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Holiday Spending Forecasts Lower in Transition Year

| Mike O'Brien

With lowered holiday shopping expectations amid inflation concerns, consumers hunt for deals as early promotions lured them in but not in the hoped-for droves, and inventory remains a challenge. Retailers continue to discount and promote to clear out stock, increasingly using resale platforms like Poshmark, ThredUp and Etsy.

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Walmart Offers 50% Off Walmart+ to Boost Subscriptions

| Mike O'Brien

Walmart is offering half off on new sign-ups to its $98-a-year Walmart+ subscription program, an offer which expires today, in a bid to boost membership ahead of Cyber Weekend and the rush to the conclusion of the peak holiday season. The giant retailer is also throwing in access to early Black Friday deals starting Nov. 7.

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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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Shipping Capacity Management: The Outlook for 2022 Peak

| Mike O'Brien

While most markers indicate more than sufficient carrier capacity to meet Q4 demand, that doesn’t mean all is smooth sailing, with chokepoints and a possible dockworker strike. This operations special report on capacity management from Multichannel Merchant taps experts and retailers on the Q4 outlook and what to expect.

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Retailers Struggle to Read Consumer Signals for Q4

| Mike O'Brien

Retailers are looking at a major balancing act heading into the holiday season this year, with consumer signals and economic indicators a mixed bag and absolute boatloads of excess inventory, much of it old, to contend with in order to make Q4 a success.

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Amazon Lists First-Time FBA Peak Surcharge

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon is jumping on the peak surcharge bandwagon for the first time, asking sellers using its Fulfillment By Amazon service to pay 35 cents more per item for goods sold in the U.S. and Canada, running from Oct. 15 to Jan. 14, according to CNBC. This follows peak fee announcements from both FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service.

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Is Your Magento Site Ready for High Traffic?

| Roman Davydov

Given that one extra second of load time may reduce conversions by more than 4%, such problems can be critical to your success. Therefore, if you’re running a Magento store, make sure you’re able to withstand the load and deliver a quality customer experience even when traffic spikes occur.

Holiday Ecommerce Spending Up 8.6%, Adobe Says

| Mike O'Brien

Despite massive out of stock levels due to supply chain and inventory issues, U.S. holiday ecommerce spending hit a record $204.5 billion over the 2021 holidays, up 8.6%, according to Adobe’s Digital Economy Index, with 38 days where over $3 billion exchanged hands, vs. 25 such days in 2020.

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Carriers Come Through for Christmas

| Mike O'Brien

After a hairy 2020 peak season, with capacity at a premium and late parcel orders piling up, on-time performance by the big three carriers was strong, helped by a lot of early shopping from consumers based on earlier promotions, as well as improved levels of in-store activity.