Over the years, retailers have become very good at the supply chain - the process of getting goods from the manufacturing plant to the customer. But today, many retailers face a different challenge: taking those goods back, a process referred to as the "reverse supply chain."
Consumers expect seamless access to brands -- and their history with those brands -- on every channel they visit, and business shoppers are no exception.
The numbers are in and all signs point to a future saturated with business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce sales. Following in the footsteps of its business-to-consumer (B2C) cousin, B2B e-commerce is quickly becoming the shopping and purchasing method of choice for a wide range of buyers - including customers in the electrical industry.
The explosive growth of online retailing over the last 20 years has increased the pressure on states to seek to enforce sales and use taxes on online purchases.
A large number of traditional retailers are struggling to grow profitably. In addition to bankrupt retailers like Sports Authority, many others are closing stores. Yet, the "Beast from Seattle" continues to thrive ... posting double-digit year-over-year growth, and now even quarterly profits.
As many as 96 percent of Americans are now shopping online, averaging about five hours a week making online purchases. A recent survey and report from Bigcommerce in partnership with Kelton Global looked at the online shopping habits of 1,000 U.S. consumers and found that online shopping is becoming a necessity for some consumers.
As larger U.S. retailers continue to close underperforming stores with more customers choosing to shop online from their own homes, big-box store vacancies have increased in recent years. But with online sales only increasing and more small shop spaces mimicking the online sales environment, the biggest impacts are being reflected in warehouse space and logistics.