Gaining Perceptual Leadership Among Supply Chain Solution Providers

GAINING PERCEPTUAL LEADERSHIP AMONG SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTION PROVIDERS MEDIA COVERAGE HIGHLIGHTS FLIP BOOK Client: Voxware by Issuu

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Food Logistics: Warehouses to Focus on Agility, Speed of Goods to Market in 2020 Modern Materials Handling: 4 Paths to Voice Systems Evolution DC Velocity: Macy’s Plans for the Christmas Rush RetailWire: How to Win Black Friday Weekend: Strategies and Stats from 13 Retail Experts Retail Touchpoints: How to Win Black Friday Weekend: Strategies and Stats from 13 Retail Experts NBCNews.com: Stores with the Best & Worst Return Policies Supply & Demand Chain Executive: Significant Increase in Consumer Expectations for Online Retailers this Holiday Season DC Velocity: Survey: Shoppers have Rising Standards for E-commerce Delivery

Warehouses to Focus on Agility, Speed of Goods to Market in 2020 Here are several leading warehouse technologies and trends likely to shape warehouse strategies in 2020.

By: Mary Shacklett | February 19, 2020 In 2020, warehouse managers will face continuing pressures to deliver goods at a rapid pace, which will require a greater agility to respond to constantly changing markets.

For Voxware, it’s about the multimodality of the solution and providing customers with the right technology to complete their specific tasks, whether that be through scanning, voice or augmented reality.

At the same time, warehouses are expected to process and deliver goods in bulk faster, and e-commerce continues to drive customer personalization. This is forcing warehouse managers to re-think processes in order to expeditiously address the rapid processing of “one of” orders.

The conflict between personalized “one of” orders and the ability to ship vast quantities of merchandise quickly presents a dichotomy to managers. On one hand, warehouse managers are expected to introduce new technologies and work methods to keep pace with the speed of business. On the other hand, managers must retain the ability to customize orders and stay within workable budget parameters as they strive toward operational optimization.

“Based on what we hear from customers, it’s all about throughput in the distribution center and optimizing the workforce,” says Keith Phillips, president and CEO of Voxware, Hamilton Township, N.J. Broadpath

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So, how can warehouse managers maximize throughput, optimize operations and yet stay within budget?

Here are several leading warehouse technologies and trends likely to shape warehouse strategies in 2020:

The Power of Voice Over the past few years, voice-based technology has embedded itself into numerous warehouse process. Voice is no longer an end in itself, but instead has become an integral communication component that can operate alongside a myriad of human and automation-based work practices in the warehouse. Voice-based communications, which enable hands-free operation and greater accuracy in order and item identification, integrates with most of today’s warehouse management systems (WMS), mobile devices and appliances.

Voice can operate in almost every operational phase of the warehouse—from goods intake to stocking, moving, picking, scanning, loading and querying WMS systems.

“Many companies we work with tell us that they understand voice picking and the benefits that come with it, so they are looking for other ways to increase productivity throughout their warehouse,” says Phillips. “Anywhere companies have human capital deployed, they need automation to increase productivity, and voice-based technologies embellish this.

We’ve almost seen voice technology come full circle. Years ago, using voice was about gaining productivity. Then, it became accuracy, and now we’re back to productivity. Companies just can’t keep up with rising consumer demands and will need to deploy technologies like voice in order to remain competitive.”

Companies will see a 20-30% increase in productivity by just deploying voice for picking alone, adds Phillips.

“We have many customers who also deploy our supply chain analytics software, and realize an additional 10-15% in performance gains,” he adds. “It’s about the multimodality of the solution.”

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Voxware customers who rely on VoxPilot are said to see an additional 10-15% more productivity from their workforce.

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More Flexible AS/RS Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) that place and retrieve products from different storage locations within warehouse and distribution centers will also see their use expanded as more high-volume loads need to be processed quickly.

