Walmart and Target didn’t hesitate in responding to Amazon’s announcement of Prime Day on Oct. 13 and 14, an unusual occurrence in an extraordinary year, by rolling out their own deals and offers to try to steal some of the unusually early holiday thunder from the ecommerce leader.
This holiday season retailers will not only have to contend with decreased carrier capacity due to the pandemic but also the anticipated influx of mail-in election ballots – all of which could result in a “super peak” holiday nightmare for retailers. Now is the time to implement strategies to ensure they can keep up with demand.
The pandemic dramatically accelerated the retail industry’s digital transformation. Large retailers had the technology and processes necessary to respond quickly, but others found their entire business models upended overnight. While some changes may go, what will stay is a renewed focus on building community in retail.
The one thing brands can control is their online sales channel. From checkout to last mile delivery, DTC brands can ensure a seamless ecommerce experience. With the majority of Q4 and holiday shopping expected to shift online, brands must have their entire ecommerce channel prepared for an optimal customer experience.
Amazon has finally opened the doors of its hybrid Amazon Fresh store in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, a futuristic blend of digital and physical challenging traditional grocers that had been put on hold this spring due to the COVID-19 crisis. Customers can breeze through checkout and navigate the store via Alexa.
Walmart has made another move in the never-ending ecommerce battle with market leader Amazon, through an alliance with ecommerce platform titan Shopify that gives Shopify’s 1 million-plus merchants access to Walmart’s online marketplace.
Target found the COVID-19 outbreak to be a two-edged sword in the first quarter, driving stratospheric ecommerce sales growth of 141%, while impacting profits due to about $500 million in associated costs, the company reported. It also saw over 5 million customers shop on Target.com for the first time in Q1.
For many ecommerce businesses, even absent COVID-19, a profitable Christmas season will make or break the year. During the shutdowns, many 3PLs have remained open, serving clients even amid the labor challenges. Should you continue internal fulfillment or move to a 3PL? Here are seven considerations as you weigh the choice.
An everyday low price strategy can be a winner, but this comes with an asterisk. Such a self-limiting strategy can only work for a specific type of company and it requires a certain approach. And with COVID-19 disrupting any normalcy in retail, we need to examine whether companies embracing EDLP are faring better or worse right now.
On the same day it was announced Deliv was winding down its operations this summer, it came out that Target is in talks to snap up some of Deliv’s technology assets to bolster its local ecommerce fulfillment and bring founding CEO Daphne Carmelli onboard, NBC reported. Others had reportedly been looking at Deliv, including grocers.