Walmart-Salesforce partnership feature

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.

bed bath & beyond storefront

Bed Bath & Beyond Posts Ugly Third Quarter

| Mike O'Brien

Bed Bath & Beyond as expected posted a tough third-quarter report, with net sales and same-store sales down a third from last year and a net loss of $393 million as it considers a range of options up to and including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. CEO Sue Gove said the company is listening to customers, but it may be too little, too late.

omnishoppers mobile in store

Engaging Omnishoppers Despite Inflation

| Shekar Raman

As inflation continues to impact retailers, the basket size of every shopper is critical to profitability. To attract the price-wary omnishopper, you must create a seamless, consistent cross-channel experience. Engaging and retaining them is incredibly valuable, but it takes finesse to understand who they are and how they shop.

Macy’s Converts 35 Stores to Mini FCs

| Mike O'Brien

Ahead of peak season, Macy’s converted 35 stores into mini fulfillment centers, creating about 1 million square feet of space to handle online orders, lowering costs, speeding up delivery times and reducing the incidence of painful split shipments, executives said on a recent earnings call.

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The Future for Marketplace Aggregators

| Ben Eachus

While marketplaces have made it easier than ever to launch a digital-first brand, the process of getting products to a customer’s door has never been more complex, and marketplace aggregators will face challenges and frustrations handling the supply chain complications.

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How Alen Expanded from DTC/Ecomm Onto Lowe’s Shelves

| Mike O'Brien

For 16 years, Alen has been selling its a top-rated air purifiers on Alen.com and Amazon. Now the company has expanded into retail, with product in 300+ Lowe’s stores, with potential for expansion. Alen has seen sales climb 210% growth since 2020. The CEO and the COO of Alen talk about the company’s growth and channel approach.

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Target Sees Q3 Earnings Slump, Warns of Q4 Softness

| Mike O'Brien

Target brought bad news Wednesday, with Q3 earnings miss plus a warning about a softer Q4, as families make tough budget calls on essentials vs. nonessentials heading into the holidays while high inflation lingers, registering a 7.7% rate in October. The company is calling for a low single-digit decline in Q4 comparable sales, and an operating margin of 3%.

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Open Ecommerce Platforms: Opportunity for Brands

| Ben Eachus

The anytime/anywhere/anyhow expectations of consumers today is increasingly upending the traditional sales funnel for brands, forcing them to think outside the box to best serve their customers. Brands and their shoppers need open systems, ecommerce platforms and services that support these omnichannel demands.

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5 Tips for Improving Holiday Customer Service

| Owen Campbell

Newsflash: ecommerce is on the rise, even if there has been a bit of a pullback lately, and the peak of the holiday season is now upon us. As activity ramps up, so does the demand for high-quality customer service. These 5 tips will help you keep on top of the increased inquiry volume and provide the best CX possible this holiday season.

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Ecommerce Winter or Digital Shelf Spring? Your Call

| Joe Gaudreau

The digital shelf is the ecosystem of how consumers interact with brands and retailers to discover, research and purchase products. To win there and convert more buyers, brands must provide consistent, relevant and up-to-date product information across digital touchpoints, including stores, ecommerce, DTC and social.