Mike O'Brien
Mike O’Brien has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for … well, quite a while. At Multichannel Merchant he focuses on the world of direct-to-customer operations and fulfillment, editing MCM’s weekly O+F Advisor newsletter, and programs the annual Ecommerce Operations Summit conference. Previously Mike was a senior account executive for Marx Communications, a boutique public relations firm working with marketing and advertising technology companies. Other past work includes stints as a media relations consultant for a concert promoter, a marketing communications specialist for a pharma software firm, a research analyst covering corporate e-learning and a daily newspaper reporter on every beat imaginable – except sports.
Never content to rest on last week’s disruption, Amazon is now offering online order pickup at select Whole Foods Market stores, including curbside delivery, all for Prime members in an effort to boost membership and gain more territory in the escalating grocery wars.
Worldpay is testing out a proof of concept that ties together payment verification with residential drone delivery via a special landing pad that doubles as a payment information communication system.
Discount retailer National Stores, which owns the Fallas, Factory 2-U, Weiner’s, Conway and Anna’s Linens brands, joined the growing list of Chapter 11 filings on Monday, the company reported, blaming a 2017 data breach, the 2014 purchase of Conway and a brutal environment.
Kroger, demonstrating why it is a force to be reckoned with in e-grocery, is now offering same-day delivery in five markets, while also testing out self-driving delivery in a Phoenix pilot and creating automated distribution centers with partner Ocado.
A group of interested parties including Amazon and the National Retail Federation has formed a coalition to lobby on behalf of the U.S. Postal Service in advance of an Aug. 10 report from a USPS task force formed this spring by President Donald Trump.
Less than a year into a pilot program that had employees making local deliveries of online orders, Walmart in January all but quashed the program quietly as associate buy-in wasn’t happening. See how it’s still happening at one Georgia store, and other ways Walmart is working to figure out local fulfillment of ecommerce orders.
Stamps.com plans to acquire UK-based Metapack, adding SaaS-based, multi-carrier management software to its online postage solution, expanding its global footprint and giving it more of an enterprise focus. The $230 million deal is expected to close in August.
BoxLock, a smart lock startup, is aiming to address the growing problem of porch piracy by securing ecommerce deliveries through barcode scanning by parcel carriers. It went live on Prime Day and is exclusive to Prime members but that’s bound to change as the solution catches on.
After a Congressional hearing last week about ecommerce taxation in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision shed more heat than light, merchant associations and a state taxing authority group are hoping to find common ground and solutions.
A survey by JDA Software found that more than half of U.S. consumers – 52% – ran into technical difficulties during Prime Day. Of that group, 27% either gave up without making a purchase or bought less than they had planned. Amazon is also facing allegations of raising prices on some products, with the FTC looking into it.