Technology, systems, logistics, fulfilment, fraud, payments and more
Ocado is to open a fourth distribution centre, the retailer said this week. The new customer fulfilment centre, in Erith, South West London, is expected to open in 2017 after fit-out starts in 2016, the company said in a brief statement. The project, which has yet to win planning permission, (more…)
Parcelforce Worldwide has moved to make its delivery services more responsive to the needs of online shoppers. The company has launched Parcelforce Select, aimed at eretailers and their customers. Customers will be able to choose up to the day of delivery where that delivery will be made, whether that’s at (more…)
Yodel has spoken of the game-changing effect Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2014 had on its business, when it was called on to deliver 40% more parcels than at the same time last year. It says retailers and carriers alike must now learn lessons ahead of Christmas 2015, including the (more…)
Parcel delivery company DPD is to open its own parcel shop network in June, rivalling competitors including myHermes, Collect+ and UPS Access Points. DPD plans to establish its own network of 2,500 outlets, promising a DPD PickUp point within ten minutes of most people in the UK. It has named (more…)
John Lewis said earlier this week that in 2014, a successful Christmas depended on getting the logistics right. Today we hear from the companies that mapped demand on how that evolved in practice this year. Christmas 2014 was always expected to be a busy one for delivery companies. Etail association (more…)
The changing shape of Christmas shopping has brought the importance of retail logistics to the fore, says John Lewis managing director Andy Street. John Lewis reports today that click and collect was its shoppers’ delivery method of choice over the Christmas period, with 56% of online orders collected in stores. (more…)
Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions led to an “online tsunami” of ecommerce orders fuelled by pent-up consumer demand, according to new research from the IMRG and MetaPack. Lessons, it predicts, will be learned ahead of next year. The November 2014 IMRG MetaPack Delivery Index confirmed that the Christmas delivery (more…)
Sainsbury’s says this will be its biggest Christmas yet for online orders. It says more than 30% more food orders have been placed over the internet for the week leading up to the big day. As a result it’s preparing to deliver more than 100,000 orders in the three days (more…)
Amazon has once again raised the bar for fast delivery. New York shoppers can now take possession of their Amazon purchases in little over an hour. The retailer introduced its Prime Now quick delivery service in Manhattan on Thursday, with superfast fulfillment made possible through the use of bike couriers. (more…)
It may be nine days before Christmas but, online, many sales are now in full swing. Retail websites from Gap (up to 40% off) to Boden (up to 50% off) , the White Company (up to 40% off) and Fenn Wright Manson (up to 50% off) are all now proclaiming (more…)
Retailers are forecasting fast growth in click and collect in the final run up to Christmas, according to new research. Last year 5.7m people used click and collect in Christmas week; this year 49% more orders will be placed online for in-store pick-up, predicts a Conlumino study commissioned by Barclays’ (more…)
Christmas demand is proving challenging for logistics business Yodel as it struggles to catch up with the sheer volume of orders. Its executive chairman Dick Stead wrote to distribution service centres this week, saying that collections would be halted yesterday and today before restarting on Monday. “This is not a (more…)
Amazon customers can now collect their online orders from 10,500 Post Office branches, in a move that more than doubles the number of pick-up locations offered by the online giant. Shoppers can now choose from more than 16,000 points to collect parcels sent by the UK’s biggest online retailer. The (more…)
InPost has launched its 1,000th UK locker location in the UK – and says it will open its 2,000th next year. The parcel locker service has opened the milestone lockerbank on Harrow Road in Wembley, London, as it scales up ahead of the Christmas shopping period. It says its network is (more…)
Waitrose is trialling temperature-controlled lockers at ten locations around the UK. The supermarket’s click-and-collect grocery orders can already be picked up at automated, temperature-controlled lockers at London Underground stations in Chorleywood and Ickenham. Eight more will launch at sites including further London Underground stations and at Gatwick Airport long stay (more…)
Longacres of Bagshot, Surrey, says it’s the UK’s first garden centre to offer an automated drive-in Click and Collect service. The solution, provided by Collectec, has been introduced in response to a growing number of online orders placed for in-store collection. Customers use an outdoor touchscreen kiosk to check in (more…)
City Link is investing £2 million in new hand-held scanners for its drivers as it looks to improve its customer service this Christmas. Every City Link driver is being issued with one of 2,500 new Motorola MC67 models ahead of the peak in holiday deliveries. In a trial, use of (more…)
Amazon.co.uk has raised the bar in ecommerce deliveries with its launch of a same day collection service. Customers can order up until 11.45am to collect from 4pm until the closing time of their chosen pick-up point. Pick-up points include newsagents and convenience stores, part of a Pass my Parcel branded (more…)
The Post Office is trialling new drop-off points beyond its own branch network where shoppers can return online orders at the time that suits them. More than 150 new drop-off points in locations including garages and convenience stores are involved in the new pilot, using the Royal Mail Pre-Paid Returns (more…)
Taking an omnichannel approach to trading has helped major retailers report sales growth of between 10% and 20% over the last year, according to new research. But moving towards omnichannel can present a problem for retailers who concentrate on the front end rather than building a fully integrated omnichannel model, (more…)