#BlinkTank: Conflict in the Middle East, the "double squeeze," and structured discovery
@sam
6mo·9 min read
#BlinkTank: Conflict in the Middle East, the "double squeeze," and structured discovery
Hi everyone,
Obviously, a lot has happened over the last week. We’ll talk about the specific impacts on the eCommerce industry shortly, but first, we want to acknowledge the very real human cost of the conflict.
The recent strikes in the Middle East and the uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz represent more than just a supply chain headache or a line item on a spreadsheet. Behind this are families, workers, and communities facing profound uncertainty and danger. We never want to lose sight of the people at the centre of these events.
The twin pressures on eCommerce
As we shift our focus to the industry, the situation in the Middle East has moved rapidly overnight. This created a "double squeeze" on global commerce - simultaneously driving up energy prices while forcing a total rerouting of maritime corridors.
As of this morning, the "de facto" closure of the Strait of Hormuz has shifted into an official "closed military zone" declaration by the IRGC. For eCommerce leaders, this is no longer just a repeat of the 2023 Red Sea disruptions; it is a fundamental shift in global logistics. Here is what we are seeing:
The Suez Canal is effectively offline: With the entrance to the Gulf blocked, any hopes for a return of container shipping to the Suez Canal in 2026 have been shelved. Carriers are on red alert, rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope - a move that adds 10–15 days to standard transit times and significantly increases fuel burn.
Air Freight capacity faces crunch: As sea lanes become non-viable for most commercial operators, the pivot to air cargo is driving immediate rate spikes. For high-value categories like electronics and pharmaceuticals, capacity is already being auctioned to the highest bidder.
Energy prices to rocket: With oil prices spiking toward the $85+ range this morning, the "energy tax" is trickling into every aspect of our industry - from packaging manufacturing costs to the fuel surcharges on the last-mile delivery van.
What can we do?
In all honesty, there is very little we can do other than wait and hope that the situation resolves itself quickly. However, from an operational perspective, we reached out to Chris Nawrocki, founder and CCO of Heur, for his take on how brands should navigate these immediate challenges.
"From an eCommerce operator’s seat, this quickly becomes a margin and cashflow conversation, not a geopolitical one. The pressure will show up in freight bills, packaging costs, and working capital long before it becomes obvious in the headline P&L. The brands that stay steady will be the ones that reforecast early, speak plainly to customers, and protect margin with discipline rather than hoping things settle down on their own."
With this in mind, we recommend two immediate levers:
Over communication: Don't wait for the delivery to be late to tell the customer. If your landed costs are spiking or your lead times rising update your shipping pages and post-purchase emails immediately. Transparency builds more loyalty than a surprise delay.
Buffer indexing: If you have the capital, now is the time to look at your inventory buffers. During times of uncertainty, running a just-in-time model carries a lot of risk.
Google updates Universal Commerce Protocol documentation
It is a fairly jarring tonal shift to go from discussing global maritime corridors to technical documentation, but here we are. While we can’t personally go out and clear the Strait of Hormuz, we can make sure our feeds are ready for the future of AI. It’s a small win, but we’ll take it.
We’ve talked about the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) as a foundational shift before, but Google has just released a major documentation update that moves the story from "vague future concept" into an actual operational playbook.
This isn't a brand-new concept, but a continuing evolution in how platforms expects product data to be surfaced. As we all know, the shift is away from basic site crawling and toward a machine-readable standard that allows your products to live natively within AI interfaces.
In an update that sounded like a major victory for transparency, Google Ads is reportedly finally showing Performance Max (PMax) placements within the "Where Ads Showed" report.
Credit: Search Engine Land
Historically, we’ve had to rely on the standard "Placement" report for PMax data, which is notoriously stingy - it only shows impressions, leaving us in the dark about actual clicks or cost per placement. The hope with this new update is that moving PMax data into the "Where Ads Showed" report will finally unlock those deeper performance metrics.
However, the reality check from our PPC team is that it hasn't landed for everyone yet. When checking client accounts this week, PMax data was still missing from the new report, showing only the standard Display campaign info. It’s a step in the right direction, but for now, it’s another "wait and see" rollout from Google.
We’ve seen anecdotal evidence for a while that legacy platforms like Prestashop were losing their foothold in European markets, and new data continues to point toward Shopify’s growing dominance in new store builds globally.
This isn't a great surprise, but speaking to merchants we're finding in particular that Shopify's AI readiness is a message that really resonates.
The February 2026 Discover Core Update is now officially complete. While Discover traffic isn't always the primary driver for every Shopify store, it’s worth checking your Search Console if you’ve seen any unexpected volatility in your feed-based traffic over the last few days. Google is continuing to treat the Discover algorithm as a distinct entity from traditional search results.
In a move that broadens the reach of Shopify brands, Shop Campaigns now integrate directly with ChatGPT Ads.
For those using Shop Campaigns - Shopify’s pay-per-sale channel - this adds ChatGPT as a partner network. Shopify is essentially buying ad space within chatbot responses to surface merchant products. It’s an interesting, low-friction channel for smaller brands to get their products inside an LLM interface, as you only pay when a conversion actually happens.
I’m speaking at Quickfire's wonderful Engage with Ecommerce event in London on March 25th. It’s going to be a great event focused on the practical side of these industry shifts. If you are in London or nearby, I'd love to see you there.
This week’s shout-out goes to Dan and the team at Duga Digital.
From a tracking, analytics, and reporting perspective, they are honestly some of the smartest people I’ve met. At a time when GA4 is a constant headache and data is increasingly fragile, you need people who truly understand the plumbing of technical marketing. If you’re struggling to get a clear picture of your data, Dan is well worth a conversation.