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.
Endicia’s first-of-its-kind “pay-on-use” returns system allows online retailers to send non-prepaid USPS return labels, so postage is only deducted if the returned item hits the mail stream.
Cloud-based inventory management provider Shopatron has introduced Inventory Lookup, a new freemium solution that will allow retailers and merchants to make their entire inventory visible online to consumers while providing analytics to improve in-store operations, stocking, merchandising and product marketing. The offering was unveiled at IRCE 2014.
Today’s “flex consumer” is channel agnostic and willing to wait longer to receive items purchased online if it means free shipping, according to a new survey released today by UPS and comScore.
Forrester found that 71% of consumers expect to view in-store inventory online, and 50% of them expect to buy products online and pick them up in store.
David’s Bridal has a unique point-in-time challenge, since most people won’t get married again, at least not quickly. So the company knows that it needs to move fast and grab every opportunity to satisfy the many needs of each wedding – ideally serving the needs of the entire bridal party and families.
Michael Moore, CIO, of Moosejaw Mountaineering, recently shared some of his thoughts and initiatives. While Moosejaw is a unique company, they share many of the same challenges and opportunities as other retailers.
Shoe Carnival said its transition from 3PL to ship-from-store is foundational in terms of its overall omnichannel strategy.
Genesco said it plans to implement several aspects of its omnichannel strategy later this year, seeing it as a significant growth area.
If you’re selling on the Amazon marketplace you need to know what can get you kicked off – and how to get back on if Amazon takes action against you.
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba plans to pay $250 million for a 10% stake in the Singapore Post, Singapore’s national postal system.