Capitol Hill

Joe Keenan is the executive editor of Total Retail. Joe has more than 10 years experience covering the retail industry, and enjoys profiling innovative companies and people in the space.

The plight of the U.S. Postal Service has been well documented. The federal agency lost nearly $16 billion in its latest fiscal year, and things aren't getting any better this year. In addition to the rejection of legislative changes that the USPS says are critical to its future viability — namely no longer being required to pre-fund retiree health benefits as well as cutting the mail delivery week from six days to five days (Saturday would be the day cut) — the losses keep mounting.

At the American Catalog Mailers Association's (ACMA) National Catalog Forum yesterday, assorted catalog mailers and suppliers voiced their concerns regarding the Main Street Fairness Act (aka the internet tax law) and discussed their options to help see that the bill isn't passed. Having already been passed by the Senate this past Monday, the next hurdle to the bill becoming law is its passage in the House. The ACMA and its members are fighting to make sure that doesn't happen.

Amazon and 7-Eleven are reportedly testing a new delivery locker that would allow customers to pick up their Amazon packages at local 7-Eleven convenience stores, according to GeekWire. Currently the locker system is said to be in tests at a 7-Eleven location in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Daily reported that when a package from Amazon is delivered to the 7-Eleven store, the customer would receive an email containing the barcode on his or her smartphone. At the locker—which is said to look like a cross between an ATM and safety deposit box—the customer would scan that bar code

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