UPS announced that it expects to hire between 90,000 and 95,000 seasonal employees to support the anticipated holiday surge in package deliveries that will begin in October and continue through January 2015. Last year, all carriers were swamped with orders, many at the last minute, and many deliveries were made after the holidays.

Everyone, from Amazon to Google to Martha Stewart, has been lauding the benefits we'll all reap by the use of drones, and there’s a gold rush on to cash in on the technology. But beware: The trend has all the hallmarks of a bubble-in-the-making, the contemporary equivalent of that symbol of the excess of the millennial tech bubble, the now-defunct Pets.com.

First and foremost, a dedicated holiday supply chain strategy needs to be in place at least six months before the holidays, says Doug Pasquale, senior vice president of supply chain solutions for Ingram Micro Mobility. It's always a good idea to begin planning immediately following the previous year's season and engage manufacturers and logistics partners as soon as possible.

Property developer Wanda Group and Internet giants Baidu and Tencent have unveiled an e-commerce venture in a challenge to industry leader Alibaba Group ahead of its U.S. stock offering.

Staples says it is enhancing its omnichannel experience, including the ability to buy products online and pick them up in-store within hours, an easier way to pay online called Visa Checkout, new in-store kiosks and, for the first-time ever, an iPad app.

For two years, Google has quietly been developing autonomous flying vehicles that can be used to deliver packages for disaster relief or for commerce purposes, the company revealed.