The story of the holiday season for retail outlets has been the major increases in the number of orders placed at online payment processing terminals. In fact, the increase has been so stark that one retail outlet is opening a brand new, $170 million fulfillment center.
Internet Retailer recently reported that Macy's would be building a new warehouse, at the aforementioned cost, for the sake of supporting direct-to-consumer shipments to better accommodate their growing number of online shoppers. Construction will begin next year, with the center slated to open sometime in 2015.
Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy's, attributed some of the success to the company's omnichannel approach, which aims to create synergy between online, in-store and mobile-based shoppers.
"The rapid growth of Macy's direct-to-customer shipments, rooted in our omnichannel approach to business, requires us to continue to strategically add fulfillment capacity so our customers can receive their orders quickly and efficiently," said Lundgren, according to the news outlet. "Customers today are shopping whenever, however and wherever they prefer, via stores, desktops and mobile devices, and we continue to invest to meet the customer demand."
Macy's rang up $3.168 billion in e-commerce sales at its credit card payment processing pages during the past year, according to the Internet Retailer report. That's up more than 40 percent when compared to the year prior - hence the growing need for new shipping solutions. Other e-commerce companies should note the growth potential offered to businesses that thrive by selling products online.
Internet Retailer recently reported about another company, Ozbo.com, that succeeds as a result of smart shipping strategies. Co-founder Joshua Wood told the news outlet that his company ships products direct from suppliers to consumers - which means the inventory rarely sits at the company location for an extended period of time.
"Our number of shipments per hour is pretty amazing," Wood told Internet Retailer.
