With exactly a week until eDelivery Expo (EDX) and Internet Retailing Expo (IRX) arrives at Birmingham’s NEC, we bring you some exclusive interviews with some of the speakers and panellists at the event in the newsletter this week. With great speakers, interesting sessions and the latest views and predictions around (more…)
So what a week this has been! The beast from the east flew in and was joined by Storm Emma and the results were nothing short of chaos. Whilst the snow is now but a fading memory the impact on retailers’ supply chains and deliveries will still be seen for (more…)
With the eDelivery Expo (EDX) now less than a month away we recently carried out consumer research into attitudes around delivery. The newsletter this week includes some of the findings from that research – including the fact that one in five customers are actively checking the courier company used by (more…)
Kentucky Fried Chicken running out of chicken. It’s unthinkable isn’t it? But that’s exactly what happened after “teething problems” with its new delivery partner was to blame. Whilst not strictly e-delivery related of course the incident shows just how vulnerable supply chains and the technology behind them can be. And (more…)
It’s Valentine’s Day which means it’s time to deliver a little love – literally. This is a day that really does test delivery systems since loved ones will be hoping for those flowers or chocolates at work or that special surprise on the doorstep at home. Apart from flowers and (more…)
Delivery costs and surprises are the biggest reason for cart abandonment, according to latest research. But why? Are retailers really still not getting the message that customers don’t like surprises when it come to delivery? If not take heed now. Offering great prices and great product means nothing if it’s (more…)
Retailers are realising the need to adjust their offers and redefine their formats to suit new methods of collection. The news this week that Inditex is using a pop-up store as a click and collect destination point was therefore interesting. It comes a few weeks after Asda launched a click (more…)
Last week the eDelivery newsletter talked about the need for effective delivery and returns in order to deal with a customer that increasingly assumes free returns are a right rather than a benefit. That theme continues in this week’s newsletter. And it’s little surprise why. Customers are increasingly demanding free (more…)
So how restrained were you in the January Sales? I’ve been uncharacteristically good this year (apart from the second-hand mountain bike!) but new research from CollectPlus claims that half of shoppers are set to return at least one of their clothing Sale purchases for reasons ranging from delayed guilt to (more…)
As the post-festive analysis continues new research published today suggests that on the whole retailers underpromised and over-delivered over the peak period. The conclusion comes from the latest shipping survey by Kurt Salmon. However it also reveals the price that retailers had to pay for such results – with the (more…)
As we return to work and normality after the Christmas peak and New Year celebrations there is one thing on the minds of many retailers – dealing with the returns headache of the post-peak rush and as such it’s the focus of our newsletter this week. Research from LCP Consulting (more…)
So this week the newsletter is full of stories of the impact of last-minute deliveries upon the delivery supply chain in the final run-up to Christmas. National media meanwhile have been reporting delayed parcels as the delivery network comes under its greatest strain of the year. And as I sat (more…)
Our focus on Christmas continues this week. In this week’s opinion piece Ben Willis, managing director international of Radial, advises on how to delight customers with delivery and returns over the festive period. Centiro meanwhile warns that if the UK is to maintain its international lead around delivery retailers must (more…)
The countdown to Christmas is now well and truly on – in less than three weeks it will all be done and dusted and some of us will even already be thinking about returning to work. Continuing to manage the peak – and the deliveries that surround it – will (more…)
So Black Friday/fiveday/cyber Monday has drawn to a close and – touch wood – so far no disaster stories in the world of delivery. It seems that retailers and their partners have taken note of lessons learnt from the past. That’s not to say the market isn’t under intense pressure (more…)
So Black Friday is almost here. Although technically for many it began days – and for some even weeks – ago as retailers look to stretch out their deals. And despite record sales predictions it looks once again like it’s going to be a period of extended offers – rather (more…)
AI is having a huge impact on the future of retail and promises some really exciting stuff – including the ability to better predict customers’ buying intentions before they know themselves. This offers great opportunity for marketing but perhaps even greater opportunity for getting the right stock in the right place (more…)
The shops are filling up with Christmas stock, the delivery promises and pledges are being made and the Christmas ad campaigns are launching. It is perhaps only fitting therefore that delivery is being made the star this Christmas for a number of retailers already including Argos and Amazon. Argos’ ad (more…)
One of the biggest announcements in the last week has been that of Amazon Key, a new in-home delivery service that will launch in the US on November 8. As ever the challenge of getting a delivery to you when you are out and about is the Holy Grail that (more…)
How do you decide exactly what customers want? Do they want fast? Do they want free? It’s the question that retailers – and their delivery partners – constantly battle with. A new report in the last week suggests that free isn’t necessarily the expectation but that once spend or delivery (more…)