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.
An hours-long outage from Amazon Web Services (AWS) caused all manner of global havoc on Tuesday, shutting down government and private websites, robotic vacuums and popular streaming services as well as idling Amazon facilities as networks and apps went dark and operations ground to a halt.
Utilizing a team of employees vs. its bread-and-butter gig workers, DoorDash is rolling out 10-15-minute delivery of 2,000 grocery and essential items in New York from a DashMart store in the Chelsea neighborhood, the company said. Main rival Instacart is also working on a 15-minute delivery service, according to reports.
A new report based on a November survey of 1,000 U.S. retailers found more than half had raised prices beyond the point of simply recouping increased costs based on inflationary pressure, using a variety of tactics including reduced discounts and increased surcharges on shipping.
Breaking up is hard to do, which department store stalwart Macy’s is discovering as it wrestles with how best to split up its store and online businesses, a bit trickier than the same move by Saks Fifth Avenue, according to a report in Reuters.
The National Labor Relations Board has ordered a new election to determine if Amazon fulfillment center workers in Bessemer, AL can organize as members of a union for collective bargaining, which would be a first in the United States and set off a warehouse labor chain reaction.
Boxed, a seller of subscription bulk CPG items through its automated facilities that competes with Costco, BJ’s Wholesale and Sam’s Club, is expanding into fresh, on-demand grocery delivery with the acquisition of New York-based MaxDelivery. The company plans to leverage MaxDelivery’s high AOV model into other markets in 2022.
Like its holiday twin Black Friday, Cyber Monday in the U.S. saw ecommerce sales reverse course for the first time in memory, according to Adobe Digital Insights, dropping 1.4% from 2020. Consumers en masse have heeded warnings about stock-outs on digital shelves amid supply chain-fueled inventory shortages by shopping earlier.
Reversing course, Authentic Brands Group, owner of over 30 retail properties including Aeropostale, Forever 21, Fredericks of Hollywood and Barney’s New York, is selling significant equity stakes to CVC Capital Partners and HPS Investment Partners instead of pursuing an IPO.
Ecommerce sales on Black Friday dipped slightly this year, to $8.9 billion from $9 billion in 2020, reversing years of growth, according to data from Adobe Analytics, with larger retailers seeing 22% higher growth than small businesses while the latter saw higher average order value.
Just in time for the holidays, Walmart on Monday went live with drone delivery from one of three stores near its headquarters in Bentonville, AR, via partner and investment recipient DroneUp, with service running from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, and deliveries coming in 30 minutes or less.