Retailers should see a moderate increase in holiday sales in the stores and online this year, according to Deloitte's annual retail holiday sales forecast.
Target is testing the online grocery delivery waters. The Minneapolis-based discounter has teamed with Instacart, the online grocery delivery service that started in 2012, to let shoppers in the Minneapolis area order fruits and other perishables, as well as household, pet and baby products, and have them delivered to their homes in as little as an hour.
While e-commerce sales have been growing, year-to-year declines in conversion and add-to-cart rates are continuing. Retailers need to pay greater attention to personalization and relevant product recommendations to combat these declines and ensure that they remain successful.
Food producer Mars Inc. has opened a Global Food Safety Center, which it says is a first-of-its-kind facility for pre-competitive research and training that aims to raise global food safety standards through collaboration.
Most Americans plan to shop both in stores (94 percent) and online (92 percent) this holiday season, with 94 percent of consumers planning to shop from a computer and 49 percent making purchases from a mobile device, according to the 2015 Holiday Shipping Survey from Pitney Bowes.
Easier access to information is pushing the retail sector closer to what 18th century economist Adam Smith described as "perfect information" -- the idea of having equal information from all providers in order to make a choice.
The latest supply-chain news, analysis, trends and tools for executives in the consumer packaged goods industry. Learn how consumer packaged goods companies and their suppliers around the world are managing the flow of products across all channels of the enterprise. Experts sound off on forecasting and demand planning, supply-chain visibility, logistics outsourcing, inventory optimization, transportation management, warehouse management, supply-chain security, corporate social responsibility and more.
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!
Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.