In The Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Smith outlines the characters of the grocery store of the future: small, local, and robotic. She writes: Grocers looking to fill online orders more quickly are testing micro-fulfillment systems that can spit out as many as 4,000 orders a week but can still be housed in the back of stores or in urban areas where space is at a premium. The store owners are evaluating whether automation can help tamp down costs while speeding up deliveries and they are turning to a new set of startups aiming to make e-commerce fulfillment more efficient in a small … [Read more...]
Target Aiming to Crack Top 10 E-Commerce Sellers with Tech
Target is using a completely rebuilt tech department to transform its e-commerce sales. At current growth rates, Target will become one of the top 10 retail e-commerce companies by next year. Sara Castellanos reports for The Wall Street Journal: To be sure, Target’s financial performance isn’t solely tied to its technology efforts. The company has refurbished stores over the past few years and it has debuted new brands that are attracting customers, said Neil Saunders, a managing director with GlobalData PLC. “The most important thing is to have products people want to buy,” Mr. Saunders … [Read more...]
U.S. Consumer Shrugs Off Tariffs to Power Walmart to Five Year Growth Streak
Sarah Nassauer reports in The Wall Street Journal that American consumers are showing no signs of being held by tariffs, as they push Walmart sales to a five-year growth streak. She writes: American consumers showed no signs of belt-tightening in sales results from Walmart Inc., offering comfort to retailers worried about fallout from the trade war and the health of the global economy as the holiday shopping season nears. Walmart said its U.S. comparable sales, those from stores and websites operating for at least 12 months, rose 3.2% in the period ended Oct. 25, marking a five-year streak … [Read more...]
Nike Shows Brands a Way Forward without Amazon
Nike has pulled the plug on an attempt to sell through Amazon.com directly after the online retailer couldn't clean up unauthorized resellers from its website. Despite Amazon.com's dominance of online retail, Nike has charted a course that may be a guide for other brand name companies. Nike has pushed more sales through its own channels, both in its own stores and through its apps and website. Khadeeja Safdar reports for The Wall Street Journal: For years, Nike had refused to sell directly to Amazon, fearing it would undermine its brand. Nike executives were unhappy with how unauthorized … [Read more...]
Amazon Suffers Internal Battle over Search Result Manipulation
Executives at Amazon have come under scrutiny for search results that appear to favor Amazon's own products and more profitable products over those the customer is actually looking for. Dana Mattioli reports in The Wall Street Journal that retail managers fought for years with the company's algorithm team to give Amazon's favored products special treatment. She writes: Customers often believe that search algorithms are neutral and objective, and that results from their queries are the most relevant listings. Executives from Amazon’s retail divisions have frequently pressured the engineers … [Read more...]
Will Shopify Democratize the Robo-Logistics Revolution?
E-commerce giant Amazon has changed the landscape of online retail logistics with its investment in robotics at its fulfillment centers. Now, Shopify, a smaller competitor in the e-commerce industry is bringing robots into its logistics offerings. Jennifer Smith reports at The Wall Street Journal: E-commerce technology company Shopify Inc. is buying warehouse robot-maker 6 River Systems Inc. for approximately $450 million as it deepens its move into physical distribution. 6 River Systems makes software and autonomous mobile robots that guide workers through warehouse aisles, lighting up … [Read more...]
Stores Remake Retail to Fight Amazon’s “Transactional” Experience
If you know exactly what you want to buy, is there any better way than to pull it up on the internet, and have it shipped directly to your home in as little as a day? Sometimes you can even get your products in hours. It's hard to beat that type of transaction. But what if you're looking to try new things, and want to experience a variety of products before choosing which is right for you? The internet is not so well adapted for that sort of shopping. That's where a number of smaller companies are working to beat Amazon and other e-commerce companies. Creating a better buying experience is … [Read more...]
Will the Normalization of Same-Day Shipping Hurt Amazon?
Amazon has become a dominant force in online retail, known for helping small businesses deliver their products to customers quickly. Today though, Amazon isn't the only company offering fast shipping services for small companies. Shopify is targetting one of Amazon's most notable advantages. Simran Jagdev reports for Bloomberg: Same-day shipping is becoming the norm for online shoppers but for smaller merchants it can be a logistical nightmare. That’s where Shopify Inc.can step in, says Ric Kostick, chief executive officer of 100% PURE. The natural skincare company ships up to 5,000 orders … [Read more...]
The Retail Robot War Has a New Front: Groceries
One of the more critical steps Amazon took in securing its lead in the e-commerce race was the purchase of Kiva Systems, which built robots designed to speed up warehouse processes. Since then, competitors have been looking for their own robotic advantages. With Amazon entering the grocery business with its purchase of Whole-Foods, Kroger, America's largest supermarket chain, is getting into the mix with its own robot offensive. Bloomberg's Sarah Halzack reports: Kroger Co., the giant but aging supermarket chain, has unleashed a flurry of initiatives to ensure it won’t get thumped in … [Read more...]
Hard Criticism for Amazon’s Advertising
Shira Ovide, writing at Bloomberg, unloads some harsh criticisms of Amazon's advertising business. Ovide explains that the option has become a toll that producers must pay in order to get their products in front of customers. She concludes: To be fair, Amazon is doing a lot of work for its cut of sales. It provides a vast customer base for merchants, often stores inventory for them and handles shipments, and takes responsibility for customer service and payments. That’s arguably far more work than Apple does for its 30% commission on a purchase of an iPhone game. 3 And all advertising is, … [Read more...]
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