Our E-commerce Sales Are Growing—But Not All Channels Are Growing the Same
What GROW Nebraska’s 2026 sales data can teach businesses about reaching customers online.
E-commerce sales are growing at GROW Nebraska, but the most interesting part of our 2026 numbers is where that growth is happening.
Through August 2026, our total e-commerce sales increased approximately 10% compared with the same period last year. That’s encouraging, but the channel-by-channel results tell a more useful story: consumers are not necessarily changing whether they shop online—they’re changing where and how they discover products.
The numbers tell a bigger story
**Marketplace sales: Up approximately 9%**
Sales through third-party marketplaces increased, reinforcing the value of making products available where consumers are already shopping.
What this may mean for businesses: Your own website is important, but it may not be the only place customers are looking. Marketplaces can introduce products to shoppers who may never have found your website on their own.
**Direct online store sales: Down approximately 8%**
Sales through our direct online store decreased compared with the same period last year.
That doesn’t mean a website is less important. Your website remains a place to build trust, tell your story, showcase your full product line and connect with customers. But it does highlight the importance of understanding how customers find you and whether they are completing their purchases somewhere else.
**Shopify Collective: Up approximately 74%**
Shopify Collective sales saw significant growth in 2026.
What this may mean for businesses: Opportunities that connect products with other businesses and their audiences can create additional ways to reach customers without relying entirely on your own marketing efforts.
**TikTok sales: Up more than 200%**
TikTok remains a smaller portion of our overall e-commerce sales, but its growth is worth watching.
What this may mean for businesses: Shopping behavior can shift quickly. A channel that represents a small percentage of sales today may become an important discovery or sales opportunity tomorrow.
These figures reflect GROW Nebraska’s e-commerce sales through August 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Individual business results will vary.
What does this mean for Nebraska businesses?
The takeaway is not that every business needs to sell on every platform. It’s that businesses should understand where their customers are shopping and determine which channels make sense for their products.
For some businesses, that may mean strengthening their own website. For others, it may mean exploring Amazon, eBay, Target Plus, TikTok Shop or another marketplace. It may also mean looking at wholesale opportunities or partnerships that introduce products to new audiences.
The right mix will depend on the product, customer, resources and goals. But relying on only one way for customers to discover and purchase your products can limit your opportunities.
A few questions worth asking about your own business:
- Where are customers discovering my products? Is it through Google, social media, marketplaces, referrals or another business?
- Am I making it easy for customers to buy? Are there places they already shop where my products could be available?
- Which sales channels are actually working? Look beyond total sales and consider where customers are coming from, what it costs to sell there and whether the channel is worth the effort.
- What is one channel I could test? You don’t have to expand everywhere at once. A focused test can help you learn what works for your business.
How GROW Nebraska can help
At GROW Nebraska, we currently sell Nebraska-made products through BuyNebraska.com, Amazon, Target Plus, eBay, TikTok Shop and Shopify Collective. We also operate NebraskaWholesale.com, helping connect Nebraska businesses with wholesale opportunities.
That experience gives us a firsthand look at how different channels work, how customers shop and how businesses can expand their reach.
Through GROW Nebraska membership, our team can help Nebraska businesses explore opportunities through third-party platforms such as Amazon, Target, eBay and TikTok, along with providing e-commerce education, marketing support and opportunities to reach customers beyond Nebraska.
The goal isn’t to be everywhere. It’s to be where your customers are and to have a strategy for getting there.
As we head into the holiday season, we’ll continue watching the data, testing new opportunities and adjusting as consumer behavior changes. E-commerce continues to grow, but where that growth happens is changing. For Nebraska businesses, understanding those changes can help turn new shopping habits into new opportunities.
