eCommerce

Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) is launching a wide-ranging corporate growth and efficiency initiative, with omnichannel technology at the center.  Building on its purchase of Saks Inc. in 2013, HBC seeks to deliver an enhanced omnichannel customer experience, accelerate financial performance and drive future success.

Walmart has extended its grocery pick up service to eight additional markets and is alluding to the possibility of a more significant roll out in the months ahead.

Specialty apparel retailer True Religion has found something to connect the physical to the virtual. The Manhattan Beach, California-based chain, which operates about 900 stores globally, has launched an e-commerce site that links its customer experience across channels.

The online giant is launching an Uber-like program, called Flex, that uses on-demand independent contractors to deliver Amazon packages.  The service is now available only in Seattle (and only to members of Amazon’s Prime Now same-day delivery service), but the company  expects to  roll it out  to other cities where Prime Now is offered, including Manhattan, Baltimore, Miami, Dallas, and Chicago.

Retailers wondering how much of an issue e-commerce returns are may not like the answer.

According to a new infographic from returns management software provider TrueShip, E-commerce returns are both prevalent and frequently the fault of the retailer.

TrueShip data shows that about one-third of all products purchased online are returned by consumers. Of these returns, almost one-quarter (23%) are due to the wrong item being shipped. Another 22% of e-commerce returns results from a product looking and appearing different when it arrives than it did online.

Jill Stanton was named interim president of Old Navy after the top executive at Gap Inc.’s fastest growing division left the company to become CEO of Ralph Lauren.

The digital and physical selling environments are converging. Whether this phenomenon is called “cross-channel”, “omnichannel”, or given some other label, consumers now routinely use their Internet-enabled (and frequently mobile) devices to find information about potential purchases, even when they are in the store. So as far as consumers are concerned, the selling channels have already converged. As a result, retailers are now forced to catch up.

Whole Foods Market says it is slashing more than 1% of its workforce in an effort to lower prices for its customers and invest in technology upgrades, as the company fights against increasing competition in the organic grocery space.