ShipStation

Consumers willing to pay premium for fast, precise peak deliveries

More than half of the 1,000 U.S. consumers responding to a survey about peak-season delivery behavior said they would be willing to pay up to a $9 per-package premium to receive same-day or next-day deliveries, as well as deliveries made during a specific day and time slot.

The survey also found that U.S. respondents were more concerned about package loss and theft than they were about late or missed deliveries. In response, about 39% of 2,000 global merchants — most of them based in the U.S. —...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/consumers-willing-to-pay-premium-for-fast-precise-peak-deliveries

Auctane reaches deal with Postal Service on shipping rates

USPS van

A key player in the e-commerce shipping market has reached an important agreement with the U.S. Postal Service, ensuring its customers continue to receive the best shipping rates available.

Auctane, which counts among its brands ShipStation, Stamps.com, ShippingEasy, ShipEngine, ShipWorks, Metapack and Endicia, announced Wednesday that it had reached an enterprise-wide agreement with the Postal Service covering all its brands.

“This direct agreement between Auctane and the United States Postal...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/auctane-reaches-deal-with-postal-service-on-shipping-rates

‘People are gonna be pulling their hair out’: Supply chain execs predict chaotic holiday peak

Shortage of drivers and workers will lead to chaotic holiday peak season, supply chain experts say

In the lead-up to last year’s peak holiday season, panic spread like wildfire. Members of the media predicted daily shortfalls of millions of packages and devastating delays, but as it turned out, there was much ado about nothing. Despite handling record levels of volume, the major U.S. carriers posted similar or slightly better on-time rates than during the 2019 peak.

That’s because there wasn’t really much of a peak in 2020 –– consumers were still adjusting to the new normal of the e-commerce...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/people-are-gonna-be-pulling-their-hair-out-supply-chain-execs-predict-chaotic-holiday-peak

SEKO Logistics to handle last-mile delivery of larger items for ShipStation

E-commerce sales of furniture and home furnishings increased 49% year-over-year in Q1 of this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But big and bulky items still have a last-mile logistics problem — they are just difficult for traditional carriers to handle.

ShipStation, a web-based e-commerce logistics platform, has announced a new integration with SEKO Logistics, allowing ShipStation users to seamlessly schedule last-mile delivery of their big and bulky e-commerce items through SEKO’s LTL...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/seko-logistics-to-handle-last-mile-delivery-of-larger-items-for-shipstation

Prime Day is over, but the lessons are just beginning

Lessons shippers can learn from Amazon Prime Day

Day one of Amazon Prime Day on Monday resulted in record sales, with online sales jumping 8.7% to $5.6 billion according to early data compiled by Adobe Analytics.

With Walmart, Target and others also offering special discounts this week to combat Amazon, retailers that earn more than $1 billion in revenue annually saw a 28% jump in sales on Monday compared to a year ago. Even smaller retailers saw a 22% increase in sales on Monday, CNBC reported.

The fact that other retailers are benefiting is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/prime-day-is-over-but-the-lessons-are-just-beginning

Evolving consumer expectations and COVID-19 playing hardball with retailers

Evolving consumer expectations and COVID-19 playing hardball with retailers (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

E-commerce shipping logistics company ShipStation released a national consumer study detailing consumer buying tendencies and the impact of delivery fulfillment on brand perception. The COVID-19 pandemic has largely been a positive for e-commerce companies, as people turned to buying online when cities shut down to tackle the virus spread. 

The report specifies that North American consumers increased shopping by 33% over the course of this year, with nearly two-thirds mentioning that most of...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/evolving-consumer-expectations-and-covid-19-playing-hardball-with-retailers