Shipping Costs news and trends

As Shipping Costs Drop, Savvy Retailers Lower Prices to Consumers
Retail // March 01, 2023

Amidst a year-plus of grim headlines, retailers could use a bit of good news. As reported by WSJ earlier this week (Feb. 27), shipping rates, especially along the all-important trans-Pacific route, have tumbled in recent months from their record highs last year. U.S. retailers are...

Supply Chain Woes Ease but Inflationary Pressures Remain
Supply Chain // February 26, 2023

Supply chains may be healing, but the pressure they put on inflation remains. As Bloomberg News reported Sunday (Feb. 26), shipping costs have come down in some places but not others. An estimated 70% of goods that ship in containers on massive cargo ships are...

Fighting The Friction In Retail Returns
Retail // February 03, 2020

Free returns have become something of a standard offering for eCommerce consumers. What better way to compensate for an improperly fitting clothing item or a purchase not quite living up to snuff than making it easy and free to send it back? A solid strategy, if...

eCommerce … The 1950s Way
Innovation // June 29, 2019

Despite the fact that eCommerce has become a way of life in the last two decades, it is harder than it might seem to choose a birthdate for the shopping method that has defined 21st-century retail and payments. One could, for example, choose July 5, 1994,...

Interviews & Exclusives
As Shipping Costs Drop, Savvy Retailers Lower Prices to Consumers

March 01, 2023
Amidst a year-plus of grim headlines, retailers could use a bit of good news. As reported by WSJ earlier this week (Feb. 27), shipping rates, especially along the all-important trans-Pacific route, have tumbled in recent months from their record highs last year. U.S. retailers are hoping to solidify the price plunge this week, when they […]

Quick Reads
Supply Chain Woes Ease but Inflationary Pressures Remain

February 26, 2023
Supply chains may be healing, but the pressure they put on inflation remains. As Bloomberg News reported Sunday (Feb. 26), shipping costs have come down in some places but not others. An estimated 70% of goods that ship in containers on massive cargo ships are under long-term contracts that were negotiated during the pandemic. That […]

Amazon Overhauls Low-Margin Products In eCommerce Shift

December 17, 2018
Amazon is making moves to get rid of items on its site known as CRaP, which is short for “Can’t Realize a Profit.” According to a report in The Wall...

USPS Eyes Shipping Fee Increase For Amazon

October 12, 2018
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) wants Amazon to pay 9 percent to 12 percent more for its shipping services. According to CNBC, the USPS proposed a 9.3 percent increase on...

Analyst: Amazon Prime Subscription Worth $180 Today

July 06, 2018
While Amazon’s Prime membership currently comes at a cost of $119 per year, one firm, Reason Investments, believes that the membership is worth at least $180 to the average member in...