In-Store Pickup

Amazon.com is converting more of its Whole Foods locations into "dark stores," which are dedicated solely to fulfilling online orders. The move is part of an effort by Amazon to keep up with increased demand for groceries during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a FOX Business report. “With stay-at-home orders in place, customers have generated unprecedented demand for grocery delivery,"…

Starting in May, Best Buy plans to gradually reopen its stores to customers with appointments, CNBC reported. Shoppers will be able to schedule a time to meet with a sales associate to discuss a potential purchase of an appliance, talk through technology needs, and more. Best Buy, which has 1,000 U.S. stores, will begin by offering this…

A record $7.40 billion was spent online by the end of Black Friday, the second largest online sales day ever (last year’s Cyber Monday reached $7.9 billion in sales),  according to Adobe Analytics. This $7.40 billion total represented a 43 percent year-over-year increase. What's more, the average order value set a new record for Black Friday (at…

It seems the holidays come earlier every year — Lowe’s and Walmart have had their Christmas trees up since late September — but for many there's still time left to prepare for the onslaught of gift-givers. The time to do so is now. While this author has been predicting holiday trends for several years, this…

Amazon.com is expanding a program that turns physical retail stores into package pickup centers, GeekWire reported. The pickup service program, Counter, will be added to thousands of store locations at GNC, Health Mart and Stage Stores. Amazon launched the Counter program through a partnership with Rite-Aid in June. "This new network of pickup points gives…

FedEx will offer pickup and drop-off services inside Dollar General stores, expanding the shipping company’s reach in rural America. Memphis-based FedEx on Monday announced the alliance with fellow Tennessee company Dollar General Corp. The companies plan to begin adding FedEx services in more than 1,500 Dollar General stores by late summer and expand to more than 8,000…

Amazon.com announced Thursday that it plans to invest $800 million in the second quarter of 2019 toward making one-day shipping the standard offering of its Prime loyalty program. Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said Amazon is “currently working on evolving our Prime shipping program, which has historically been a two-day program, to a one-day shipping program,”…

Over the last several years, brick-and-mortar retailers have been scrambling to combat declining revenues, decreasing footfall and falling customer loyalty in the face of increasing encroachment by the likes of online retail giants such as Amazon.com. Something has changed, however. After years of locking horns with digital-first insurgents, traditional retailers have changed tact, embracing Amazon…

In today’s evolving retail climate, consumers are straying from shopping exclusively in-store or online. Instant gratification, control and face-to-face customer experiences entice consumers to still shop in physical stores. Yet, the convenience of online shopping was a primary factor in e-commerce sales increasing by 15 percent in 2018. As customers  incorporate both shopping methods into…

Last week, the 2019 Shoptalk conference featured one of its best speaker lineups and attendance to date. Over 8,000 e-commerce professionals gathered to hear presentations from 185 retail and e-commerce experts about trends and technologies impacting the industry. In particular, four great sessions stood out that demonstrated two main themes of the conference. One theme…