Amazon.com
October 9, 2017 at 11:32 am
In its ongoing effort to compete with Amazon.com, Wal-Mart announced a new way of handling in-store returns of online purchases that it claims could shrink the processing time to 35 seconds. Starting next month, Mobile Express Returns will enable consumers to begin a return process on Wal-Mart’s app before bringing the item in question to any…
October 6, 2017 at 12:07 pm
Amazon.com has been ordered to pay 250 million euros ($294 million) to Luxembourg after the European Commission (EC) found that the online retailer received illegal tax benefits. The EC says Amazon received tax advantages between 2006 and 2014 in the country without any "valid justification." Margrethe Vestager, the EU's commissioner for competition, said in a statement,…
October 5, 2017 at 12:49 pm
Amazon.com is experimenting with a new delivery service for its online sellers to make more products available for two-day shipping. Bloomberg reports the new service, rumored to be titled Seller Flex, will help relieve overcrowding in its warehouses, which will push the online retailer deeper into functions handled by longtime partners UPS and FedEx. Amazon will…
October 3, 2017 at 11:31 am
Wal-Mart has acquired the same-day delivery service Parcel, as it continues to focus on getting orders to customers’ front doors more quickly. Brooklyn-based Parcel offers evening deliveries and can handle perishable and frozen foods. According to Wal-Mart, Parcel has partnerships with several meal-kit and grocery companies. This is the latest move in Wal-Mart's battle with Amazon.com over delivery. Last…
October 3, 2017 at 10:59 am
After chatting with and listening to retail executives at last week's Shop.org conference in Los Angeles, I left the event with the following three themes: 1. Amazon.com is a Behemoth, But We Have Brands and Communities The overriding sense I got listening to retailers at Shop.org is that while they understand that trying to compete…
September 12, 2017 at 12:29 pm
As Amazon.com grows its business through technology, spending on the latest and greatest tools to optimize the customer experience, from product discovery through delivery and post-purchase, other retailers have been left behind. In order to catch up to and eventually surpass Amazon, retailers are analyzing their own businesses to see where well-spent investments can help…
September 5, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Amazon.com has been hit with a proposed class-action lawsuit by a couple who claims defective eclipse glasses purchased through the online retailer damaged their eyes. In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in South Carolina on Tuesday evening, Corey Payne and his fiancée, Kayla Harris, said they purchased a three-pack of eclipse glasses on Amazon in early…
September 5, 2017 at 12:31 pm
Alibaba, the operator of China’s largest online sales platform, is reportedly building its own mall as it seeks to enrich the real-world shopping experience with technology and convenience. The five-story shopping center — which the company is calling “More Mall” — is located at Alibaba’s headquarters in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. The mall was built…
August 31, 2017 at 10:42 am
The struggles of brick-and-mortar retailers in 2017 have been well-documented. Iconic brands such as J.C. Penney, Macy's and Sears have all announced store closures this year, and other mall-based retailers such as The Limited, Wet Seal, and American Apparel have gone out of business. Why? A common reason cited is less in-store traffic, the result…
August 21, 2017 at 1:28 pm
Amazon.com's relatively low-paid warehouse workers get the same parental leave benefits as the company’s highly paid software developers and executives — a rarity for U.S. hourly workers. Amazon’s move to revamp its parental leave benefits, which began in 2015, coincided with a wider wave of perk enhancements among booming U.S. technology companies concerned about retaining talented…
