Managing Carrier Rate Uncertainty
November 11, 2016 at 11:52 am

Parcel carriers are increasing their rates again. Unfortunately, that’s not surprising to most of us in the e-commerce industry. Over the past few years, retailers have been forced to deal with near-annual rate increases from UPS, FedEx and USPS. However, even small rate increases can translate into thousands of dollars in additional expenses that jeopardize…

FedEx Announces 2017 General Rate Increase, Other Changes
September 20, 2016 at 12:04 pm

In a somewhat surprising move to industry analysts, FedEx has announced shipping rate and surcharge changes for 2017 that do not match those announced Sept. 1 by rival UPS. FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight, subsidiaries of FedEx Corp., will increase shipping rates effective Jan. 2, 2017 as follows: FedEx Express will increase shipping…

How Fulfillment Can Turn Holiday Shoppers Into Loyal Customers
August 29, 2016 at 12:02 pm

With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking about your holiday strategy. A successful holiday shopping season doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, planning and a strategy that allows you to deliver the same high-quality customer experiences that shoppers enjoy throughout the year. During November and December, many retailers enjoy a healthy…

5 Retail Trends to Follow Now
August 19, 2016 at 10:08 am

As consumers continue to seek convenience and instant gratification via mobile devices, retailers are challenged with thinking about new ways to generate customer interest and loyalty. To develop insights in these areas, Synchrony Financial recently tracked existing and emerging trends impacting both the retail and mobile payments space and published them in a new report. The report…

The End of Postage Discounting for Lower-Volume Shippers?
July 26, 2016 at 9:19 am

This is a guest post by Gordon Glazer, director of modal optimization and affiliate strategies at Shipware, a parcel audit and consulting firm. In the interest of full disclosure, Gordon recently took a small short position on Stamps.com after the two reports mentioned were published. Also, Shipware provides access to discounted postage pricing through one…

China Grants Unconditional Approval of FedEx, TNT Express Merger
May 2, 2016 at 10:57 am

In its ongoing efforts to merge, FedEx and TNT Express jointly announced last Friday the unconditional approval of the Ministry of Commerce People’s Republic of China. After winning approvals in the United States (November 2015), EU (January 2016) and Brazil (February 2016), China was the last major regulatory hurdle for FedEx to gain in its…

How to Jump on 3 Current Trends Impacting Retail Success
March 4, 2016 at 8:47 am

For a while now, retailers have been betting big on bits and bytes as they invest in retail technology. Overall, retailer IT spend was estimated at $60 billion in 2013. Although e-commerce platform spending gets much of the press, it’s only a small portion, $1.2 billion, of the overall retail tech budget. So where's the…

4 Things Retailers Should Know for 2016
February 22, 2016 at 9:37 am

One thing retailers can count on in January is innovation. Each year, retailers across the globe gather for Retail’s BIG Show hosted by the National Retail Federation (NRF). This year’s event covered the usual topics, such as payment technologies and improving the customer experience, but also demonstrated that there’s a big shift affecting the retail…

5 Stories That Generated the Most Discussion in 2015
January 6, 2016 at 9:49 am

What follows is a list of the Total Retail content in 2015 that generated the most reader comments. You’ll see that our readers are highly engaged when it comes to content on shipping rates — who isn’t when it has such an impact on your bottom line — social media marketing, payment options and cooperative…

The Impact of the USPS Price Increase on Shippers
October 22, 2015 at 11:00 am

This is a guest post by Gordon Glazer, director of strategic partnerships and modal optimization strategies for Shipware, a parcel audit and consulting firm that helps volume parcel shippers reduce shipping costs. Gordon can be reached at gordon@shipware.com.  The USPS Board of Governors has proposed a major price increase for competitive (i.e., shipping) products to take…