AS/AR’s automation capabilities reduce the need for human intervention. Reducing human involvement in storage and retrieval processes promotes warehouse safety and enables warehouse vertical and horizontal space that humans can’t access to be better taken advantage of.

A new twist to AS/RS is the ability to differentiate products, so that mixed pallets or loads of products can be produced. The need to variegate products at the pallet level is rising in the food and beverage industry, as retailers respond to the individual needs of customers and move to more “one of” orders. This change will likely generate a new wave of AS/RS technologies that will be more agile and better equipped to work with a diversity of warehouse fulfillment scenarios.

Meanwhile, at the macro level of AS/RS, the benefit to warehouses is the ability to rapidly process products and save on real estate and facility costs.

For example, Martignetti Cos. used AS/RS to consolidate two warehouses into a single 50-foot-high facility at its Taunton, Mass., headquarters. It achieved the facility savings by implementing AS/RS that could overcome the physical limitations of humans working with high stacks. The AS/RS stores and retrieves thousands of pallets per day out of its new 600,000-square-foot warehouse. Without the benefit of AS/RS technology, the company would have required an additional 150,000 square feet of floor space. Throughput is now 8,000 cases per day, compared to a former throughput of 4,000 cases per day.

Autonomous Vehicles Autonomous vehicles are also saving miles of walking on warehouse concrete floors.

This is a safety and a health objective for warehouse workers, and a way to expedite warehouse operations with the power of artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles and automated forklifts.

As e-commerce and rising consumer demands force warehouse operators to process work around the clock, machines are part of the solution because they don’t wear out.

Autonomous machines can also offset human labor costs.

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picking and placing items and boxes, cycle inventory, load handling and moving, scanning and tracking.

Another important area of focus for warehouse operators in 2020 will be cobotics, the collaboration of humans and robotics such as autonomous vehicles working together for mutual advantage.

In the warehouse, an autonomous forklift moves heavier loads than a human, and can operate with Companies will continue to invest in packaging automation in 2020. greater safety than a forklift operated by a human operator, but the “know how” of experienced warehouse personnel who can recognize and resolve an exception situation in a workflow or innovate a better way of performing a task is still needed. Skilled employees working alongside autonomous vehicles facilitate this combination. It will be up to warehouse managers and technology vendors to focus on this human-machine interface and work with employees to develop best practices.

Packaging Automation and Process Optimization In packaging operations, warehouses can also automate by creating packages, cartons and sealing products without human assistance for repetitive processes. Line operators can quickly change the dimensions of a case or a pallet with the click of a button when working with automation. Automated robotic packaging operations can also work around-the-clock picking, placing and removing items, as well as moving empty boxes.

Given the efficiencies of packaging automation, companies will continue to invest in it in 2020. Equally important will be packaging sustainability initiatives.

“Sustainability is a ma jor concern within the packaging industry and amongst consumers,” says John Ashby, president of Crawford Packaging, Canada. “Our expectation is, with this Broadpath

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continued emphasis on sustainable packaging, that future packaging technologies will focus on waste reduction and recyclability. Whether that’s through replacing certain materials with more sustainable ones or by implementing simplified packaging that is both durable and lightweight, there is a significant effort to re-think packaging best practices.”

That’s why companies are encouraged to perform a packaging audit for best results.

“Unless you have a packaging expert overseeing the creation of your packaging workflows specific to your application, then there’s a good chance that time and money is being wasted in one or more areas,” says Ashby. “A packaging audit is a complete assessment of a business’s packaging practices. When a business requests a packaging audit, we send a packaging specialist on-site to identify areas for packaging optimization and improvement and work directly with the business to develop customized packaging workflows that save time, money and reduce packaging. This improves packaging efficiency.”

Workflow Optimization, Budget Conservation and Future Proofing Warehouse technology offerings and customer demands continue to expand and drive warehouse improvements, but one thing hasn’t changed much for warehouse management—the need to keep budgets under control and maximize assets already under management.

