While for years Google was the number-one online destination for shoppers searching for products across desktop, mobile and tablet, it has recently lost its top ranking as a product search starting place to Amazon.
North American shippers are experiencing seismic shifts in the global supply chain, as customer demand and increased complexity raise the threat of enterprise risk. Supply lines grow longer and competition increases daily, says Rick Brumett, VP of client solutions at Transportation Insight, a multi-modal logistics provider.
Amazon shipped over 2 billion items worldwide in 2016 for third-party sellers on its marketplace using its fulfillment services - more than double the figure from 2015 - while FBA-shipped items grew 50 percent during the holiday season, the company reported.
At this point, most of us interact with artificial intelligence on a daily basis. Sure, we might not realize it consciously, but every time we search Google or see what our friends are up to on Facebook, we're interfacing with AI. Better computing power, ballooning data stores, and research momentum point to the fact that AI isn't just having a moment; it's here to stay.
As e-commerce continues to grow, so does the number of fulfillment options available to merchants. In particular, an increasing number of third-party logistics providers (3PLs) have emerged, handling all or some fulfillment operations for merchants who don't see it as a core competency.
Maersk, the world's largest container shipping line, has teamed up with Alibaba to allow customers to reserve space on its vessels through the Chinese company, illustrating growing cooperation between e-commerce and logistics firms.
For food shoppers, 2016 was a back-to-the-future experience, with retail prices deflating for the first time since Lyndon Johnson was president. The year is expected to end with an annual drop of between 0.5 and 1.5 percent in the retail price of food prepared at home, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.
What did retailers want for Christmas? Apparently, new Chief Financial Officers. Neiman Marcus Group Inc. is on the hunt for a new CFO. So are Kohl's Corp., Coach Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. Whole Foods Market Inc.'s CFO of 29 years - and the longest-serving female CFO in the Fortune 500 - will be leaving in 2017.
Asos Plc, Britain's largest online-only fashion retailer, plans to double its U.K. manufacturing as the pound's post-Brexit plunge makes domestic production more affordable.