This is an excerpt from Monday’s (6/7) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
Off-price retailers typically weather economic downturns with relative ease. In good economies, loyal shoppers of off-pricers like T.J. Maxx, Ross Stores and Burlington have the wherewithal to visit more often in search of hidden gems; in weak times, shoppers flock to the low prices. The same applies to the supply chain. When times are poor, a glut of unsold merchandise from department...
This is an excerpt from Thursday’s (6/3) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
Plants are the new pets and pets are the new kids. This is the sentiment I hear often in my friend group and on social media. Younger generations are waiting longer to have children and are having fewer of them. Younger people, like myself, are giving our excess care to pets and when the pandemic locked us inside, pet adoption skyrocketed. This trend has been a boon for pet and wellness...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/can-petcos-stores-save-it-from-chewy-and-amazon
This is an excerpt from Thursday’s (5/27) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
FedEx remains inundated with elevated parcel volume stemming from continued online shopping resulting in longer delivery times, service blunders and upset customers. According to ShipMatrix, from March through mid-April, about 87% of FedEx Ground shipments arrived on time, compared with 95% for the similar service at UPS.
Convey, a delivery-tracking software company, also reports parcel...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/is-a-day-of-reckoning-coming-for-fedex-ups
This is an excerpt from Monday’s (5/24) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
One of my five predictions for retail supply chains in 2021 was an increased use of on-demand, custom garment manufacturing. Not long ago this was seen as a luxury process only available to upscale customers willing to pay top dollar, but that’s changing thanks to new manufacturing technologies, changing customer preferences and sustainability expectations, and mounting reverse logistics...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ralph-laurens-new-made-to-order-polo-service-misses-the-mark
This is an excerpt from Monday’s (5/27) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
It’s been nearly four years since Amazon acquired Whole Foods. When the deal was announced, the fear was that in its quest for retail domination, Amazon would strip out everything that made the Austin, Texas-based natural foods pioneer so special, turning its ~500 stores into little more than mini-fulfillment centers for Amazon grocery. While many of the worst fears haven’t come to pass,...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/centralized-buying-at-whole-foods-goes-directly-against-its-ethos
This episode is sponsored by ArcBest. ArcBest is more than logistics. Whatever you do, whatever you ship, ArcBest makes it easier for you to do business. ArcBest combines reliable capacity, innovative technology and trusted relationships to take the complexity out of your supply chain and keep your shipments moving. That’s what makes ArcBest more than logistics.
Between Uber Eats, GrubHub, Instacart and more, there is no shortage of food or grocery delivery services, but what about optimizing...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/food-delivery-gets-fancy-point-of-sale
This is an excerpt from Monday’s (5/3) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
The what. Amazon confirmed last week that its annual Prime Day sales bonanza will occur earlier than normal this year. Prior to last year, Prime Day always landed in July and acted as a jump-start to Q3 and a segway into the back-to-school season. During its Q1 earnings call, CFO Brian Olsavsky said Amazon intended to hold Prime Day earlier in the year in 2020, but those plans were thwarted...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/an-early-prime-day-hurts-competitors-more-than-it-helps-amazon
This is an excerpt from Thursday’s (5/20) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
Americans continue to spend at elevated levels in and for the home. And now that people are becoming more comfortable with others in their homes, the renovation projects that were sidelined during the pandemic are coming back in a major way. Home Depot posted another great quarter this week, as it sees continued strength from DIYers and the best quarterly growth rate for its Pro customers...
This is an excerpt from Thursday’s (5/20) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
Target welcomes margin compression if it means fewer empty shelves
On Wednesday, Target reported monster first-quarter results, handily beating Wall Street expectations on the top and bottom lines. In the first three months of the year, comparable sales grew 23%. This is remarkable given that the quarter was lapping a big 10.8%...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/target-and-walmart-building-inventories-for-different-reasons
This is an excerpt from Monday’s (5/13) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
There’s a startup that was first created to deliver stoner essentials to college kids but is quietly capturing the imagination (and venture capital) of the tech world, and it’s time the logistics world took notice. Gopuff, founded by two friends at Drexel University in 2013, began delivering items like vaporizers, grinders and rolling papers. Soon after, munchies like Ben & Jerry’s became...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/its-time-the-logistics-industry-took-notice-of-gopuff