For warehouse managers, this means making careful technology “picks” to improve the warehouse, while continuing to work with legacy and other systems that have proven their value over time.

“We find many companies are dealing with legacy systems, or even have their own homegrown WMS systems,” says Justin Rotter, director of project operations for Lucas Systems, Wexford, Pa. Companies like Lucas work with clients to integrate up-and-coming technology that can improve warehouse operations and build upon the existing technology bases Broadpath

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Companies like Lucas Systems work with clients to integrate up-and-coming technology that can improve warehouse operations and build upon the existing technology bases that companies already have.

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that companies already have. This eliminates the need for companies to develop massive capital budgets for “rip and replace” technology projects.

“We can use an approach like this to migrate paper-based and older system operations to newer technologies that can optimize replenishment, picking and other processes. These newer technologies, including voice and wearable technology, can improve hands-on processes, and also give warehouse managers better visibility into warehouse workflows and into exception situations that may arise on the floor and require resolutions,” says Ritter.

“Many of these solutions also use GS1 barcodes to support barcode scan and capture and product track-and-trace capabilities.”

The mixed environment of legacy systems and new technology has the potential to return investment at a faster rate, as it costs less to add new capabilities to support changing business needs and enables companies to continue running the systems already in place.

It also helps warehouses gain a footing in new technologies and applications while they continue to run their older systems.

In the future, workflow optimization tools will incorporate machine learning, so that software-based analytics can provide answers to questions such as how long individual tasks should take, how to allocate workers, when to move product from one location to another and more.

Artificial intelligence tools are already in use to determine how best to combine orders for the most efficient pick sequence and then execute the appropriate sortation, so items are placed in individualized orders before being shipped.

All of these tools are needed to better orchestrate warehouse workflows to meet the growing customer fulfillment trend of “one each” picking for individualized orders.

Mindful of operating expenses and budgetary constraints, warehouse managers can be expected to choose wisely when it comes to technology investments in 2020.

At the same time, they understand that the rate at which products are now expected to be delivered and the growing demands of customers will not abate.

The personal success of managers—and of the warehouses they operate—will depend upon meeting the dual and sometimes conflicting goals of agility and speed.

In this environment, technology offers the best answers for both.

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“There are a lot of companies that have been slow to adopt technology in the distribution center,” says Phillips. “With the current economy and the labor shortage still very prevalent, we believe that companies that do not automate will struggle to remain competitive.”

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4 Paths to Voice Systems Evolution During the last several years, voice-directed work solutions have evolved beyond their roots in order picking. Suppliers now often support multiple device types, including rugged smart phones and smart glasses, and implementations may span multiple workflows. Here are four ways voice solutions have evolved, including plenty of analytics features for managers.

By Roberto Michel | April 13, 2020 As distribution centers struggle with labor-intensive e-commerce fulfillment and difficulty finding enough workers, making order picking as efficient as possible is high priority. No wonder “voice” solutions that direct warehouse associates through fast and accurate tasks are growing.

With voice-directed solutions, order selectors can work largely hands free allowing them to focus on picking or other tasks. The voice instructions may also feature confirmation steps to increase accuracy. These traditional voice benefits have fueled a growing market.

Globally, voice solutions are set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% through 2025, according to KBV Research.

However, the value proposition in today’s voice market goes well beyond order picking, or even voice, say vendors. For one, multiple types of wearables are being used to create a market that’s more about multi-modal work automation than pure voice. Over the last several years, vendors have upped their game around analytics and other solutions that also help managers get the most from the workforce. Here four ways voice solutions are evolving to help operations become more efficient.

1. Multi-mode Interactions The traditional voice headset, tethered to a small device on a belt, has been replaced by a wider variety of wearables, as well as advancements in headset technology, including wireless Bluetooth headsets.

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ring scanners, smart glasses with augmented reality (AR) capability, or wearable vests with voice hardware built in. Vendors vary in the type of wearables they support, but overall, vendors now support multiple device types, often running on Android.

