Retail

After years of writing about supply chains, Jim Tompkins is building out an ambitious e-fulfillment network for retailers and e-tailers, a collaboration, or rather an alliance, that will allow retailers to compete in “post-click logistics.”

Most of today’s retailers and their supply chain advisors understand the shift in retail sales to the online channel but, for many years, the inclusion of gasoline, groceries, and automobile sales in U.S. retail sales numbers masked the true extent of eCommerce penetration.

Scott Galloway, founder and chairman of L2 and clinical professor of marketing at NYU Stern, and Maureen Mullen, chief strategy officer and co-founder at L2, share their predictions into how Amazon will become the most valuable company in the world and will prompt retailers to rethink the checkout experience, as well as 2017 insights into Google, Facebook, Walmart, Unilver, Apple, and more.

Third biennial report shows 25% increase in consumers receiving an incorrect item for a second time after returning an incorrect order.

Amazon says they had the best holiday season ever - shipping more than one billion items around the world, Forbes reports Amazon sold enough Alexa devices and 4K TVs to reach the peak of Mount Everest more than nine times.

For all the political turmoil across the globe, 2016 was by all accounts very good for the supply chain, which saw acquisitions, investments, technological advancements and record growth.

Commerce reported that November retail sales were up 0.1% over October, following a 0.6 percent increase from September to October, at $465.5 billion.

Using the same technologies as in self-driving cars, Amazon is testing a grocery store in downtown Seattle that lets customers walk in, grab food from the shelves and walk out again, without ever having to stand in a checkout line.

Swisslog Warehouse and Distribution Solutions acquired Forte in April 2015 and PAS in April 2016.

NRF's second annual Retail Holiday Planning Playbook builds on themes to help retailers tackle the upcoming holiday planning.

According to the National Retail Federation’s Cyber Monday Expectations Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics over the weekend, 122 million Americans plan to shop online on Cyber Monday, up from the 121 million who planned to participate last year.

Exceptional savings and promotions encouraged more consumers to shop over the holiday weekend, with more than 154 million consumers shopping over Thanksgiving weekend, up from 151 million shoppers in 2015.

Online retailers see huge growth through smartphones, but consumer spending behavior on mobile devices could lead companies to miss out on some revenue growth, learn the consequences in Adobe’s most recent study.

$1.2 Billion Spent via Mobile Devices; Top Selling Products Include Apple iPads, Samsung 4K TVs and Lego Creator.

56% of shoppers who complete 75% or more of their shopping online during Black Friday and Cyber Monday expect delivery in 2 days or less.