Shipping

Shipping carriers raise rates every year, but this year, online sellers who use the U.S. Postal Service got some good news mixed in with the rate changes, according to online postage providers Stamps.com and Endicia, which provide sellers with commercial base rates that are more favorable than regular USPS retail rates. Eric Nash of Stamps.com said Priority Mail rates are going up a net zero percent, for example. In a podcast interview with EcommerceBytes, Nash highlighted some of the instances where rates are actually going down.

The Direct Marketing Association joined with partners in the mailing community in filing an appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, seeking relief from the recent Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) decision to allow an exigent postal increase set to take effect on Jan. 26. In December, the PRC announced it would grant the USPS request for an exigent postage increase of 4.3 percent. The 4.3 percent exigent rate is scheduled to be implemented simultaneously with an inflation-based rate adjustment of 1.7 percent approved earlier by the PRC. Thus, mailers are facing a total price increase averaging 6 percent.

Best Buy's stock has plunged 43 percent since October. It's not exactly the turnaround shareholders hoped for. But StellaService data shows the retailer has made significant improvements in at least one very important business performance metric — speed of delivery. Many industry watchers are asking, "How is Best Buy going to compete with Amazon.com?" Obviously, speed of delivery is an area retailers are battling to best each other. It seems Best Buy has found an advantage. As Amazon continues to build warehouses nationwide with the goal of delivering packages faster, Best Buy has been leveraging infrastructure that's already in place.

Amazon.com knows you so well it wants to ship your next package before you order it. The Seattle-based retailer in December acquired a patent for what it calls "anticipatory shipping," a method to start delivering packages even before customers click "buy." The technique could cut delivery time and discourage consumers from visiting physical stores. In the patent document, Amazon says delays between ordering and receiving purchases "may dissuade customers from buying items from online merchants."

At the National Retail Federation's annual convention, a festival of consumerism housed over the past four days in New York City's soaring Jacob Javits convention center with 30,000 attendees and dozens of lectures on the wizardry of modern commerce, the hottest ticket was for a lunchtime talk about a company that wasn't even there presenting. The enigmatic title, Even Amazon Can't Do This … Yet. "If you don't think Amazon is a problem for your business, I don't care where you are in the world, you're wrong, you're living under a rock," declared consultant Lee Peterson of WD Partners.

With its announcement yesterday that it will be investing in same-day shipping starting in 2014, Home Depot became the latest in a long line of retailers to offer this service to customers. This video examines the same-day shipping trend and what it means for consumers and retailers alike. 

When Jeff Bezos, the C.E.O. of Amazon, told "60 Minutes" this week that his company was experimenting with having drones deliver its packages, he seemed to be conjuring up a future in which fleets of flying machines would tote most of our purchases, and in which ordinary delivery people would become obsolete. But even if Amazon's Prime Air does work, and if drone delivery eventually becomes adopted more widely, it's not likely to wreck the delivery business as we know it.

Amazon.com is testing drones to deliver goods as it works to improve efficiency and speed in getting products to consumers. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos unveiled the plan on CBS's "60 Minutes" news program in the U.S., showing interviewer Charlie Rose the flying machines that can serve as delivery vehicles. The CEO said the gadgets, called octocopters, can carry as much as five pounds within a 10-mile radius of an Amazon fulfillment center. Amazon may start using the drones, which can make a delivery within 30 minutes, within five years pending Federal Aviation Administration approval, Bezos said.

Absorbing shipping costs on a mass scale can stress any operating budget, so retailers have been searching for the best ways to balance these expenses against higher abandonment rates. A few companies, including Amazon.com and Sears, have found solutions via pre-paid shipping programs. These programs charge consumers an up-front fee that helps fund ongoing shipping options and keeps consumers committed.

Last week, UPS announced its 2014 general rate increase. Ground, air and international parcel products will increase an average of 4.9 percent, effective Dec. 30, 2013.