Order Fulfillment

Target announced today it has agreed to acquire Shipt, Inc., an online same-day delivery platform, for $550 million in cash. The retail chain said it will use its network of stores and Shipt’s proprietary technology platform and network of more than 20,000 members to bring same-day delivery to customers across the country. Shipt differs from other…

Most online retailers start their businesses with lots of passion, little (if any) shipping knowledge and a small space to work out of (usually an extra bedroom or living room). When you first start to build out your shipping process, it’s easy to just stick to the first system in order to get the shipments…

Best Buy has sent out special delivery trucks of nothing but TVs — hundreds of thousands of TVs — to its stores in recent days to be ready for Black Friday crowds. At the same time, its distribution centers are packed full of thousands more TVs stacked high, ready for the crush of online orders expected…

This Saturday, Nov. 11, the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba will hold its annual Singles Day event, which last year grossed $17.8 billion (USD) in sales, up from $14.3 billion in 2015, according to a report from Fung Global Retail & Technology (FGRT). The 24-hour phenomenon has quickly become the world's largest shopping day, consistently surpassing…

In an interview at the Teradata Partners Conference in Anaheim, Calif., last week, Mike Halula, retail analytics practice lead for the Americas, Teradata, touched on a variety of topics regarding the current and future state of the retail industry: On Marketing to Millennials "Marketers are trying to figure out how customers want to be connected…

Amazon.com has launched Amazon Key, an in-home delivery service exclusively for Amazon Prime members. The service relies on Amazon’s new Cloud Cam and compatible smart lock. The Verge reports the camera is the hub, connected to the internet via home Wi-Fi. Then, the camera talks to the lock over Zigbee, a wireless protocol used by…

Costco announced last week that it's offering customers same-day grocery delivery. On Thursday, the company announced two new delivery options: two-day delivery for dry goods, and same-day delivery for orders that include fresh foods. The same-day service will be powered by grocery delivery company Instacart. The same-day delivery option, available in “most metropolitan areas,” lets…

Wal-Mart has acquired the same-day delivery service Parcel, as it continues to focus on getting orders to customers’ front doors more quickly. Brooklyn-based Parcel offers evening deliveries and can handle perishable and frozen foods. According to Wal-Mart, Parcel has partnerships with several meal-kit and grocery companies. This is the latest move in Wal-Mart's battle with Amazon.com over delivery. Last…

In episode 111 of Total Retail Talks, Richard Last, chairman emeritus, board of directors, Shop.org; founding partner, Axcelora; senior director, Global Digital Retailing Research Center, University of North Texas, offers his insights into the state of the retail industry, including how legacy brick-and-mortar retailers must evolve in order to remain viable in today's digital environment,…

Total Retail’s recent survey and subsequent report, The Amazon Effect: How Retailers Are Adapting Their Businesses to Better Compete With the Industry Leader, found that retailers believe that Amazon.com has changed consumers’ expectations when it comes to the cost and speed of delivery. Eighty-six percent of respondents said that shoppers are either "significantly" or "somewhat"…