Our Blog

What Amazon Prime Day Teaches Us

 

The biggest shopping event of the summer starts on July 12th.

We've written about Amazon Prime Day before and you may be asking yourself, why are they so obsessed with an online sale? The short answer is that Amazon is the biggest retailer on the planet and everything they do sends ripples across the entire industry.

Topics: e-commerce shopping customer pick-up center local sales centers Amazon

Will Amazon Prime Day Lift All Boats Again This Year?

2020 was a confusing year for retail, but at least it ended better than it began. And as the world slowly reopens for business in 2021, all evidence suggests that consumers are ready to reopen their wallets as well.

Topics: Black Friday e-commerce shopping customer pick-up center local sales centers Amazon

Does Anyone Still Use Cash?

It may seem like credit card processing fees are an unavoidable part of doing business today, but many people still prefer to make cash transactions. To thrive, merchants need to get creative about accepting cash for online purchases. 

In this post, we take a look at why cash is still king when it comes to cutting operational expenses like credit card processing fees and why it still matters to your bottom line.

Topics: cross-channel shopper e-commerce shopping customer pick-up center local sales centers hispanic consumer

5 Reasons Why You Need New Local Delivery Options

It turns out that all commerce is local commerce after a year of global pandemic.

By now, it shouldn’t surprise anyone who follows retail trends that “omnichannel” was the biggest buzzword of 2020, largely due to the fallout from COVID-19. Why did omnichannel retail suddenly come to the fore? Because last year’s rogue virus made everything about our everyday lives harder, so we appreciated and rewarded any business that made it easier to keep buying things we still needed and wanted.

Topics: last-mile delivery solutions e-commerce shopping secure delivery customer pick-up center local sales centers BOPIS

Can Malls Hope to Compete in the Age of BOPIS?

What once made malls a favorite shopping destination is holding them back in the age of buy-online-pickup-in-store 

For people who love to browse the racks of their favorite retailers, there’s no place more exciting than a mall. Social time with family and friends, and easy access to physical stores with actual merchandise you can see, touch, or smell — these are the experiences that make the heart of a true shopper beat a little faster.

Topics: last-mile delivery solutions e-commerce shopping secure delivery customer pick-up center local sales centers BOPIS

How Inclusive Marketing Celebrates Diversity

Black-owned businesses lead the movement to meet customers where they are

February is Black History Month, so it's only appropriate to devote this month's blog to issues of diversity and inclusion.

Topics: customer service e-commerce shopping customer demographics customer pick-up center hispanic consumer

How Technology is Closing the Gap Between Physical and Online Stores & Distribution Centers

Why retailers who were dabbling with "digital transformation" before 2020 are picking up the pace

Let’s face it, many retail strategies that worked in 2019 stopped working in 2020 when merchants found themselves in the unthinkable position of telling customers not to come into stores. Without showrooms, sales staff, or in-store displays, it became next-to-impossible to demonstrate new products or sell anything at all.  

Topics: direct sales e-commerce shopping customer pick-up center omnichannel shopping mobile

Counting Down Our 5 Most Popular Delivery Blog Posts of 2020


The year of buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS)

At the beginning of the year, when we made our predictions for retail trends to follow in 2020, we had no idea how accurate some of them would turn out to be.

Topics: direct sales e-commerce shopping customer pick-up center local sales centers Covid-19

How Creative Delivery Solutions Earn Loyal Customers in Urban Markets

Consumers won't be "COVID shopping" forever. Make sure your delivery options continue to meet their needs.

Only 21% of consumers in a recent survey said they expect to keep shopping online as much after the pandemic as they do now, but a different study concludes many people will stick with e-commerce because it’s safe and convenient. The truth is, no one knows exactly how buyer behavior will change in a world with COVID because the last time we lived through something like this, computers and cell phones and the Internet didn’t exist.

Topics: last-mile delivery void e-commerce shopping customer pick-up center local sales centers Covid-19

BOPIS, Curbside Pickup, and Customer Service During Covid-19: What You Need to Know Now

3 Valuable Lessons About Customer Service During Covid-19

Looking back, no one could have known what awaited the retail industry and our economy in the first half of this year, just as no one can accurately predict what will happen next. We can, however, pause to reflect on some of the more obvious ways COVID-19 has impacted multi-level marketers (MLMs) and other direct-to-consumer businesses over the past six months.

Topics: customer service secure delivery customer pick-up center Covid-19