Consumer Data Bonanza Over Cyber Weekend

| Mike O'Brien

The recent Cyber Weekend was a boon for online mining of consumer data, with major social media players using cookies to track users’ activity across the internet, including of course ecommerce websites, often without permission, then sell the data to advertisers.

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Cart Abandonment: 3 Ways to Reduce It with Better Checkout Experiences

| Kia Saedi

Cart abandonment is a persistent problem for ecommerce brands. A sluggish or confusing checkout gives shoppers more time to reconsider their order and leave without paying. But with simpler, faster checkout processes, you can encourage them to follow through with each purchase. Here are 3 steps you can take to reduce abandonment.

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Hestia Proposes 7 New Pitney Bowes Directors, Setting Up Proxy Fight

| Mike O'Brien

Activist investor Hestia Capital has proposed a majority slate of seven directors to replace current board members at Pitney Bowes, citing poor performance and what it termed strategic missteps over the past decade, with the company responding that Hestia is not interested in a good faith discussion.

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Marvin Ellison of Lowe’s Pushing for Greater Diversity

| Mike O'Brien

Marvin Ellison, chairman, president and CEO of home improvement retailer Lowe’s, credited a faith in God and a worth ethic instilled by his parents that helped him achieve far beyond his humble roots, going from a part-time stocking clerk earning $4.35 an hour at Target to heading up a Fortune 500 firm.

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NRF 2023: Enthusiasm Amid Concerns

| Mike O'Brien

The energy level at NRF 2023, aka the Big Show, was palpable, as large crowds swarmed the expo floors and outer halls of the Javits Center in New York, even as holiday numbers from the association itself and the government signaled concerns in the industry and the markets down the street.

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Looking at Ecommerce Returns in a New Light

| Mike O'Brien

While ecommerce returns continue to soar and cost retailers both in terms of actual dollars and the bad customer experience, there are practical ways to reduce the rate, make the process more efficient and leverage the customer opportunity, attendees were told at the NRF 2023 Big Show in New York.

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Walmart Envisions Drone Delivery for Millions

| Mike O'Brien

Walmart is starting to see demand pick up for its drone delivery service, as the giant retailer has expanded to 37 store-based deployment hubs in seven states and 26 municipalities, with 6,000 deliveries in 2022, an executive told attendees at NRF’s Big Show 2023 in New York.

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Walmart, Salesforce Team Up on Fulfillment Services

| Mike O'Brien

Drawing parallels with Amazon’s expansion of Buy With Prime to all U.S. merchants — do they each have moles in the other’s operation? — Walmart and Salesforce have linked up to provide the former’s delivery and fulfillment services to a wider swath of merchants in the latter’s app store.

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Ecommerce Headwinds A-Blowing, Are You Ready?

| Frank Garcia

In 2023, brand success means streamlining shipping and fulfillment, in tandem with expanding omnichannel availability, to reach and delight shoppers. You need to be “omnipresent,” looking to the future and planning ahead while staying connected and delivering satisfying experiences to customers across all touchpoints.

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Amazon, UPS In Full-On Labor Battles

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon lost another skirmish in its ongoing multi-front labor war, as a federal regulator ruled Wednesday against its petition to have a successful union vote in Staten Island, NY vacated. At the same time, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is heating up rhetoric ahead of the expiration of its contract with UPS on July 31.