Order Fulfillment

The desire to unify multiple channels in response to changing customer demands and the emergence of digital technologies, social media and mobile devices isn't new to retail. And yet, delivering an integrated, 360-degree omnichannel experience to customers still appears to be a stretch for many. Late in 2019, before the coronavirus changed everything, we set…

The back-to-school shopping season certainly looked dim this year, with many students not returning to the classroom. As we now look toward the holiday season, we can expect a change in holiday shopping habits, too. However, unlike back-to-school shopping, which essentially relies on being able to physically go back to school, holiday shopping will occur…

Beginning in late July, a number of major retailers announced they will be closing stores on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in years. Walmart kicked it all off, stating it will be closing its stores on the U.S. holiday for the first time in 30 years, with many other retailers, including Target, quick to…

Retail is an incredibly resilient industry, having endured decades of economic disruption, yet continuing to come out the other side stronger than before. Thus far, COVID-19 has been retail’s most unprecedented difficulty of this decade, with social distancing guidelines forcing doors to close and operations to shift drastically. While retailers have reopened their doors to…

Lowe's announced this morning that it will add self-serve pickup lockers to all U.S. stores, more than 1,700, by March 2021. The lockers will be an additional contactless option for shoppers, who have sought out these sorts of services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A scannable barcode generated after a purchase is made will allow shoppers to…

When the coronavirus required cities to introduce stay-at-home policies this spring, the initial impact on retail was immediate and, frankly, scary. “Closed” signs popped up in store windows across the country, foot traffic came to a complete halt in some areas, and some brick-and-mortar shop owners weren’t sure they would make it. An April 8…

Amazon.com is opening a new Whole Foods store in Brooklyn, but it won’t be open to the public. In a first for the company, the Whole Foods store will be permanently online only, tasked with fulfilling online grocery orders for customers in the Brooklyn area, Amazon announced. The store, which opened on Tuesday, is located in Brooklyn’s…

If you're selling online, chances are, prospects can find your products anywhere. E-commerce is a growing market, the market is big, and there's practically no limit as to where you can expand. Now, the question is, are you ready to sell internationally? If your answer is yes, then you have to be aware that expanding…

The dramatic shift toward e-commerce has sparked experimentation at Best Buy stores and inspired a new strategy that will turn some of them into hubs for online fulfillment, CNBC reported. Corie Barry, Best Buy CEO, said the retailer will start testing a ship-from-store pilot program. Although all Best Buy stores ship online orders, this program…

The migration of retail purchasing towards digital channels has been widely reported as the industry conforms to the safety necessities of COVID-19. Now, after rapidly pivoting to scale ship-to-home, curbside pickup, and final-mile delivery to preserve as much pre-pandemic revenue as possible, the sustainability of these fulfillment and delivery services is reaching an inflection point.…