Joe Craparotta, on June 18, 2020
Social distancing and contactless pickup are here to stay for the foreseeable future. At Cura Resource Group we’re not surprised that a recent survey by Ipsos and USA Today concluded “more online, less in-store” is the clearest shopping trend so far since the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world in early Spring. It turns out that most consumers aren’t in a hurry to go back to the way things were.
Joe Craparotta, on May 22, 2020
Adjusting to our “new normal” means businesses are finding new ways to get customers the products they want when and where they want them. Many restaurants, for example, have turned to curbside pickup as a substitute for serving diners at indoor tables.
Joe Craparotta, on April 28, 2020
It's not easy to think of something inspiring to say about logistics when the entire world has been flipped on its head by a pandemic. So after more than a month of working from home — like many of you — I decided to share how my own company is responding. I'm hoping that our experiences provide some comfort either by validating what you're also experiencing or by sparking some new ideas on how to cope.
Joe Craparotta, on April 6, 2020
Cura Resource Group is in the business of helping companies distribute their goods in complex, hard-to-navigate, urban markets, so we’re well aware that last-mile logistics have never been more important than they are right now. With social distancing in full force due to COVID-19, people are depending on home deliveries for everything from food to pet supplies to paper goods (yes, even toilet paper.) We have never lived through such a significant disruption of “normal” shopping routines — even in years when our country was at war and supplies were scarce, people could still leave their homes to buy what they needed from local stores.
Joe Craparotta, on March 2, 2020
Unless you sell tractors and lawnmowers or back-yard trampolines, the chances are good that your customers come from all walks of life and live in all types of homes. From rural countrysides where the nearest shopping center is miles away, to suburban towns where neighbors know neighbors, the last mile of delivery for their e-commerce purchases is relatively straightforward.
Joe Craparotta, on February 20, 2020
In January 2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released a stunning report about the unintended consequences of excessive last-mile delivery in our largest cities. The bad news, according to the WEF, is that our penchant for buying almost everything online instead of going to the store is resulting in clogged streets, longer commutes, and dirtier air in cities all over the world.
Joe Craparotta, on January 28, 2020
While tourists are still flocking to the nightlife of San Juan, the beaches of Condado, and the relatively calm oasis of Vieques and Culebra, it’s a different story 100 miles southwest. That’s where earthquakes have been rattling seaside Puerto Rico cities and villages, including Guánica, Guayanilla, and Ponce.
Joe Craparotta, on January 20, 2020
We saw so many changes in retail logistics in 2019, from “BOPIS” to the rise of direct-to-consumer pop-up shops. Here are our predictions for the next 12 months.
Joe Craparotta, on November 19, 2019
What — if anything — does watching a Paris runway show on your iPhone or buying a new dress online have to do with the global climate crisis?
Joe Craparotta, on November 7, 2019
Thanksgiving 2019 falls late in the month — November 28th, to be exact — which means there are six fewer shopping days between your last bite of turkey and your first sip of Christmas eggnog. This fact isn’t lost on retailers, who spend all year figuring out how to get a larger share of holiday expenditures. One emerging strategy is to supplement conventional last-mile delivery with convenient local walk-in centers to provide better customer service, especially in busy urban markets.
