics, according to Eurostat. Consumer electronics, fashion, beauty products and home goods dominate online baskets.
Why does this present an opportunity for UK retailers? Well, according to the European Commission, more than one in four EU consumers already shop outside of the EU. If UK retailers play their cards right, there’s no reason this figure can’t increase, but making the most of the opportunity hinges on three factors.
1) Early planning and preparation
To export goods to EU countries, UK retailers must have a GB Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number and submit detailed customs paperwork that confirms origin compliance.
HMRC’s Customs Declaration Service (CDS) handles these filings and retailers have to provide detailed information such as commodity codes, consignment details and references, customs procedure codes and details about logistics and transportation.
Keeping this information structured and readily available speeds up processing and reduces rejection risk. While it sounds like a significant task, the good news is that the administrative burden doesn’t have to sit with in-house teams. Retailers can delegate this to experienced fulfilment partners who manage CDS submissions as part of their service.
2) Warehousing and fulfilment – EU, UK or both?
When servicing EU customers, UK retailers can choose between fulfilling individual orders from domestic facilities, bulk moving inventory to Europe for local fulfilment, or utilising the best of both worlds.
Dual-entity warehousing has gained traction among British retailers pursuing serious European growth. Maintaining stock on both sides of the Channel cuts transit times, sidesteps border friction and reduces duty exposure for individual shipments.
EU-based bonded warehouses offer another route. They allow retailers to hold goods within the EU without paying duties until products enter free circulation.
The best approach varies considerably based on specific business circumstances. Customer geography, order frequency and volume, product value and category, all factor into the equation.
Mapping these variables, ideally with a fulfilment partner who has managed the process plenty of times before, leads to better decisions about cost control, avoiding border delays and eliminating guesswork.
3) Stay ahead of the curve
Selling across the EU can mean juggling different VAT structures, taxation frameworks and local compliance requirements. Getting ahead of these challenges is essential, but it’s not a one-time exercise. However well-developed a supply chain strategy is, it will need to keep pace with an evolving regulatory environment.
For example, there are plans to abolish the long-standing duty-free relief for parcels valued at under €150, which enter the EU from non-EU sellers. New interim measures are expected from 1 July 2026, with announcements from the European Council and the Council of the European Union indicating that a flat rate customs duty of €3 could be applied to items contained in smalls parcels valued at less than €150. The duty could be levied on each different category of item, identified by their tariff sub-headings, contained in a parcel. Previous reports suggest these measures could change again in 2028, when the EU’s customs data hub is operational.
There are also changing regulations for all packaging placed on the EU market, which applies to non-EU businesses. This will make new requirements for packaging recyclability, as well as introducing restrictions on the size of empty spaces in packaging.
UK retailers must stay on top of evolving EU regulations to avoid costly compliance failures and to ensure they keep products moving smoothly and cost-effectively to customers throughout the Union.
Click here to find out more about fulfilment strategies that can drive growth across the EU.
