Many ecommerce businesses realize 60% to 70% of their profits in the fourth quarter. For multichannel businesses and wholesalers, their peak season starts months earlier to supply retail and ecommerce. Take the time now to analyze your fulfillment successes and failures and develop an improvement plan for this Q4 using these 7 steps.
The 2019 holiday season has concluded, and once again ecommerce experienced record-breaking sales. But what made the 2019 holiday season so successful, and which trends have become the new normal? Analyzing the results does no good unless you implement the lessons learned to further your marketing program.
Ecommerce spending in the U.S. for November and December posted a new record at $142.5 billion, up 13.1%, according to data from Adobe, while Salesforce pegged worldwide ecommerce spend at $723 billion, an 8% increase. Smartphones accounted for 84% of the 2019 holiday ecommerce growth in the U.S., Adobe said.
A month after prohibiting third-party sellers from using FedEx Ground and FedEx Home for Prime orders due to alleged on-time performance issues, Amazon is now saying they’re back on the nice list. Amazon said the performance issues have been resolved to its satisfaction, allowing 3P sellers to use the services again.
A day after Christmas, UPS affirmed and updated its expectation that it would process just shy of 2 million returns on Jan. 2, 2020, representing a seventh consecutive record-breaking National Returns Day. But is Dec. 26 really the day retailers and ecommerce companies need to pay attention to? You be the judge.
A seeming disconnect between fewer last-order promise dates and faster holiday delivery times is explained by the rising popularity of buy online, pickup in store, according to an annual survey from Kurt Salmon. This season, 53% of retailers didn’t offer a last order promise date to avoid disappointing customers.
Ecommerce holiday sales rose 18.8% over 2018, driving 3.4% overall growth in seasonal retail, delivering a very merry season for merchants, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse holiday report. Ecommerce growth was up slightly from an 18.4% gain in 2018, accounting for 14.6% of total retail, according to Mastercard.
Target’s new last-minute delivery deals and deadlines for holiday gifts has it going head-to-head with Walmart over whose fulfillment is faster and more accommodating for shoppers. Both retail giants offer free two-day shipping, but Walmart has the edge in guaranteed delivery by Christmas for ultra-last-minute shoppers.
Amazon is telling 3P sellers they can’t use FedEx Ground for Prime deliveries this holiday season, citing performance issues, according to the Wall Street Journal, saying the policy will remain until there are improvements. UPS and other carriers stand to benefit in the short term if they can find room in their networks.
