As consumer behavior shifts and omnichannel retailing grows, retailers are getting closer to customers to improve service and help ensure profitability. Increasingly, they look to four key areas where shifts can make fulfillment more efficient: Retail footprint; manufacturer direct shipping; 3D print & ship; and pickup sites.
Target reported strong Q2 performance, with 34% growth in ecommerce sales, nearly 75% of which was attributable to its same-day order fulfillment strategy including buy online pickup in store, curbside pickup and local delivery. The retailer beat expectations on earnings, comp growth and revenue, and raised 2019 guidance.
To outsource or not to outsource customer care, that is the question. And unfortunately, the answer is a resounding, “it depends.” Colin Taylor, CEO at Taylor Research Group, and William Pocock, senior operations manager for Dick’s Sporting Goods, suggested 8 steps to help merchants frame up the decision.
With ecommerce expanding and consumers expecting greater speed and convenience, retailers need cost-effective ways to meet these demands. Here is a look at how automated lockers are key to the overall buy online pickup in-store experience.
Shoppers love nothing more than convenience – well ok, maybe price trumps it – but convenience definitely sells. And when retailers offer a seamless ecommerce returns process, it plays a pivotal role in consumer’s purchasing decisions, according to an annual report from UPS.
It’s coming down to the wire for our Ecommerce Operations Summit 2020 call for speakers, which closes next Friday, Aug. 16. Our 9th annual event will be held April 14-16, 2020 at the Marriott Orlando World Center in Orlando, FL – a nice change of venue, don’t you think? Get your submission in now and elevate the conversation!
Target is expanding its free curbside pickup program, Drive Up, ahead of the busy back-to-school season, making it available at 1,550 stores and adding coverage in the Northeast, the company reported in a blog post. Several markets are being added in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, with expansion in others.
Wakefern Food Corp., parent of grocery brands ShopRite, Price Rite, the Fresh Grocer and Dearborn Market, has opened an automated micro fulfillment center in Clifton, NJ through a partnership with Takeoff Technologies, with plans to launch more.
Moving above and beyond the game-changing Whole Foods acquisition from 2017, Amazon is considering creation of a new hybrid grocery chain that would combine aspects of a pickup and delivery operation with a smaller retail space for shopping fresh items, according to a report in the New York Times.
Ever since Amazon introduced Prime in 2005, the company has left everyone else chasing after them, and younger shoppers look for that type of experience everywhere. To succeed, retailers must meet customer demand for an enhanced delivery experience, including whenever possible fast and free shipping and unlimited returns.