Amazon, Temu, and other major online shopping platforms based in the US and China have reportedly warned customers in the Middle East about longer delivery timelines. This follows disruptions to air and sea routes caused by the conflict between Iran, and the US and Israel. The situation has affected shipment movement to the region and delayed online deliveries.According to a Bloomberg report, delivery estimates from both American and Chinese e-commerce platforms have increased following the disruptions. The report cited data from the logistics tracking platform 17Track to claim that China’s Temu is currently showing delivery timelines of 6 to 20 days, compared with an earlier window of 7 to 15 days. Meanwhile, Shein has expanded its delivery window to 8 to 10 days, up from 5 to 8 days earlier.On Amazon, some products are displaying estimated delivery timelines of 35 to 45 days, whereas deliveries previously arrived in under 35 days. In several cases, delivery windows are about 10 days longer than before the conflict.The ongoing conflict may lead to further delays, the report claims. Two Chinese merchants selling mainly through Amazon, Shein, and Temu said they have reportedly paused plans to ship new inventory from China to the Middle East until conditions stabilise. Freight forwarders have also warned that shipping costs and delivery times could double if disruptions continue, the merchants told Bloomberg News.
What online retailers said about e-commerce disruptions due to the ongoing conflict
In a statement to Bloomberg, Huang Lun, a Chinese apparel merchant who sells on Amazon, Shein and Temu and expanded his business to the Middle East last year, said, “The Middle East market is a write-off this year. There’s so many layers of risks added to us, with shifting US tariffs, tightening regulations in Europe and now wars in the Middle East.”The growth of the Middle East market has come amid increasing uncertainty in the US, which has traditionally been a key cross-border e-commerce market.The delays show how the conflict is affecting global supply chains, increasing the possibility of higher prices and product shortages as the region enters Ramadan, a period of heightened shopping activity. The Gulf region has become an important market for global and Chinese online sellers, supported by a young consumer base that depends largely on imported goods.The conflict is disrupting the flow of goods, which is affecting air and container shipping. Airlines are halting flights, and trade through the Strait of Hormuz is coming to a stop. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. has halted all cargo bookings to and from the Middle East, and A.P. Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have suspended all crossings through the Strait.
