Retailers and CPG companies have had a symbiotic relationship for decades, teaming up to offer customers more choice in convenient in-person and ecommerce storefronts. As both take on each other’s challenges, they must learn from the other’s processes and best practices to sustain new revenue streams in the long term based on evolving consumer behaviors, preferences and spending habits.
A clear, comprehensive ecommerce returns policy is a great preventive measure. It helps customers understand how and when they can return products, acting as insurance for them and your business. However, there are other less obvious but nevertheless influential tactics you can and should employ. Here are seven more ways you can reduce returns, protect profits and improve customer satisfaction.
Can ecommerce marketing campaigns really fail by something as mundane as failing to set the right objectives? Yes, they can, and sadly, they often do. Just as professional athletes cannot achieve a desired level of performance by simply starting to run and seeing how fast they can improve, ecommerce marketers need to unpack what drives success and apply their own build-backwards methodology.
eBay Managed Payments is now the method through which all transactions are processed on the platform. The aim was to grant sellers greater control over their online storefront. But what happens when buyers and sellers don’t see eye to eye? Does eBay’s Seller Protection platform protects all stakeholders evenly? What do sellers need to do to protect their business from illegitimate disputes? Read on.
A new global study by IBM found that 61% of CPGs and retailers are purposefully aligning sustainability and operational goals: 77% said sustainability investments will accelerate business growth. Luq Niazi, a global managing partner at IBM Consulting, talks about how companies are allocating resources for sustainability, and how to communicate your efforts to consumers without greenwashing.
Wix, a platform for merchants to create ecommerce storefronts, has partnered with shipping services provider Shippo to add a set of natively integrated tools its customers can use to simplify order delivery and take advantage of volume discounts with carriers. Wix Shipping went live in November in Canada and has now launched in the U.S. and the UK, with plans to expand shortly to Germany.
Pitney Bowes reported a 10% drop in Q1 revenue and a net loss of $8 million vs. income of $21 million in 2022, and announced unspecified staff cuts in its global ecommerce and domestic parcel units, as it looks at a contentious shareholder meeting with major investors eager for wholesale changes. The opposition group has put forward turnaround specialist Lance Rosenzweig as an interim CEO candidate.
Shopify has pulled the plug on its ambitious in-house logistics business built up in recent years, selling Deliverr to global supply chain provider Flexport and warehouse robotics firm 6 River Systems to UK-based fulfillment automation firm Ocado. “We are changing the shape of Shopify significantly today to pay unshared attention to our mission,” said Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke in a letter to employees.
The curious case of Walmart’s venture into creating a stable of hot startup DTC brands has come to a close, with the 2023 sales of Moosejaw, Bonobos and Eloquii in quick succession. So it’s a fitting time to take a look at the six-year-plus journey that began with the $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com. We look back and ruminate with Raj Konanahalli, a partner and managing director with AlixPartners.
Inflation may continue to impact overall ecommerce volume, but mobile shopping is here to stay, and mobile product discovery will be at the forefront. Yet nearly one-third of American adults will opt out of a mobile purchase due to an unsatisfactory shopping experience. Here are three ways to wow your customers at every step of the journey, and drive more ROI from the mobile experience.