Online commerce - Articles - Page 2

Amazon, Other Foreign Online Retailers Have 'No Chance' to Succeed in Russia

March 4, 2014

Russia has become the it girl of e-commerce. Even amid a slowing economy, the country's online shopping increased 26 percent last year, to 510 billion rubles (about $14bn), according to Moscow's Data Insight, and could double by 2015. That has made the country an intriguing target for foreign players such as Amazon, eBay, Asos and China's Alibaba Group, while boosting the fortunes of such local companies as search engine Yandex and Amazon-like Ozon. Can foreign e-tailers make it there?

Almost 40 Percent of Businesses Still Not Selling Online, Study Finds

February 19, 2014

Grant Thornton

These days, it's widely assumed that most businesses are selling directly to customers via the internet. However, surprisingly, a Grant Thornton survey found that 39 percent of businesses are not yet selling online. Online sales might seem like a dream come true "” you reach larger markets with no middlemen, at higher margins "” but, according to the Grant Thornton survey, the dream can easily turn into a nightmare.

Expect to See More Couriers Specializing in Omni-Channel Logistics

January 21, 2014

Forbes

Among other things, the logistics world will continue to see the rise of omni-channel courier companies in 2014.

Holiday Delivery Foul-up More the Fault of Retailers Than Carriers, Study Finds

January 15, 2014

Kurt Salmon

Widespread delays to Christmas deliveries made headlines over the holiday season. But while carriers like UPS and even FedEx were quick to apologize, a new study suggests they may be shouldering a disproportionate amount of the blame. Kurt Salmon found that the majority of delays experienced in their analysis of holiday shipping and delivery dates were the fault of retailers, not carriers.

Study Finds Shoppers' Satisfaction Up, But Retailers Need to Invest More in Technology

January 6, 2014

Motorola Solutions Inc.

The seventh annual Holiday Shopping Study from Motorola Solutions Inc. finds that overall in-store satisfaction has grown 23 percent in the last six years. Meanwhile, satisfaction with the checkout process and the availability of store associates has increased 32 percent and 23 percent, respectively, since 2008. Retailers need to continue to offer choice and options to shoppers across all channels - online, in-store and mobile. Shoppers also reported a dramatic increase in use of their smartphones for shopping-related activities including mobile couponing.

Retail Imports Expected to Rise 1.8 Percent for December, 2.3 Percent for the Year

December 12, 2013

National Retail Federation

Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to grow 1.8 percent in December over the same month last year, and the year should end with an increase of 2.3 percent over 2012, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Most Observers See Online Holiday Shopping Growing as Much as 15 Percent This Year

December 3, 2013

Storefront Backtalk

Apparently, retailers' extensive prep work - including shoring up their fulfillment and shipping processes - will pay off in online sales this year.

UPS Looks for E-commerce to Boost Holiday Shopping Delivery; Takes on Seasonal Workers

October 29, 2013

Business Week

Brick-and-mortar retailers are sweating online competition this holiday season, perhaps more than ever. But it's all upside to UPS. The shipping giant is cashing in both on internet shopping and old-school retailers trying to mimic Amazon.com - shipping inventory around the country in an incessant supply-chain shuffling.

Walmart Reports Ecommerce Sales Grow 30 Percent

August 28, 2013

RISnews

Walmart's second quarter sales climbed 2.1 percent to $68.7bn, driven by omnichannel investments in ecommerce logistics, updated mobile applications, expanded online inventory, products available for pick-up in store and rolling out fulfillment capabilities to an increasing number of supercenters.

Are Pure-play Online Retailers and Brick-and-Mortar Sellers Finding Common Ground?

March 28, 2013

The Economist

"Multichannel" (or even better, "omnichannel") is something almost every self-respecting retailer wants to be. But most pure-play internet vendors resist the idea that actual stores, with their rents, payrolls and security cameras, ought to be one of those channels. The thought of having the same costs as bricks-and-mortar competitors "scares the living daylights out of me," says Charles Hunt, owner of Duvet and Pillow Warehouse, a fast-growing online retailer. Yet things are changing.