OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

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.   

The retail industry lost jobs in July.   Retail industry employment declined slightly in July, decreasing 1,700 jobs from June, according to the National Retail Federation. On a three-month average, retail jobs have decreased by 4,200 jobs as calculated by NRF. (The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.) On a positive note, the economy overall saw gains of 209,000 jobs in July, exceeding growth expectations for the month.  

Retailers sued in class or representative actions for alleged wage-and-hour violations often object to discovery requests that seek the contact information (names, addresses, etc.) of their employees — the rationale being that such information is private and burdensome to collect and should not be disclosed unless there is reason to believe that the alleged unlawful practices occurred in locations other than just the named plaintiff’s store.  

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.   

The ax has fallen at Bed, Bath & Beyond as part of the realignment of its .store management structure.    The retailer said it has initiated in approximately half of its U.S. Bed Bath & Beyond stores and about a dozen of its buybuy Baby stores a limited realignment of its store management organization that will result in the elimination of about 880 department and assistant store manager positions.   

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.  

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.

Driven by the need “to solve problems for its shoppers,” Boxed is about to make it easier than ever for customers to reorder merchandise — without even having to think about it.