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“Everyone still refers to this market as voice solutions, but if you walked into one of our customers’ facilities and observed how they use our application, you’d figure out pretty quickly that voice is just one component of the solution, and in some cases, a relatively small component of the overall solution because they may be using ring scanners, vision for data capture, or AR,” says Keith Phillips, president and CEO of Voxware.

Devices for voice used to be small, purpose-built units attached on a belt, with a wired headset. This has evolved with the broad acceptance of Bluetooth headsets and ring scanners. The wearable scanners allow for quick item scanning for purposes like serial tracking. Some voice vendors also support the use of smart glasses, using the microphone/speaker in glasses to facilitate voice interactions and the glass to convey information visually.

Another hardware evolution has been the embrace of Android by ma jor providers of rugged mobile devices. Vendors today offer a variety of Android devices, with extra device security and management features added. Some device vendors such as Zebra Technologies have created a common environment for Android functions that voice vendors can use to test and certify their solutions on multiple devices, says Scott Deutsch, North American president of Ehrhardt + Partner Solutions.

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These platforms make voice solutions more attractive for end user organizations, says Deutsch, because vendors can quickly certify many Android devices with less effort. In addition to being able to serve as voice devices, Android mobile devices also offer capabilities like touchscreens, push to talk or smart phone features that make them attractive for use with warehouse management system (WMS) software or other solutions.

A Voxware customer reviews graphical data in an analytics dashboard.

While smart glasses garner much attention, Deutsch sees the rapid uptake of Android as having greater impact on the voice market.

“The explosion of rugged Android devices by trusted device vendors has dramatically changed the perspective of customers on what their device choices are,” says Deutsch. “There is a lot more freedom of choice today.”

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2. More Than Picking Sure, picking each-level orders from forward pick areas is voice’s bread and butter, but vendors report many users are now using their solutions for workflows such as cycle counting, replenishment or receiving and put away.

With today’s tight cycle time pressures, it’s important to speed up multiple workflows, not just final pick areas, says Phillips. “Distribution center managers have really had to focus on the overall speed of their operations, and how they’ve architected their processes,” he says.

“Every customer we’ve deployed over the last four years has ended up implementing multiple workflows.”

Improved ease of integration between voice solutions and WMS is seen as a key enabler of being able to cost effectively deploy added workflows. Using application programming interfaces (APIs) such as REST APIs, voice solution providers can deploy added workflows at greater speed and lower cost compared with the integration technology and more heavy testing necessary in the early days of the voice market, points out Deutsch.

“The ability to rapidly integrate additional voice workflows with back-end WMS solutions with Web services has really reduced the cost and complexity of integration,” says Deutsch.

“That makes for a stronger cost/benefit equation when you want to deploy an additional workflow to even a small group of front-line

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workers, like a handful of people doing replenishment. As a result, we’re seeing more adoption of voice across various workflows.”

While in the past many organizations began voice implementations with order picking, today many of Honeywell’s Voice solution users are applying voice to upstream processes like receiving, put away and replenishment, says James Hendrickson, director of product and offering management with Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions.

Voice automation of these upstream processes not only speeds up overall cycle time, it reduces errors that can foul up picking. “As more organizations deal with e-commerce where the cost of errors is really high, we’ve actually seen some of our customers who’ve deployed voice first for put away or restocking, because they want to speed up and improve the inbounding process,” says Hendrickson.

Another shift in voice workflows involves robotics. For one thing, explains Hendrickson, voice can be a productivity enhancer for maintenance technicians servicing automated systems. Beyond that, Honeywell has been working collaboratively with autonomous mobile robot (AMR) vendors including Fetch Robotics and 6 River Systems to examine ways in which Honeywell’s voice-directed solution can blend with AMR workflows.

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Possibilities include combining a pick-to-light workstation for goods-to-person robotics with some use of voice-directed tasks. It’s also possible voice could be used as a trigger to command a robot to move somewhere or as an alternative means of interacting with AMRs versus always using a touchscreen.

