Shipping

E-commerce is a runaway train with no slowing in sight. Nearly eight in 10 Americans now shop online to the tune of $453 billion in sales. Clearly, Amazon.com has been the biggest catalyst here. Free, two-day shipping has completely reset consumers’ expectations around the realities of speed and cost of delivery, a big reason why…

Almost every weather-related headline in the media or corporate annual reports focuses on the associated negative impacts for organizations. And there’s a lot to report: in 2017 alone, there were 330 catastrophic weather events, 31 of which each resulted in damages of more than 1 billion USD. Even "normal weather" impacts nearly every industry on…

Although it’s certainly a catchy and classic holiday tune, no longer is it the "12 Days of Christmas" for retailers. Most retail businesses need to begin preparing for the peak holiday shipping season months in advance. While some begin to review their holiday results and assess the performance of their seasonal operations as soon as…

Chairish, an online marketplace for home decor, art, and furniture, recently launched Drop Off & Go, a turnkey packing and shipping service that solves the most vexing obstacle to online selling for the home decor industry: the challenge of shipping. Sellers using the Drop Off & Go service simply print out their Chairish shipping label, which includes a…

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Caitlin Sullivan and Joe Keenan discuss the National Retail Federation's (NRF) new Package Coalition, a lobbying group in support of the U.S. Postal Service. The coalition is being led by Amazon.com and other retail businesses, including QVC and Columbia Sportswear. In addition to analyzing the merits…

Walmart is testing the use of storage and retrieval robotics, called Alphabot, to increase the speed of online grocery order pickup, according to a company blog post. The technology, which was developed in collaboration with retail automation company Alert Innovation, is being installed in a section of a Salem, N.H. supercenter, which will also be a dedicated…

A program Walmart announced last summer that lets store associates opt into delivering e-commerce ship-from-store orders quietly ended in January, according to company documents obtained by Reuters. The program was tested at three stores — two in New Jersey and one in Arkansas — and the idea was that store employees would bring online orders directly to…

As the heat index increases across the nation, so do the questions surrounding what customers will expect and how retailers and brands will perform in the months ahead. From constant promotions to ease of returns, increased free shipping to buying on mobile, consumer behavior is shifting faster than ever, leading to intense challenges and distinct…

Though we’re in the peak of summer, retailers are preparing for the holidays looming just a few months away. If the growth in holiday retail sales in 2017 (a 5.5 percent increase to $691.9 billion) serves as any indication for the 2018 holiday season, retailers can expect an influx of shoppers with evolving demands. As…

In this week's episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Caitlin Sullivan and Joe Keenan discuss UPS’ intra-year rate hikes, the factors that are leading to higher shipping costs for retailers, and potential solutions to the problem, including implementing omnichannel fulfillment systems.