Services Exports Have Become Central to Global Trade
As physical goods trade slows, operators must pivot to bundling digital services with products to remain competitive.
Updated on Oct. 7, 2026 in International Trade
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Services have grown to 27% of global exports as of 2025, with exports increasing by 8.3% over the year. Industries are increasingly embedding services into physical products to capture value as merchandise trade growth is expected to decline by 3.2 percentage points in 2026.
Why it matters
Digitally deliverable services are now the fastest-growing segment of international trade, forcing firms to shift business models from standalone product sales toward maintenance and service bundles. This transition is essential as traditional merchandise growth slows.
Services exports grew by an average of 6.7% annually over the last decade, reaching 27% of total global exports. While digital services represent 61% of exports in developed economies, they account for just 16% in developing nations.
The players
UNCTAD
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is an intergovernmental body that provides data and policy analysis on global trade trends and economic development.
The details
Businesses are increasingly embedding services directly into physical products, bundling maintenance contracts, and selling proprietary digital solutions to add value. This mechanism allows firms to decouple revenue from fluctuating merchandise trade volumes, which face a projected 3.2 percentage point decline in 2026. However, scaling these models remains dependent on cross-border payment efficiency and digital infrastructure, which remain significant gaps for many markets.
Timeline
2015-2025: Services global export share increased by 4 percentage points.
2024: Digital services export share reached 61% in developed economies.
2025: Global services exports rose by 8.3%.
2026: Merchandise trade growth is projected to decline.
Market Landscape
This growth reflects the long-term shift toward servitization in global manufacturing, where companies move from one-time unit sales to recurring revenue models. It tracks with the persistent trend of embedding high-margin services into traditional goods to buffer against cyclical merchandise downturns.
Owners should evaluate whether their existing product lines can be bundled with service contracts or digital add-ons to stabilize revenue. Watch for 2026 as a potential inflection point where merchandise growth pressures may force a deeper reliance on service-based margins.
The takeaway
The rise of services as a core export highlights a fundamental move toward recurring revenue in global trade. Operators should audit their current offerings to identify which products can support subscription-based service layers to insulate their balance sheets from merchandise volatility.
Further reading
For more on evolving global trade patterns, see our International Trade coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Global Trade Review (GTR).
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