More than 10 retailers have now deployed Metapacks Ship-from-Store solution, enabling them to transform physical stores into mini distribution centres and keep trading during the disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
With the majority of physical stores still closed, consumers continue to spend more online resulting in a massive surge for eCommerce. Metapack data highlights that online spending has reached Black Friday and holiday peak levels, with certain retail verticals experiencing a huge 101% year-on-year increase in shipping volumes. Alongside this, new research from ACI shows that transaction volumes saw a 74% year-on-year increase in March.
For some retailers, eCommerce is their sole channel to generate revenue during lockdown. However, in order to protect employees and abide by social distancing guidelines, the risk of warehouse closure is a concern. Additionally, inventory trapped in physical stores and rapidly losing value, is another major concern for retailers who need to recoup lost profits and avoid markdowns.
“The delivery volumes we are processing are unheard of for this time of year and retailers need to ensure they have the technology, agility and capability to adapt their operations and put their physical stores back to work,” says Bruce Fair, CRO at Metapack. “Metapack’s Ship-from-Store solution allows retailers to dust the cobwebs from their physical locations and use the local inventory to deliver goods to restless consumers and outlast the crisis.”
