Last month, Gap Inc. launched its own fulfillment services platform, making the high-tech, automated network it has invested billions in available for other retailers to take advantage of as the in-house/outsourced services trend continues. Gap fulfillment executive Kevin Kuntz explains more about the offering and the thinking behind it.
We’ve opened up the submission period for Multichannel Merchant’s annual Top 3PL directory. This is your chance to show off your chops and differentiators to more than 74,000 MCM readers in ecommerce and retail. It’s the industry’s go-to resource for this rapidly evolving market, so don’t miss your opportunity to be represented.
For lower-priced products or some less expensive bulky items, returnless refunds can be cheaper than shipping the item back, restocking, selling and shipping again. But this also has its own risks, with the potential to encourage malicious shopper behavior and opening another avenue for scammers trying to score free stuff.
Racking up long-term storage fees on FBA led to the creation of 3PL startup, Warehouse Republic. With a natural focus on Amazon 3P sellers, the company now operates facilities in Ontario, CA and Reedsville, NC, and is eyeing the Dallas-Fort Worth area next. Learn about founder Mark Taylor’s opportunistic journey from 3P seller to 3PL.
With worldwide cross-border ecommerce sales reaching as high as $2 trillion by 2030, the opportunity is hard to ignore, but there are logistical hurdles to overcome. The good news: provider networks have made it easier than ever for even SMBs to jump in. This MCM report taps cross-border experts to explore both the risks and rewards of cross-border ecommerce in 2022 and beyond.
Can selfies help solve the nagging problem of apparel returns? That’s the assertion of Nosto, provider of what it calls a commerce experience platform. Of consumers surveyed in the U.S. and UK, 61% said if brands posted photos and videos online of actual shoppers wearing their products, it would cut down on the number of returns.
While consumers may be understanding of delays caused by – yup – supply chain issues, they are less forgiving when it comes to being charged for shipping. Over half of respondents to a survey from Dotcom Distribution said they get the delays, but just 25% of those respondents said it made them more tolerant of shipping costs.
Rather than trashing merchandise or selling it to a liquidator, where you can’t control brand identity, consider donating your ecommerce returns. The resulting tax break may be quite handsome, and it may even be more financially beneficial than reselling the merchandise at a cut-rate price.
Home improvement shopping season is in full swing. Unfortunately, spring is also a sign that retailers are entering one of the most logistically challenging and costly returns seasons of the year. Here is a review of major returns issues following home improvement season, and what retailers can do to mitigate the fallout.
FloorFound, an Austin-based startup that provides the means for retailers to resell large, bulky returns, has raised $10.5 million in a new funding round to help drive its expansion both geographically and in terms of the categories it handles as it rides the recommerce wave.