eCommerce Supply Chain – Capability Investments; Grocery Delivery; Fulfillment Evolution
Only 26% of brands report bringing a "strategic approach" to eCommerce operational investments. When it comes to brands’ eCommerce supply chain, 74% of companies report approaching operational capability investments with a "tactical mindset." This would require significant business volume to validate investments, addressing issues in a reactionary manner, and…
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Ocean & Air Costs; B&M Amazon Stores; Online Retailor Survey
Our research indicates shippers should prepare for ocean and air freight costs to be 100% above pre-COVID levels through 2022 as strong demand (ocean) and capacity scarcity (air) persists. The most notable changes over the past 60 days is the stronger-than-expected demand outlooks (inventory orders) for online retailors and higher-than-expected…
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Club Channel Digital Funding; Shopify Growth; Amazon AVNs
CRC’s recent research on the club channel suggests both Costco and Sam’s Club are coming to vendors asking for digital funding. Our work suggests Costco is still resistant to sacrifice margin within its eCommerce business and is working to get vendors to cover shipping costs, or otherwise charging higher prices…
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Amazon Vendor Negotiations; Costco Tests Curbside Pickup; Consumer Buying Behavior in Flux
Over the last several years, many manufacturers have increased spend requests during their Annual Vendor Negotiations (AVNs). In our latest benchmark study, Amazon appears most focused on asking manufacturers to spend more on co-op, merchandising programs, and its SAS resource. Our study suggested food and consumables manufacturers have a larger…
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Delivery and Pickup Delays; COVID Costs; Expected “Return to Normal” has Worsened
In September, when asked about their most recent online order, anywhere from a third to 44% of consumers have experienced delays on delivery or pickup times across multiple retailers. When looking at the weighted averages, Target.com performed best, while Wayfair had the longest delivery time. Interestingly, despite winning the top score for…
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Post-Pandemic Retention, Costco Holds Off on BOPIS, Holiday Promotional Plans
We recently surveyed 1,386 general merchandise consumers across seven key online retailers to determine how these retailers are performing, which ones are leading and lagging on different dimensions, and to what degree consumers think they’ll use these eCommerce sites post-pandemic. When considering post-pandemic retention, a net 83% report being comfortable…
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Consumer Routine and Fastest Growing eCommerce Categories
Our most recent consumer study published this week shows 86% of consumers are drastically altering their daily routines (+12 points from earlier in March) and on average expect the crisis as well as their altered shopping behaviors to persist for about 6-7 weeks. Of those that reported stocking up over…
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