A couple of weeks ago, we posted a video about the rise of rush shipping and its effect on the environment. Along with impacting the health of the planet, the recent push to deliver products as fast as possible has also altered the balance of power in the shipping industry. Over the past few years, Amazon has developed its own delivery network of trucks and planes in order to decrease its dependency on outside shipping firms. As a result, Continue reading
Last week, we took a look at how online shopping and rising rents are causing many retailers to reassess the worth of their flagship stores. Among the companies mentioned was Barneys, a Manhattan mainstay that used the success of its nine-story flagship to expand across the world. The retailer first became famous for its flashy Madison Avenue window displays that drew countless people inside over the years. By the late 1990s, Barneys became an almost sacred destination for shoppers Continue reading
For many years, shoppers flocked to destinations like Madison Avenue in Manhattan and Chicago’s Magnificent Mile to experience the best that American retail had to offer. Home to flagship locations from Macy’s, Barneys and many others, these enormous stores acted as potent marketing tools as much as places to buy products. The rise of online shopping changed all that, however, causing multi-floor department stores to lose their appeal.
As a result, many top retailers are closing the doors on Continue reading
According to a press release from Amazon, this year’s Prime Day was the “largest shopping event in Amazon history.” Although the company didn’t release sales figures for the two-day bonanza, it claims to have sold more than 175 million items across 18 countries. Along with selling more Amazon devices than ever before, the e-commerce giant said this year’s Prime Day earned more than the past Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
During the course of all this widespread discounting, Continue reading
As the world’s most innovative retailer, Amazon is constantly on the look for new and improved ways to serve their customers. Adopting state-of-the-art technology often helps the company accomplish this task, but finding and identifying new types of tech is only half the battle. Amazon also needs skilled employees who can handle this ever-evolving business environment. Finding the right candidates isn’t easy, though: Amazon currently has 20,000 job openings in the U.S.
To fill these vacant positions, the e-commerce Continue reading
For most of the 20th century, American consumers relied on small local shoe stores to fulfill all of their footwear needs. Then big sporting goods retailers arrived on the scene followed by sophisticated online operations like Zappos. Although this increased competition forced some independent outlets to close, many others managed to survive thanks to their high level of service. At Colburn Shoe Store in Maine, for example, employees remember exactly what size shoe their customers wear as well as their Continue reading
Starting in the late 1990s, Atlanta business owner Frank Reiss struggled to keep his small bookstore in operation. Along with the growing dominance of Amazon, he also lost much of his lucrative rare book business to the online auction house eBay. Reiss considered closing his beloved A Capella Books in the early 2000s until his father suggested that hosting events with authors could turn things around for the better. The plan worked: A Cappella sold more than 500 books Continue reading
For years fashionable firms have depended on Instagram to showcase their goods to the social network’s more than 1 billion monthly users. Along with helping companies develop into stylish brands, the photo-sharing platform also serves as a key source of traffic to online stores. For instance, a designer can post a photo of a new dress and attach a link where customers can go to purchase it.
Now Instagram plans to take that concept to the next level by allowing Continue reading