ECOMMERCE

Office Depot is launching a same-day delivery program in three markets.   The service, powered by Deliv, will be available on August 28 in Atlanta and Los Angeles, and on September 6 in Ft. Lauderdale/Miami. It is expected to be rolled out in several additional markets by the end of December.  

Despite retailers’ efforts to deliver sophisticated shopping experiences, crucial gaps between digital and in-store touchpoints still exist.   That's according to “The State of Omnichannel Commerce: A Mystery Shopping Study.” The report, from Kibo, assessed the personalization and omnichannel sophistication across 30 popular and growing retailers’ desktop, mobile and in-store buying touchpoints.   

American Apparel’s website has been hinting about a summer relaunch for some time — now its parent company is making good its promise.   Gildan Activewear, which purchased the specialty retailer at a bankruptcy auction earlier this year, is preparing to relaunch the brand’s e-commerce website, according to Bloomberg. However, this is only the first project on its list of retail plans.  

FedEx is giving its customers an early holiday gift — while taking a stab at its rival UPS.   The delivery service announced that it will forego additional surcharges on deliveries this holiday season — unless packages require additional handling, are oversized or unauthorized. FedEx made the decision based on the growing volume of large packages moving through the FedEx Ground network during the holidays.   

Thousands nationwide turned out Wednesday for the chance to join Amazon’s growing workforce.   The online giant hosted a multi-state job fair on Aug. 2, focused on hiring full-time and part-time associates for positions across nearly a dozen of its U.S.-based warehouses. The event had such a massive turnout that Amazon said it received "a record-breaking 20,000 applications,” according to CNBC. This is almost half of the 50,000 roles the company says it has available across its fulfillment network.

Amazon’s investments in the shoe business are paying off.   While 2017 is not even close to over, it is shaping up to being a strong year for shoes on Amazon. The company has already experienced 18% growth year-over-year during the first two quarters, alone. For 2016, Amazon had a total of 35% year-over-year growth, according to a study by One Click Retail.   

Amazon’s Australian online store is one step closer to launching.   In addition to announcing the site of its first Australian warehouse, the online giant also named a German executive as its country manager. Both moves indicate that Amazon is preparing to launch its online store in the world's 12th-biggest economy, according to Reuters.  

A furniture e-retailer is putting its augmented reality-based app into more shoppers’ hands.   Wayfair’s AR application, WayfairView, has been integrated into its mobile shopping app on the newly released ASUS ZenFone AR. The smartphone, which launched on Thursday, is equipped with Google’s Tango AR platform.