August: In Review 2017

Hello and welcome to August: In Review

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It’s the end of August already, which can only mean one thing: it’s time for our monthly roundup of the hottest retail and ecommerce stories to hit the web. Before you jump straight into September, take a look at our 4 favorite picks of the month including Amazon Transit Time changes, an interactive peak season quiz, ecommerce returns management advice and global ecommerce markets statistics.

1. News: Important changes to transit times for seller fulfilled items

Amazon has announced important changes when it comes to transit times for sellers who fulfill their own products this month. As of September 18th, Amazon will automatically update default Transit Times for products you sell in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, in an attempt to display more accurate and faster delivery times for customers.

Transit Times for products sold on Amazon.co.uk which are shipped to a UK Mainland destination will be updated from the current 3-5 days to the new 2-3 days. Additionally, Transit Times for products you sell on Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it and Amazon.es will default to 5-7 days.

Do you have any questions on how these changes might affect you as an Amazon seller? Luckily, Amazon has created a useful FAQ document to answer the questions popping into your head including:

• How do I view and modify my current Transit Times?
• What are the new default Transit Times when I create a new Shipping Template?
• What will happen to my existing Shipping Templates during the default changes in September?

Amazon are introducing the transit time changes so customers will see more accurate and faster delivery times after discovering that “the Transit Times that were previously used did not reflect the actual time taken by carriers to deliver shipments.” Do you think these changes will help to provide more accurate delivery times and make customers more likely to purchase your products? Let us know what you think in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.

2. Blog: The importance of efficient ecommerce returns management

WeMakeWebsites published a brilliant blog on returns management for ecommerce businesses. The blog highlights that “the average ecommerce returns rate is estimated at 30%, in comparison to bricks-and-mortar shops with 8.8%”. These statistics show the importance of creating the best returns process for both your business and customers.

The blog covers:

• 8 key elements of a great return policy
• Returned items – who should foot the bill?
• The understated importance of efficient ERP

The full blog is definitely worth a read to find out how you can improve your returns management strategy.

3. Quiz: Are you ready for a profitable peak season?

We all know that the holiday season is the most hectic time of year for the majority of retailers, so now’s the time to make sure your systems are equipped to handle order peaks. That’s why we needed to include our automation assessment in this month’s review.

The quick 5 question quiz helps you analyze your current performance and find out how you can cope with peaks in demand. The assessment asks you to answer simple questions around your order volumes, peak times, profit margins and any current automated workflows.

After you’ve answered the 5 questions, you’ll receive an instantly generated set of personalized results that show you how your profitability will behave as your order volumes change at peak times. You can play around with the results to see how automated workflows, such as multichannel order management, updating inventory levels, order fulfillment and many more, can affect your profitability.

Take the quiz today to find out if you’re ready for the hectic holiday season and see which workflows you should be automating to save you crucial time and increase your profitability without jeopardizing customer service.

4. Statistics: Global ecommerce markets will reach $4 trillion by 2020

With global ecommerce markets expected to reach $4 trillion by 2020, there’s a huge opportunity for merchants to conquer the international market. Have you already expanded into global ecommerce markets or are you considering branching out? If you answered yes, you might want to read this informative blog from Shopify Plus.

The blog covers how moving into global markets can sustain or increase growth, an explanation of what the fourth wave of ecommerce means to global ecommerce markets and how to plan for your international expansion. Read the blog to decide if you will go global.

That’s all for August: In Review! Want to get September’s round up delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to the blog to ensure you don’t miss out!