If there has been one sweeping theme across the retail landscape in 2022 — and there has been — it’s supply chain. A new benchmarked study of 1,150 online consumers from Dotcom Distribution suggests several areas brands and retailers can tackle to shape the ideal customer experience, even during a period of uncertainty in the…
In a digital world with so many choices on where to exert your effort and budget, the question for direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) merchants is really where you should be spending your time and what channels — new or old — can deliver the desired results. Smaller brands cannot be everywhere all the time nor do they…
What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, consumers were hesitant to spend on much besides essentials and products that would make their life at home more comfortable. They were fearful about going into stores, many of which were temporarily closed due to the pandemic anyway, worried about how COVID-19 would affect…
An outcome of the pandemic-accelerated e-commerce boom, the demand for parcel services continues to exceed the supply. Like previous years, network capacity limits will be stretched for all carriers this holiday season and into 2022. UPS recently put a number on it: the daily demand exceeds the parcel market’s network capacity by 5 million packages…
COVID-19 has created significant market and supply chain disruptions due to unprecedented shifts in both supply and demand. With retailers and brands cutting inventory, resulting in limited product availability, it's more important than ever that retailers and brands make fast, accurate product design, selection, and pricing decisions to lock in their share of scarce supply.…
Last Friday, the U.S. Postal Service announced temporary price increases effective Oct. 18, 2020 through Dec. 27, 2020. Increases are quite significant, as follows: Parcel Select (DDU entry): Up to 7.5 percent Parcel Select (DSCF entry): Up to 9.1 percent Parcel Select (DNDC entry): Up to 6.7 percent Parcel Return Service: Up to 7.9 percent…
UPS announced two Peak Surcharge increases effective May 31, 2020: an increase on UPS Ground Residential and UPS SurePost packages, as well as an add-on charge for larger shipments that incur the Large Package Surcharge (LPS). Ground Residential as well as SurePost will be assessed an additional surcharge of $.30/package when the current average weekly…
Although once mostly limited to tiny local consignment and secondhand shops, fashion and apparel recommerce today includes a range of digitally native companies offering resale, rental, upcycling and/or subscription models. Each of these business models can extend the useful life of apparel and increase the average number of times an item is worn, helping cut…
Traditionally recognized for managing fulfillment services, today’s top third-party logistics (3PLs) providers play a much larger role — one that remains supportive while providing exclusive insights and guidance. They serve as an extension of the retail operations team, coordinating distribution, helping create customer experiences, ensuring on-time and correct delivery, and, maybe most importantly, serving as…
In an effort to help brands and retailers stay on top of consumer mind-sets surrounding the evolving online shopping experience, Dotcom Distribution, a premier provider of B-to-C and B-to-B fulfillment and distribution services, conducts an annual e-commerce consumer survey. The 2019 study explores where brand decisions and consumer behaviors intersect, and how that affects purchase…