United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (UPS)

Atlanta - UPS is expanding the number of locations customers can pick up and drop off packages. The company is expanding the number of cities it offers the UPS Access Point network, which offers package pickup and drop-off at local businesses, primarily neighborhood convenience and grocery stores, dry cleaners and delicatessens with extended evening and weekend hours.

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc., famous for the “easy button,” is partnering with UPS to ease the shipment of UPS packages from any U.S. store location. Customers now can charge the cost of shipments at Staples to their UPS account, which means they don't have to prepare labels ahead of time and will see the invoice, and any customized rates, on their regular UPS invoice.

Salt Lake City – Overstock.com is expanding the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables for its customers. The off-price e-commerce retailer already makes fresh farm-grown produce available to nearly half of Americans through its online farmers market store, which serves customers in 35 states.

Overstock.com is expanding its already popular online produce delivery service by teaming up with farmers in 35 states.

Atlanta - Online shoppers frequently change retail channels during their shopping experience. According to the new Pulse of the Online Shopper study from UPS and comScore, better prices (57%) and selection (49%) are the top reasons for purchasing online after researching an item in-store.

Nearly half (48%) of online shoppers have used ship to store in the past year, and 45% of those consumers made an additional purchase when picking up their online purchase.

The seminal digital event that occurred in the year 2007 was the introduction of the first iPhone, but there was another noteworthy development that year involving Walmart e-commerce.

A few months after the iPhone made headlines, Walmart rolled out its buy online, pick up in store service branded as Site to Store and helped give meaning to the word omnichannel. In digital terms, 2007 was eons ago.

By Gary Whittemore, Experian FootFall

The quest to offer greater levels of customer convenience has seen a growing number of U.S. retailers experiment with flexible fulfilment methods, including click and collect, which offers shoppers the opportunity to pick up online orders from a store.

Although click and collect has already taken European markets by storm, adoption in the U.S. has been somewhat slower. However, U.S. organizations are now beginning to see consumer appetite rise.

By Christoph Stehmann, Pitney Bowes

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, retail e-commerce sales totaled over $304 billion in 2014, up 15.4% from the prior year. Also, eMarketer predicts that U.S. retail e-commerce sales will total approximately $350 billion in 2015.

The growth in e-commerce sales represents a huge opportunity for U.S. retailers. However, to be successful, retailers need to make sure they have the right shipping strategies and solutions in place to encourage shoppers to purchase goods online.