FedEx Delivery Robots Not Particularly Welcome During NYC Visit

| Mike O'Brien

Maybe they should’ve stuck with “Walking in Memphis.” Several FedEx delivery robots, collectively dubbed Roxo, were seen prowling the streets of Manhattan recently, but instead of getting a red-carpet welcome they elicited some Bronx cheers, according to the New York Post. The city threatened to physically remove any it spotted.

5 Steps to Increasing Customer Retention in Subscription Commerce

| Nicole Lee

While subscription commerce is up, many subscription box companies are challenged to maintain their subscriber base. The median churn rate for subscription boxes is 10.54%. What can your company do to retain subscribers? Here are 5 effective strategies and the fulfillment best practices necessary to support them.

Same-Day Delivery Drives Another Ecommerce Surge in Q3 for Target

| Douglas P. Clement

Target’s strong Q3 performance, with 31% growth in ecommerce sales – just under the 34% in Q2 – continued the trend of same-day order fulfillment services driving growth. Target is the first to offer curbside pickup in all 50 states. In Q3, sales volume fulfilled by Shipt more than doubled, while curbside sales grew by more than 500%.

UPS driver feature

Assessing the Impact of 2020 Rate Increases from UPS

| Matt Bohn

Effective Dec. 29, UPS ground, air and international rates will increase by an average of 4.9%. Keep in mind that there is often a discrepancy between the announced increase and the effect on individual shippers. The team at Shipware provided a breakdown of some areas that will likely provide the most impact for merchant shippers.

Greening Up Your Ecommerce Operations During the Holiday Sprint

| Ann Starodaj

In 2019, over half of shoppers say they’re conscious of the environmental practices of retailers they shop with. At the same time, they love overnight shipping and free returns, which impact the environment. Retailers, striving to please consumers and be sustainable, are caught in the middle. Here are some ways to address the dilemma.

Flat-Rate Shipping Wars Rage On as Carriers Court More SMB Business

| Mike O'Brien

In an effort to attract more business from SMB ecommerce shippers, UPS and FedEx continue to expand their competitive offerings in flat-rate shipping, offering more options, customization and economy. Such programs aren’t as economically attractive to large enterprise shippers with their volume-based discounts.

USPS letter carrier

USPS Net Loss More Than Doubles for 2019, Package Volume Up Slightly

| Mike O'Brien

The USPS saw a slight increase in package volume for fiscal 2019, after its first quarterly decline in years during Q3, as the agency is being challenged by Amazon and FedEx rerouting packages to their own networks. Total mail and package volume declined by 3.8 billion pieces or 2.6%, and the net loss more than doubled to $8.8 billion.

MCM CommerceChat podcast

Dealing with Front-to-Back Risk Factors in Ecommerce Operations

| Mike O'Brien

In our latest MCM CommerceChat podcast, we talk to Robyn Meyer, partner, enterprise solutions at Transportation Insight, about challenges and opportunities in this disruptive environment, as well as some strategy, process and system changes companies can make to improve profitability and performance.

Postmates Offers Same-Day Delivery App for SMBs in Shopify

| Mike O'Brien

Same-day delivery platform Postmates is going live with a delivery app in the Shopify App Store, in beta during Q3, that lets smaller Shopify merchants offer customers the new option of two-hour delivery as the immediacy wars continue to heat up. Merchants receive email notifications when customers opt for two-hour delivery.

USPS truck in snow feature

USPS Expecting 800 Million Holiday Packages, Down from Past Years

| Mike O'Brien

The U.S. Postal Service is projecting it will handle 800 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, a drop from both 2018 and 2017. Sunday delivery will be expanded beginning Nov. 24 to high-volume urban locations, with projections of over 8 million package deliveries on Sundays in December.