Hendrickson says it remains early days for figuring out the best ways to mash up voice-directed and robot workflows, but it

makes sense to use the technology that is most efficient for each task. He adds that Honeywell has worked with some AMR vendors to test blended scenarios and has been demonstrating some of these at industry events. “The point is that you have options regarding the best interface, and you’ll be able to pick the one that best suits your implementation,” he says.

3. Analytics for Managers Traditionally, the key users of voice solutions are front-line workers. Voice-directed vendors, however, have long offered analytics for managers. These offerings have continued to evolve in sophistication and their ability to provide decision support beyond basic “descriptive” analytics such as lines per hour picked.

“What’s becoming more important is the predictive and prescriptive analytics capabilities that allow you to anticipate and prepare for what’s coming down the road tomorrow, next week or for the next peak season so managers can set up the operation for success,” says Phillips.

Analytics increasingly are used to plan out resource needs, says Phillips, as well as managing daily operations or spotting potential trouble spots. “Using analytics, you can make sure you don’t have a worker who has completed a set of assignments, Broadpath

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but hasn’t been given a new assignment yet, or to ensure you don’t have a worker running behind on an assignment to the point an order is becoming at risk of missing the shipment time,” he says.

Deutsch agrees that analytics has become increasingly important. A tool from E+P called TimesSquare Cloud Analytics is aimed at providing end-user organizations with a Cloud analytics cockpit that can bring together multiple data sources and live graphics like digital maps or live camera feeds that show activity at docks or with automated machinery. For one user, says Deutsch, this tool provided a way to create a dynamic dashboard without having to run back to its corporate information technology (IT) department for a special project. “It’s a solution that is meant for the operations side of the business, so they can bring together multiple data sources without getting into a large IT project,” says Deutsch.

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4. Workforce Optimization Some vendors with roots in voice solutions, such as Lucas Systems, have branched out into related solutions aimed at improving “work execution” processes.

Lucas’s Engage makes use of data from voice activity, but it’s more than an analytics module for voice, says Justin Ritter, director of project engineering for Lucas Systems. The difference is work execution has optimization functions that consider various factors including order priorities and gate/ shipment commit times to orchestrate work execution in a warehouse.

For example, a module in the solution, called Dynamic Work Optimization (DWO), uses advanced mathematical models to drive intelligent batching and pick path optimization. Thus, explains Ritter, DWO is an optimization function that managers don’t have to sit down and use like an analytic module, but that works to address a key pain point—reducing the time that workers typically spend on travel to pick faces or other points of work.

movements in front of a location, it might only be 30% of the shift time with conventional approaches, but what about addressing that other 70% of the time—the travel time,” says Ritter. “When we talk about work execution and work optimization, it’s about the best way to execute work relative the priorities to come up with efficient batches of work. By batching things differently, and doing pick path optimization, you can really optimize your workforce and get more productivity.”

Work execution solution not only coordinates voice-directed tasks, it orchestrates multiple activities and systems, says Ritter, factoring in order priorities and order completion. The software also can consider work-in-process status to check whether some areas of the warehouse are too busy or not busy enough when deciding how to execute work. Additionally, says Ritter, work execution should be able to consider robots as a labor asset and assign tasks to them and coordinate their work with tasks carried out by humans. “From a management perspective, execution is really about optimizing all your assets, whether that labor is in the form of a human picker or a robot, to get the most efficiency from your operations,” he adds.

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Macy’s Plans for the Christmas Rush By: Tom Ryan | July 7, 2020

Macy’s Herald Square, Black Friday, 2018 - Photo: RetailWire

Macy’s is exploring spreading holiday promotions, extending hours and playing up curbside pickup to better manage crowds this upcoming holiday season.

“Everything is on the table right now,” said Jeff Gennette, Macy’s chairman and CEO, last Wednesday on his company’s first-quarter conference call when asked how the department store retailer is planning to handle Black Friday and last-minute holiday crowds. “We’re working with our merchant and our marketing teams on options within the marketing calendar to reduce pressure points on big volume days.”

