Shipping

How a Shipping Makeover Can Increase Your Bottom Line
December 1, 2017 at 11:20 am

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…

Amazon Launches Relay App to Improve Trucker Efficiency
November 20, 2017 at 11:39 am

Amazon.com has quietly launched an app designed to help delivery drivers get in and out of its warehouses faster, according to CNBC. The app, called Relay, debuted late last month and is available on Apple and Android devices. Drivers enter cargo information into the app, allowing them to check in with a QR code and…

Why Retailers Must Offer Date-Certain Shipping This Holiday Season
November 10, 2017 at 9:39 am

FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service provide their customers with real-time shipment updates. They also give merchants access to many shipping service types — e.g., next-day, two-day, three-day, ground, and more. Similarly, online retailers can and should offer shipping choices to their customers. For example, Amazon.com, the king of e-commerce fulfillment, gives customers multiple…

How to Improve Shipping Speed Without Breaking the Bank
November 8, 2017 at 12:02 pm

Today’s shoppers expect lightning-fast shipping speed. That's not news to anyone within the retail industry. Amazon.com knows it, brands know it, and retailers know it. But how fast exactly do consumers expect online orders to arrive? Less than two days, according to a recent Deloitte study. The study found that 83 percent of consumers define…

Best Buy Waives Shipping Fees for Holiday Season
November 2, 2017 at 12:26 pm

Best Buy said in blog post on Monday that it's offering free shipping on all online orders during the holiday season. For the third straight year, the electronics retailer said it would waive the $35 minimum order for free shipping it maintains the rest of the year from Oct. 30 to Dec. 25. Best Buy…

5 Ways to Offer Free Shipping Without Breaking the Bank
October 31, 2017 at 9:24 am

If you’re not offering free shipping, you’re missing out on the chief deciding factor for 90 percent of online shoppers. Last year’s Walker Sands’ Future of Retail study found that for 90 percent of respondents, free shipping is the top incentive that will make them shop online more. In fact, it’s been that way for decades.…

Amazon Launches In-Home Delivery Service
October 25, 2017 at 10:21 am

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…

Getting Holiday Deliveries On the Road
October 16, 2017 at 6:22 pm

This year, Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. This raises problems for retailers since traditional carriers such as UPS and FedEx don’t deliver on Sundays. With nearly 9 percent of consumers waiting until Christmas Eve to complete holiday shopping, how can retailers get those last-minute e-commerce buyers their gifts in time for Christmas morning? Roadie,…

50 Best Tips of 2017
October 16, 2017 at 3:59 pm

A collection of the top tips featured in Total Retail’s magazine and e-newsletters this year, from content marketing to inventory management to merchandising, and much more.

What U.S. Consumers Expect From Retailers in Q4
October 11, 2017 at 11:28 am

The fourth quarter of 2017 may generate the biggest sales yet for e-commerce retail, at least according to a new CPC Strategy report that features the results of a survey of 1,500 U.S. consumers about their holiday shopping plans. One key statistic from the report: 88.1 percent of shoppers surveyed plan to spend about the…