If Holiday 2013 demonstrated anything to ecommerce merchants, it was that we need better ways to meet customer expectations and deliver products. So what did we as an industry learn during this challenging holiday season? Here are key observations by ecommerce and catalog operations experts.
Over 400 UK merchants have said that they do not want a repeat of the recent data breaches that have occurred in the US to occur in their country.
Craftsvilla.com, which is India’s largest online store for Indian products like jewellery, sarees, salwar suits, accessories and handicrafts, today announced launch of largest collection of Indian jewellery in the world.
Grainger’s online presence faired very well in 2013, earning the B2B merchant $3 billion in ecommerce sales alone, according to its annual financial report. Overall, Grainger saw a 5% increase in total sales, equating to $9.4 billion, however, the merchant said its ecommerce presence represent “the fastest growing and most profitable channel in the business.”
Amazon has announced that it will now offer Sunday deliveries to a number of customers in cities across the United Kingdom, and Amazon Prime members in the UK can now receive their packages on Sundays at no additional charge.
Nordstrom has announced plans to open its third fulfillment center Elizabethtown, Pa. Construction for the 672,000-square-foot building began on Jan. 20 and is scheduled to open in summer 2015.
A new IBM study of more than 30,000 global consumers released at the 2014 National Retail Federation convention found consumers are willing to share their personal information with retailers, particularly if they get good value in exchange.
The Barnes & Noble retail segment, which includes traditional brick-and-mortar stores and BN.com, released its 2013 holiday sales results which show a 6.6% decline compared to last year.
Department store retailer Belk, Inc. announced plans to expand its ecommerce distribution and fulfillment center in South Carolina.
Aeropostale, a specialty retailer of casual apparel for young women and men, released its third quarter results, which showed a 15% decrease in net sales and comparable sales, which include the ecommerce channel. CEO Thomas P. Johnson said in the release that he was “disappointed in the overall performance as customer adoption is occurring more slowly than we would like against the backdrop of a challenging teen retail environment.”