The concerns focused on Macy’s “biggest magnet” or most productive locations, he said.

One option for the retailer is to stoke demand earlier in the season. “We do think that people are going to jump on Black Friday earlier and earlier in the calendar. And so we expect it to start in full force after Halloween,” said Mr. Gennette.

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Macy’s is also looking at its store hours “carefully.”

Mr. Gennette also pointed to a strong online presence and advanced omnichannel capabilities, including store fulfillment, as an advantage. He touted curbside pickup as a “big secret weapon … this holiday season.” Curbside wasn’t available for last year’s holiday. “The speed and the safety of curbside pickup we think is going to be huge for us this holiday season, if they’re not comfortable to walk into a store,” he said.

Finally, the retailer hopes advanced in-store social distancing practices will reassure holiday shoppers. “If they do come into the building, we’re going to be able to protect even the most nervous customers with crowds and their concerns about that. So that’s how we’re looking at it, but it’s still of work in progress,” he added.

A survey of 500 U.S. consumers in early June exploring holiday shopping from Voxware found: • Fifty-one percent expect to begin holiday shopping earlier than normal this year; • Fifty-seven percent plan to have more gifts shipped directly to recipients than last year; • Seventy-six percent intend to purchase more than half of their gifts online; • Sixty-two percent plan to purchase more stocking stuffers and last-minute gifts online.

• Macy’s, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2020 Results – Macy’s, Inc. • Macy’s Inc (M) Q1 2020 Earnings Call Transcript – The Motley Fool • Voxware Survey Finds COVID-19’s Impact on Consumer Holiday Shopping Behaviors Will Strain Distribution Operations – Voxware/Business Wire

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How to Win Black Friday Weekend: Strategies and Stats from 13 Retail Experts By: Bryan Wassel | November 19, 2018 The wait is nearly over: the critical period anchored by Black Friday starts in just a few days. The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics predict that 164 million people will shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.

As it has historically, Black Friday will remain the busiest shopping day of the extended weekend, with 116 million people making purchases, followed by 75 million on Cyber Monday. Small Business Saturday will attract 67 million, while 34 million will shop on Thanksgiving and 32 million on Sunday.

Retail TouchPoints reached out to 13 analysts and solution providers for their advice and predictions about the behaviors shoppers will exhibit during the make-or-break kickoff to the holidays, and how retailers can work to maximize their potential sales. The topics covered include: • How to use shopper psychology to maximize sales and margins; • Mobile’s dominant role in holiday shopping; • Pitfalls to avoid in customer service and fulfillment; and • What the holidays will look like for brick-and-mortar stores.

Understand the Psychology of the Shopper • Consumers are in the mood to buy: “All signs point to a successful holiday season, and consumers are ready to spend this year. Not only are they starting earlier, they’re spending more. We asked why shoppers planned on increasing their gift Broadpath

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budget, and 47% say it’s because they earned more income, and 35% are shopping for more people. Smart retailers will capture consumers interest with strategic discounts and easy experiences.” — Marissa Tarleton, CMO, RetailMeNot • Take advantage of positive consumer trends while they last: “Holiday sales online and offline will be strong in Q4. Why? Consumer confidence is high, unemployment is low and many retailers have been on a strong tra jectory for much of the year.

They have years of experience now capturing sales during the Thanksgiving timeframe, and they learn more every year.

