Shipping

Our experts walk you through opportunities to not only cut shipping costs, but also improve shipping service to your customers.

Google's secretive research laboratory is trying to build a fleet of drones designed to bypass earthbound traffic so packages can be delivered to people more quickly. The ambitious program announced Thursday escalates Google's technological arms race with rival Amazon.com Inc., which also is experimenting with self-flying vehicles to carry merchandise bought by customers of its online store. Amazon is mounting its own challenges to Google in online video, digital advertising and mobile computing in a battle that

The United States Postal Service is raising rates for Priority Mail when purchased at the post office. But it is lowering rates for those who purchase Priority Mail postage online, a further incentive for merchants to print labels online. The USPS announced the new rates last month, and the Postal Rate Commission issued its order approving the rate changes on Friday, August 15. The new rates take effect on Sept. 7. 

Amazon recently added a new incentive for its consumers when it comes to shipping, an article in the Huffington Post reported.  The company has announced Prime members who choose "No-Rush Shipping" for any order will receive a $1 credit to be used on Amazon's Instant Video library on

Amazon.com announced yesterday that it will be expanding its same-day delivery service in six metro areas: New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, Dallas and Indianapolis. Customers in those cities will be able to have their orders delivered on the same day if they purchase before noon — for a fee, of course. The question remains, however, is same-day shipping worth it?

With memories of the well-publicized 2013 Christmas delivery failures still fresh on the minds of consumers and retailers alike, leading brands have already begun preparing a shipping strategy for the 2014 holiday rush. While it's not too late for proper planning for holiday shipping, it's certainly not too early. Here are four tips to improve the delivery of orders to your customers this upcoming holiday season:

Sellers are reporting major technical problems with the U.S. Postal Service's Click-N-Ship, a service they use to print online postage, with one avid user calling the glitches "the biggest e-commerce story of the month." Last week, the service had an outage, reported on Ecommerce EKG and on the website IsItDownRightNow.com. 

Listen as we map out simple customer service best practices you can implement today, and keep customers coming back time and again.

How small retailers (both online and brick-and-mortar) can compete with Amazon and its vast resources, cheap pricing and fast delivery.

In this webinar, executives discuss the key challenges omnichannel retail marketers faced heading into the 2014 holiday season.