The retail industry is continually racing to stay relevant in the Age of Amazon. As the calendar turns to 2017, here are 5 predictions to keep an eye on in the New Year as the retail experience continues to evolve to meet changing customer needs.
As someone who lives, eats, sleeps and often writes about omnichannel, it’s always interesting to be a participant in the “anytime, anywhere, anyhow” dynamic. See how Bob’s Stores got my experience exactly right, but fell down in terms of fulfillment efficiency.
Citing lowered pay, bad working conditions and staffing shortages, Amazon Prime Air pilots are warning Amazon customers to think twice before placing a holiday order. Find out what steps the pilot union and the company are taking to resolve matters.
UPS has formed a strategic alliance with Optoro, providing a one-stop shop solution for retailers and manufacturers to optimize the transportation and disposition of returns and excess inventory.
Given the massive increase in ecommerce orders this holiday season, peak shipping volume has UPS and FedEx scrambling to keep up, as UPS dipped slightly in on-time performance. See what the data showed for both carriers as well as the U.S. Postal Service.
Higher shipping costs not only harm your margins, but they may push away potential customers with a big appetite for online shopping. A bad experience or a high price could send them into the arms of your competitors. So what can you do to prevent this from happening? Here are 5 ways you can rein in high shipping costs.
What do consumers expect and what are businesses offering in ecommerce shipping? How much do free shipping and fast shipping matter? What about returns and tracking? Based on survey data from Shippo, here are key ways you can turn shipping into a competitive advantage.
Retail imports should be up 3.2% this month vs. 2015, as stores bring in the last of holiday merchandise, according to the monthly global port tracker from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The numbers come as NRF is forecasting $655.8 billion in holiday sales, a 3.6% increase over last year. The NRF saw the increase as a good sign for both the retail industry and the economy overall heading into the latter part of the holiday rush.
All 3 major carriers – UPS, FedEx, USPS – are projecting double-digit growth for peak season. See what volumes they’re looking at this year and their holiday cutoffs schedules.
A new index from Pitney Bowes projects that global parcel shipping will increase 5%-7% per year, increasing 20% by 2018, driven largely by ecommerce growth. See what else the company discovered while surveying parcel shippers in 12 markets.