Why has Brexit disrupted online shopping so disastrously?

The British government gave the impression the free trade deal it struck with the EU would enable goods to cross borders without painful charges. But for online shoppers and small retailers the reality has been very different. Ben Chu explains why

Some European retailers have simply given up on selling to the UK (PA)

Some online shoppers have been hit with a nasty shock since the new year.

Items that they have ordered online have taken much longer to arrive than usual and, when they have arrived, the customers have sometimes been asked to pay large and unexpected bills in order to release the goods from the delivery company.

The difficulties of buyers have been more than matched by the difficulties of online sellers.