Shipping

Online sales continue to grow as a proportion of overall retail sales, and returns are growing at an even faster rate. With the holiday peak season upon us, retailers will need to focus more than ever on handling returns in ways that avoid alienating their customers — and consequently losing future sales. Given the rising…

Today’s digital consumers are placing ever greater demands on e-commerce providers to "get delivery right" or lose their business. Indeed, delivery is now a key differentiating factor that has a significant impact on consumer online purchasing decisions. According to the findings of the recent MetaPack 2016 State of E-Commerce Delivery Consumer Research Report, 61 percent…

With Black Friday in two days, the holiday season fast approaching and e-commerce exploding around the globe, opportunities for small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) in the retail industry are skyrocketing — and the rules of the game are changing. Cloud-based e-commerce and enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications are lowering the barrier to entry, while mobile technology is…

A pilot strike is threatening to ground flights carrying cargo for Amazon.com during the busy holiday season. About 250 pilots employed by ABX Air, a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, went on strike Tuesday morning to protest what they say are staffing shortages. Now Amazon and shipping company DHL Worldwide Express, which are both customers of…

Consumers have options, and they know it. Brands need an intelligent order management system to fulfill orders profitably.

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) said yesterday it expects record deliveries this holiday season, with more than 700 million packages expected to be delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. The company expects peak holiday delivery volume to rise more than 14 percent from the same period in 2015, with two more operating days this…

The holidays are quickly approaching, which means retailers are once again planning for the busiest shipping season of the year. According to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales are expected to reach $656 billion in 2016. Many retailers are finalizing their processes for handling these high shipping volumes. Here are some key strategies that even the most…

Parcel carriers are increasing their rates again. Unfortunately, that’s not surprising to most of us in the e-commerce industry. Over the past few years, retailers have been forced to deal with near-annual rate increases from UPS, FedEx and USPS. However, even small rate increases can translate into thousands of dollars in additional expenses that jeopardize…

As the U.S. presidential election comes to an end, consumers are turning their attention to the rapidly approaching holiday shopping season. Typically, Americans tend to start preparations well before the December rush, and even before the traditional Thanksgiving week start to the season. According to The NPD Group’s Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey, in 2015, “half of…

Update: Per a note from a reader, we thought it was important to add the following disclaimer: “This program only currently applies to sellers who have received an e-mail regarding the program. No actions are required if you have not received the program e-mail. If you have received an e-mail, the program is scheduled to…