Mike O'Brien

[email protected] / MikeOBmcm

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.

Retail Survey Finds Optimism, Increased Responsibilities

| Mike O'Brien

It seems nearly all workers in retail had their job roles expanded in 2020 as the pandemic forced thousands of stores to close even more rapidly as ecommerce exploded, creating demand in new areas as the industry drastically reset, a new survey found. Despite a difficult year, there was a good deal of optimism about 2021.

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Walmart Expands Store-Based Grocery Fulfillment Automation

| Mike O'Brien

Walmart is taking another huge leap forward in its attempt to dominate grocery sales, launching an aggressive plan to increase the number of stores using micro fulfillment via automation and robotics to speed orders to local customers as it builds on the digital legacy of the departing Marc Lore. Dozens of such locations are planned.

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Vertex Acquires Tellutax

| Mike O'Brien

Vertex, a provider of tax technology and services, has acquired Tellutax, a Portland, OR-based edge computing technology startup that designs technology utilizing a container architecture for business customers to deliver tax solutions. This is Vertex’ first acquisition since going public in 2020 and will help it compete with Avalara.

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Fast Raises $102M in Series B Round

| Mike O'Brien

Fast, a startup that provides one-click checkout for ecommerce sellers a la Amazon and has expanded into identity and other areas, has raised $102 million in a series B round led by major payments provider Stripe and Addition, bringing the company’s total raise to $124 million. The COO and co-founder from Uber described the business.

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Amazon Files Objection to Alabama Union Vote

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon has filed a motion with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to postpone a planned union vote next month at its fulfillment center in Bessemer, AL, which if successful would create its first union shop, an outcome the ecommerce giant has vigorously opposed at every turn. The vote is scheduled from Feb. 8-March 29.

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Prime Members Are 68% of All Amazon Shoppers

| Mike O'Brien

More than two-thirds of Amazon shoppers are Prime members, the highest figure recorded by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) since the company started tracking it in 2012, adding there are now 142 million Prime members in the U.S. as the pandemic floods its ranks.

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FedEx Adds Peak Residential Surcharge

| Mike O'Brien

FedEx has added on yet another surcharge, this time a 30 cent per package peak residential delivery charge for shippers who hand off an average of 30,000 packages weekly between Jan. 4-31 between FedEx Express, Ground and SmartPost, effective Feb. 15 and again until further notice. They apply to Ground and Express shipments.

Holiday Retail Sales Up 8.3.%, NRF Reports

| Mike O'Brien

Holiday retail sales in retail were up higher than expected, according to the National Retail Federation, exceeding expectations by increasing 8.3% to $789.4 billion, as shoppers seeking normalcy used what was left of stimulus funds and unused travel and leisure to purchase holiday gifts. Online and non-store sales were up a brisk 23%.

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Estée Lauder Sees Success in COVID Era with Livestreaming

| Mike O'Brien

Interactivity, fun, engagement, education and commerce are all tied together in the phenomenon of livestreaming commerce, the digital equivalent of a direct selling television channel but with a hip extreme makeover, executives from Estée Lauder and ShopShops told attendees at NRF 2021’s Chapter 1 virtual event.

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Transportation Insight Acquires Spend Management Experts

| Mike O'Brien

Transportation Insight, a logistics technology and services provider based in Hickory, NC, has acquired Spend Management Experts, a leading parcel spend management consultancy, to augment its expansion into the ecommerce and small parcel space as it continues to grow rapidly. The deal closed at the end of December.