Apple Wins Award for Best Shipping and Delivery Experience

| Mike O'Brien

With expectations so high and pressure to consistently delight a daily reality, shipping and delivery is a huge component of the overall customer experience. So being atop the industry in this category is no small feat. Find out what Apple did to win the 2016 Excellence in Customer Experience award at Operations Summit for best shipping and delivery experience.

UPS Expanding Pickup Lockers to 300 U.S. Locations By Year’s End

| Mike O'Brien

Following a pilot program at eight locations in Chicago begun last year, UPS is expanding its self-serve pickup lockers to 300 locations in five states by the end of the year, with lockers in eight additional states planned in 2017. UPS sees this as a way to increase consumer choice, provide value to retail customers and drive network optimization through increasing delivery density.

Amazon Dash Adds 50 New Buttons, Expands Categories

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon announced another expansion of its Amazon Dash Button program, adding more than 50 new brands and increasing the total to more than 150. With the program, Amazon is bringing a growing assortment of popular consumer packaged goods sold at its marketplace into the realm of simplified, push button fulfillment gratification.

What Shoppers Want With Good Customer Delivery

| Daniela Forte

Are you meeting the customer demands when it comes to delivery? Shoppers today want more than ever before and many retailers may be missing the mark in providing great service. Shoppers want to be rewarded for brand loyalty, they want a personalized experience, and easier experience and more. Here are some statistics that are guaranteed to help retailers create a better shopping experience for their customers.

Target Corp.

Target Shutting Down Curbside Pickup Trial

| Mike O'Brien

After a 22-month trial, Target later this month will shut down a pilot program with Curbside that allows shoppers to grab their purchases in front of the store. The retailer said it wanted to devote more efforts and resources to its core omnichannel offerings like the Cartwheel app, in-store pickup and ship from store.

Omnichannel Retailers Attempt to Save the Sale Only 7% of the Time

| MCM Staff

A new report from Kibo, the e-tailing group and Multichannel Merchant shows how leading omnichannel retailers are performing with buy online, pickup in store. According to the study, retailers can no longer wait on the sidelines to adopt this functionality. See what other insights the report brings to light.

Best Practices of a Winning Customer Experience

| Donna Devaul

In an era when the customer is king, retailers need to elevate their game to gain loyalty, an edge over the competition in a fierce environment, and drive sales. Here are some best practices culled from winners and finalists of the 2016 Excellence in Customer Experience awards at the Operations Summit.

BJ's Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club Adds Buy Online, Pickup in Store

| MCM Staff

Joining a growing trend, BJ’s Wholesale Club has introduced buy online, pickup in store at its 213 locations in 15 states, including the entire Eastern seaboard as well as Ohio and Pennsylvania. Non-members can try it out for a 90-day trial.

Ops Summit 2016 roundtable

Hot Topics Covered at Operations Summit, Growing Global 2016

| Mike O'Brien

Figuring out how to make omnichannel operations successful and profitable, dealing with Amazon’s continual disruptions, creating a consistently excellent customer experience across operational areas and growing cross-border commerce were among the hot topics at the fifth annual Operations Summit. The event was held in Cincinnati, OH, an ecommerce operations hotbed, and drew more than 800 direct-to-customer and omnichannel operations professionals and providers.