Winter Weather to Blame for FedEx Third Quarter Earnings
FedEx said this week that its third quarter earnings took a direct hit thanks, in most part, to severe weather during the holiday shopping season.
Holiday Season 2013
SmartHub Report Finds Delivery Times Nearly Doubled over Cyber Monday
So how did over 230 of the leading merchants fare during the 2013 Cyber Monday? This report analyzed retailers response to shipping and delivery timing, free shipping, promotions, returns and customer service.
How RibbedTee Prepared its Customers for Holiday 2013 Delays
If the 2013 holiday season will be remembered for anything in the ecommerce world, it very well could be how the lack of communication between merchants, carriers and shoppers created an unsatisfactory shopping experience, which is exactly why RibbedTee.com decided to be as upfront as possible regarding a lag in inventory.
Big Operational Changes Needed for Holiday 2014
If Holiday 2013 demonstrated anything to ecommerce merchants, it was that we need better ways to meet customer expectations and deliver products. So what did we as an industry learn during this challenging holiday season? Here are key observations by ecommerce and catalog operations experts.
Shipping Promotions Major 2013 Holiday Focus
A new study by Innotrac has found that the most popular types of promotions offered by merchants over the 2013 holiday season were shipping offers. In fact, 34% of all promotions offered in holiday 2013 were shipping related and the single most offered promotion during the holidays was free shipping.
Best Buy Blames Price Competitiveness in Holiday Sales Decline
The competition in price played a major role in the declining 2013 holiday sales results at Best Buy, according to a statement released by the electronics retailer. In the nine week holiday period that ended on Jan. 4, Best Buy reported $11.45 million in revenue, down slightly from the 2012 holiday season of $11.75 million.
Holiday Ecommerce Sales Rose 9.3%
Total holiday retail sales, which includes November and December sales, increased 3.8% to $601.8 billion, which was in line with NRF’s projected forecast of 3.9% and $602.1 billion.
How to Avoid the Post-Holiday Blues
In the weeks after the holidays, many retailers simply resign themselves to sluggish traffic and anemic sales totals. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. Although you may not be able to replicate the fever pitch of the holiday shopping season, with the right strategy in customization, fulfillment, customer service, and discounts, you can stimulate retail activity and avoid the post-holiday blues.
Target: Security Breach Affected 70 Million Customers
As part of its ongoing investigation into a security breach discovered last month, Target has determined that the stolen information includes names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses for up to 70 million individuals.
JCP Wins the Award for Most Obscure Holiday Sales Results Release
JCP has just released the shortest, oddest, and vaguest press release concerning its results from the 2013 holiday season.