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.
Retailers need to have more of a mobile-first mentality, a high degree of personalization and a strong loyalty focus if they’re going to reach, engage and retain millennial shoppers, according to Mark Friedman, president of ecommerce for youth apparel firm Steve Madden. See what Friedman had to say to his IRCE audience about that plus omnichannel and technology integration.
Staples is jumping into same-day delivery rolling out the service for $14.99 an order in eight markets. It will eventually include B2B customers as well. See what this means in terms of Staples competition with Amazon and others in the wake of its derailed merger with Office Depot.
Walmart has begun testing drones in its distribution centers for scanning inventory, completing in an hour what it would take two associates a month to do. This seems a more practical and easier to achieve use of the technology than home delivery, and will aid the company in its ecommerce fulfillment battle with Amazon.
Amazon doesn’t need to take over the last mile of ecommerce delivery, but it does need to reduce its massive shipping cost burden in order to maintain its recent run of profitability, which is the logic behind its recent logistics moves.
After a 22-month trial, Target later this month will shut down a pilot program with Curbside that allows shoppers to grab their purchases in front of the store. The retailer said it wanted to devote more efforts and resources to its core omnichannel offerings like the Cartwheel app, in-store pickup and ship from store.
Creating a unified customer experience across channels through a shared repository of store and ecommerce data, as well as striking a balance on its ecommerce site between sales and branding, is a lot of the focus these days at Steve Madden. See what Mark Friedman, president of ecommerce at the apparel retailer, will cover in his June 9 keynote at IRCE.
While retailers say they’re growing their omnichannel sales, it’s unclear how profitable they are, according to a new report from Retail Systems Research. Greater inventory visibility, including use of RFID, as well as better syncing of demand origination with inventory allocation, will help drag omnichannel into the black, the report’s author states.
Amazon announced plans to open a second fulfillment center in Joliet, IL, outside Chicago, to complement one opened last year, as it continues to expand its massive network to service 50 million-plus Prime members and marketplace sellers with guaranteed two-day deliveries as well as same-day service.
Best Buy reported flat comps but 24% growth in ecommerce during the first quarter, as domestic revenue was down due to store closures and pricing pressure. Midway through its $400 million cost reduction effort, the company is keeping an eye on store count while playing up the importance of physical locations in its overall omnichannel customer experience.
Home Depot delivered a solid Q1, including a 21.5% increase in online sales and success on a variety of supply chain and omnichannel fronts. See what else the “improving home improvement” company is doing right these days.