Target Expands Curbside Pickup to 1,550 Stores for Back to School

| Mike O'Brien

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.

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Enhancing Your Ecommerce Network Strategy

| MCM staff

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.

10 Tips for Balancing Self-Service, Hands-On Customer Care Support

| MCM staff

Consumers are getting better at navigating ecommerce on their own. But not every feature of customer care can or should be automated, leaving merchants to figure out where to lend hands-on support, and what to make self-service. An expert panel at Ecommerce Operations Summit 2019 provided 10 tips to help you navigate this issue.

6 Reasons to Outsource Subscription Box Fulfillment

| Nicole Lee

While the prospect of increased sales volume is welcome, a barrage of incoming orders can overwhelm up-and-coming subscription box companies, or even established retail or ecommerce companies new to the game. How do you know when you need outside fulfillment help? Here are 6 signs that it’s time to engage a 3PL partner.

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eBay Suite of Fulfillment Services Targets High-Volume Sellers

| Mike O'Brien

Taking a shot at Amazon’s leading position, eBay will launch a fulfillment program next year targeting high-volume sellers and tapping a network of partners to provide end-to-end services including shipping, tracking, warehousing and customer service. This is similar to a move made last month by ecommerce platform Shopify.

UPS city delivery

UPS Adds Sunday Delivery, Doubles Pickup Locations with Retail Partners

| Mike O'Brien

Through new partnerships with Michael’s, CVS and Advance Auto, UPS is more than doubling its network of U.S. Access Point locations and adding Sunday pickup and delivery in January for business and residential customers as it engages in an arms race with FedEx. This gives UPS 63,000 U.S. locations, compared to 62,000 for FedEx.

Try Before You Buy: Great Opportunity or Ecommerce Returns Tsunami Risk?

| MCM staff

Shoppers love try before you buy (TBYB), a growing strategy that lets them order multiple items and send most of it back. It can boost ecommerce sales but also balloon return rates. So how do you take advantage of the TBYB opportunity while escaping the potential pitfalls that can kill your margins? An expert panel explains how.

11 Ways Barcode Can Improve Your Ecommerce Fulfillment Operations

| Brian Barry

Shipping and manifesting systems have used barcodes for a long time, but not to their full potential. In recent years adoption is increasing as businesses find they can dramatically increase control of their fulfillment center operations. Here are 11 ways barcode can provide greater operational efficiency, cost savings and a good ROI.