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.
J.C. Penney posted strong Q4 and 2015 numbers, citing omnichannel tactics as a big part of its continuing turnaround, in a period when competitors stumbled. The return of popular private-label brands and the recent addition of appliances by customer demand are evidence that the company has been responsive to what shoppers want. Learn more about the retailer’s recent performance.
Target hit on a winning combination of free shipping and omnichannel operations to grow its digital sales a healthy 34% in Q4, while same-store sales grew just 1.9%. In addition, 30% of its digital sales were either from buy online, pickup in store or ship-from-store transactions. See how Target got it done in 2015, especially during the critical holiday season.
In a move aimed at better understanding the inner workings of the same-day delivery model, UPS has purchased a stake in crowdsourced delivery startup Deliv. Just how UPS will leverage this relationship and what it learns remains to be seen, but it surely has its eye on the burgeoning same-day delivery space, including competitor FedEx’s service for Neiman Marcus and others.
In a move surely designed to boost the already burgeoning rolls of Prime membership, Amazon has announced a change to its free shipping policy, raising the order threshold for the service to $49 for those without a $99 per year Prime subscription. The threshold had been orders of $35 or more.
Three years after having its acquisition of TNT snagged on EU regulatory concerns, UPS has filed an appeal of the FedEx-TNT deal. Will this latest move hang up the $4.8 billion deal for its main rival, announced last April? Stay tuned for the next installment.
Nordstrom was ranked No. 1 in the annual Customer Experience Index results from the e-tailing group, conducted in Q4 2015, after missing the top 10 in 2014. See how other leading retailers ranked in the index, including how they were rated across a range of key customer experience metrics.
Nordstrom told analysts its ecommerce sales and omnichannel operations are performing well, but acknowledged the gains are coming at a significant cost. See where the costs are hitting, and some of the steps the company is taking to address them and recover losses in profitability.
Amazon is once again on the move in logistics and delivery, with Reuters reporting its courier-based Amazon Flex network is making parcel deliveries in addition to the typical everyday goods being sent to Prime members.
Reuters said Amazon did acknowledge that drivers for Amazon Flex in Texas had already begun mixing in parcel deliveries with regular Prime Now orders. Amazon Flex, which allows couriers to sign up for delivery shifts via an app, is currently available in 14 cities including Seattle, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Dallas.
What were some of the major themes in handling holiday 2015 returns?
Patrick Allard, VIce President of Sales and Business Development for Newgistics, recently spoke with Multichannel Merchant Senior Editor Mike O’Brien on what his company observed from working with its 450+ retail customers, including the growth in ecommerce returns processing and the impact of trends like free returns and other perks offered by retailers.
What if you could create a dream team of top direct-to-customer and ecommerce operations executives, putting all their experience, brainpower and industry knowledge into one room to generate ideas that will help you grow your business and make it run more efficiently?
The good news is you can relax as the heavy lifting has already been done for you – at Operations Summit 2016, April 12-14