casper sleep

DTC Mattress Brand Casper Sleep’s IPO Filing Raises Doubts

| Douglas P. Clement

The global sleep company Casper, in a crowded field of mattress-in-a-box companies going direct to customer it helped spawn, has been a darling of the business and lifestyle press, That is, until it recently filed for an IPO, and pundits and the business press attacked the CEO for his obsession with a unicorn valuation.

e-grocery fruit order

Amazon, Walmart Will Dominate E-Grocery Food Sales Through 2024

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon and Walmart will continue to slug it out atop the world of global e-grocery food sales, with the ecommerce giant projected to pass the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer by 2024 with revenues of $15 billion, compared to $14 billion, according to a new report from research firm Edge by Ascential. The projected CAGR through 2024 is 13%.

Same-Day Delivery Service Dolly Raises $7.5M in New Funding

| Mike O'Brien

Same-day delivery services startup Dolly has raised $7.5 million in new capital to fund expansion and increase its operational and technical teams, raising its venture funding total to $20 million. An Amazon executive is one of the new investors. Dolly plans to expand to 15-20 new markets this year and uses independent contractors.

retail technology

Time to Deep-Six Omnichannel and Focus on Experience

| Seeta Hariharan

It’s about time retailers drop the term omnichannel from their vocabulary. Creating an omnichannel experience is not even that difficult. What is much harder is giving your customers a reason to shop, a belief that you are looking out for and providing them with unique experiences that they appreciate.

MCM CommerceChat podcast

Tackling the Challenges of Store Inventory Accuracy

| Mike O'Brien

If stores are the weak link in inventory accuracy, how do you improve it to avoid stock-outs and dissatisfied customers? Steve DeNunzio of Ohio State’s graduate logistics program covers the challenges and solutions in this MCM CommerceChat podcast. He’ll also lead this discussion at Ecommerce Operations Summit in Columbus, OH.

Vacant Retail Locations Being Repurposed for Ecommerce Fulfillment

| Mike O'Brien

In an indicator of the continuing evolution of retail, more shuttered stores and malls are being converted to industrial space, especially for ecommerce fulfillment, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm CBRE. See where this is happening, what the drivers are and the prevailing local headwinds.

Instacart worker feature

Instacart Pricing Change Leading to Threats of a Shopper Boycott

| Mike O'Brien

Instacart, the same-day grocery delivery company used by many grocers, is dealing with customer ire as freelance shoppers fulfilling the orders are passing up some jobs due to a change in the pricing structures. Also a number of shoppers have taken to Twitter to call for a boycott of the service due to a drop in their wages.