Children are making their holiday toy lists, and this year it goes beyond the traditional buying experience. Major retailers like Target, Walmart and Disney are reimagining ways to showcase popular toys and provide a more interactive experience than stores of the past, and Toys R Us is looking for an experiential comeback.
Amazon waited an entire month to swing back at Walmart’s new same-day grocery delivery program, making delivery from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods free for Prime members by eliminating the $14.99/month charge on $35 and up orders. It’s available in 2,000 cities and towns, mostly through Amazon’s 480 Whole Foods stores.
Warehouse and fulfillment center giant Prologis will acquire rival Liberty Property Trust in an all-stock merger valued at $12.68 billion, the companies announced, greatly expanding Prologis’ U.S. logistics holdings as demand continues to ramp up. This is in addition to Prologis’ 2018 acquisition of DCT Industrial Trust for $8.4 billion.
Best Buy is getting into the holiday spirit early and pushing back on major competitors, offering free next-day delivery on thousands of items from Thanksgiving through Christmas, and free standard shipping in the few areas where next day isn’t available. The company says it’s available in 42 U.S. markets, covering 99% of its customers.
Savvy retailers are capitalizing on this consumer preference by positioning smartphones front and center when it comes to in-store fulfillment with options like BOPIS (buy online, pickup in store) and ROPIS (reserve online, pick up in store). Here are the customer benefits and some tips to make both succeed in your retail business.
As ecommerce grows and expectations rise, experts say we can achieve Amazon-level service if we practice customer centricity. Many take this to mean putting the customer at the center of your business and provide amazing service. But customer centricity isn’t all about the customer – it’s really about the customer record.
Walmart is launching an in-the-fridge e-grocery delivery service it announced this summer, starting in Pittsburgh, Vero Beach, FL and Kansas City, similar to Amazon’s own delivery service launched last year. Walmart customers can choose either kitchen or garage fridge delivery and pay $19.95 per month with a $30 minimum.
Walmart is launching a program called “Competitive Price Adjustment” that will temporarily lower the prices consumers pay for some items on its marketplace. Here is how Walmart is competing with Amazon with this new program.
Amazon plans to open a chain of grocery stores in the U.S. beginning with locations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. See whether Amazon competes with its own Whole Foods chains in the grocery arena.
Deliverr, a startup that helps merchants fulfill two-day and same-day orders on platforms like Amazon, eBay and Shopify, has raised $23 million in new funding, bringing its total to $30 million as it looks to hire new staff and expand its network of third-party logistics partners.