Beyond the Basket - 07/04/26

Tuesday 7th April | #71 | Join Free

Good morning. We hope you had a restful Easter weekend, we're coming in a little lighter than usual today, with most people sensibly stepping away from their dashboards for the long weekend. But the stories worth jumping on straight away are Amazon's new 1.5% fuel levy hitting on 17th April, Shopify opening up its B2B wholesale tools to all plans and Etsy quietly updating their delayed delivery policy. Dig into the details below. - Mike

In the basket today:

➕Plus your tool recommendations and this week's community tab question.

TLDR: From 17th April 2026, Amazon is applying a 1.5% fuel and logistics surcharge to FBA fulfilment fees across the UK and nine other European markets, adding roughly £0.05 per unit on average.

Why it Matters: This marks the first time Amazon has passed fuel cost increases directly onto European FBA sellers. The trigger is disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil supply normally flows, following the US-Israel war on Iran. Because the surcharge is calculated on fulfilment fees rather than sale price, high-volume, low-margin sellers will feel the impact most. The same 1.5% surcharge will also apply to Multi-Channel Fulfilment from 2 May 2026 in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, extending the cost increase beyond standard FBA orders.

Your Move: Run your top-selling ASINs through Amazon's updated Revenue Calculator, Profit Analytics dashboard or Fee and Economics Preview, all three have been updated to reflect the surcharge, and identify any products where it tips you into negative margin before the 17th April deadline.

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TLDR: Shopify is making its full B2B selling suite, custom pricing, trade accounts, wholesale checkout, available on all plan tiers at no extra cost.

Why it Matters: B2B features have been locked behind Shopify Plus for years, a plan that starts at around £1,950 a month, which meant most growing brands couldn't officially run wholesale alongside DTC without cobbling together workarounds or third-party apps. Opening this up to Basic, Grow and Advanced merchants removes one of the biggest blockers for brands who have wholesale buyers knocking. Not all sellers are convinced by the move. Some suggest it’s a land grab designed to bring smaller merchants into a limited version of B2B that they will eventually outgrow and be forced to upgrade. Shopify, however, frames the change as a response to merchant demand. “Merchants are telling us wholesale buyers are already asking to purchase their products. But too often, B2B tools have lived outside the systems they use to run their business,” said Samir Pradhan, VP of Product at Shopify.

Your Move: Log into your Shopify dashboard and check what B2B features are now live on your plan, if you've ever turned away a stockist, trade buyer, or had customers ask for volume pricing, you now have a native way to say yes.

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TLDR: Etsy has updated its Purchase Protection policy so buyers can only open a late delivery case if their order arrives seven or more days after the estimated date, up from the previous threshold of just one day late.

Why it Matters: For UK sellers who've had cases opened against them because Etsy's own optimistic delivery estimates set unrealistic expectations, this is a meaningful buffer. Etsy claims the change came from seller feedback, but industry observer Liz Morton of Value Added Resource notes that many sellers suspect the real driver is reducing Purchase Protection payouts that come out of Etsy's own pocket.

Your Move: Check your current processing and dispatch times in Etsy Shop Manager and make sure they're set conservatively enough to give yourself a real cushion, the new policy only protects you if your estimated delivery date is realistic in the first place.

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🔍 Bigger Picture: Etsy moves to ban real fur products from the marketplace – The platform says the change is part of its sustainability push, but some are questioning how and how widely the rule will be enforced. Read More>

TLDR: TikTok Shop is gaining genuine commercial traction across Europe, with Germany among the leading markets, as a growing share of consumers now complete purchases directly within the app.

Why it Matters: The platform has built one of the most complete end-to-end commerce loops in social media right now, with product listings in video, live shopping, and a creator affiliate network all inside the same environment. It is also no longer just smaller DTC brands experimenting. Major brands such as John Lewis, L’Oréal and Nivea are leaning into TikTok Shop campaigns, while creator-led brands like Made By Mitchell and P. Louise have shown the model can scale quickly. For UK sellers, the European data suggests the playbook is maturing fast.

Your Move: Activate TikTok Shop's affiliate programme on one product and put it in front of five to ten creators, the cost is low, the learning is fast, and the data will tell you quickly whether your category converts inside the app.

Read More>

Last issue we asked you to recommend, or hype up, the services and tools in your stack that you couldn’t operate without. Thanks for all the great responses. We dug through them and picked out a few of the best below.

Link My Books “Selling on Amazon and Ebay, this saves me hours. It pushes all your marketplace sales straight into my accounting software and handles the VAT properly. Saves me time reconciling my accounts” - Tim K

Parcel2Go “I check Parcel2Go before sending anything. Being able to see the options in one pace has helped me shave off costs on my Etsy shipping” - Lucy W

Veeqo “I sell on Amazon, and my own Shopify website, this has really helped me keep track of everything. Plus since Amazon bought it, it’s free as well.” - Keith J

For the next issue we’re asking: What’s the best £10-£50 a month you spend in your business? Hit reply with your answer and we’ll pick a few of the best to feature in next Tuesday’s issue.

9 Apr – IMRG: Ecommerce Market Update Webinar – Webinar
A webinar sharing the latest online retail performance data from IMRG’s Online Retail Index, including benchmarking insights and analysis of multichannel versus online-only retailer performance.

9 Apr – EtSEO Live Listing Critique Panel – Webinar
A live session from Etsy where Etsy experts review real product listings and share practical tips on improving titles, tags, photography and overall search optimisation.

14 Apr – IMRG: Problem-Solving Breakfast – London
A small-group discussion event for ecommerce professionals covering topics such as personalisation, retention, AI, social commerce and performance marketing, alongside insights from recent IMRG retail data.

22–23 Apr – Retail Technology Show – ExCeL London
One of the UK’s largest retail technology events, bringing together retailers, brands and technology providers to explore the latest tools shaping the future of retail.