• Whether this momentum continues into 2019 is unclear, especially as tariffs on consumer goods and higher inflation will likely have an impact, but for the short-term, retailers should expect a nice gift of their own from shoppers in the form of good sales.” — Sucharita Kodali, VP and Principal Analyst, Forrester • Impulse purchases don’t spoil careful shoppers’ experiences: “When we look at the psychology behind why and how consumers shop on Black Friday it appears as though it is methodical and calculated – they are specifically saving money and creating a shortlist of items they want to buy. And while 56% of shoppers said they purchase something not on their list they still walk away feeling excited, accomplished and satisfied.” — Paige Musto, VP, Corporate Marketing, UserTesting • Reach out to Millennials, the most promotion-focused shoppers: “On Thanksgiving and Black Friday, watch for Millennials to be the most motivated shoppers. Our research shows they’re going to be hitting the deals up to 14% more than their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts. Retailers need to have a strategy in place for appealing to this decisive group of consumers on these winner-take-all shopping days.” — Brent Franson, CEO, Euclid • Make up for discounts with upselling and cross-selling: “While brands and retailers must often discount aggressively to meet and capture consumer demand, Black Friday also provides an opportunity to leverage this deal-hunting mentality that drives upsells and cross-sells. E-Commerce channels offer the best opportunity for this. For example, brands and their retail partners can easily structure bundles or packaged discounts (spend X, save Y) on their e-Commerce sites, where the consumer gets a discount but ultimately spends more than they would have had they purchased one product alone.” — Danny Essner, SVP of Marketing, NuORDER

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Plan for a Mobile-Heavy Holiday • Mobile screens will be critical for holiday sales: “Mobile growth has been strong and relentless, gaining share every year. Within the first 12 days of November, smartphones alone have contributed to over 28% of online sales, a 30.2% increase from the year prior. Consumers are driving this change as more daily activities are moved to smartphones, but retailers are also enabling it by meeting consumer needs on a smaller screen. This includes everything from easier checkout to an improved interface that helps drive impulse purchases.” — Taylor Schreiner, Director, Adobe Digital Insights • E-Commerce retailers should prepare for Thanksgiving mobile orders: “Shoppers are making mobile their favorite shopping device, as this will be the first year they place more orders on a phone (46% of all orders) than a computer (44%), and far outpacing tablets (9%). Mobile is the switch that turns on the shopping season as shoppers reach for their phones early and often. In fact, Thanksgiving is now the 4th biggest shopping day of the season, and shoppers literally push back from the dinner table and drive the most mobile traffic share at 4 pm.” — Rick Kenney, Head of Consumer Insights, Salesforce • Expect virtual assistant usage to continue growing: The availability of a virtual assistant to meet one’s shopping needs is still a relatively new concept: 13% of shoppers today use assistants like Alexa. But with smart speaker ownership increasing, retailers expect this number to grow rapidly — not just year over year, but holiday over holiday. The fact that Gen Xers (22%) and not just Millennials (17%) are leading adoption should be a signal across retail that all generations can become digital taskmasters.” — Leslie McNamara, CMO and Head of Workforce Development, Citi Retail Services • SMBs can compete by using automated email marketing and the personal touch: “There’s tremendous competition playing out in consumer inboxes during the holiday season. To break through, marketers of all sizes need to send the right message to the right person at the right time. While that might sound tricky for a small business to do, the reality is that email marketing automation and personalization tools are making it every bit as easy for a small business to achieve as a big box retailer. It’s a marketing equalizer.” — Dave Charest, Director of Content Marketing, Constant Contact Broadpath

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From Search to Delivery, Shoppers have Zero Patience for Inconvenience • 54% of e-Commerce shoppers will abandon a purchase if they can’t find what they’re looking for: “With countless options at their fingertips, most consumers make split-decisions when searching for a product. With Amazon a click or tap away, retailers and brands must provide straightforward navigation, clear product banners and photography and relevant search results. It is especially important to deliver a mobile-optimized web site, automated product recommendations and fast checkout, or you risk delivering a poor customer experience, which will ultimately lead to cart abandonment.” — Ed Kennedy, Senior Director of Commerce, Episerver • Get delivery right, or pay the price on social media: “Social media plays an incredible role in today’s society. When I think about this, consumers love to post on social media and put themselves in the public eye. When other consumers see this, the ‘pile-on’ effect occurs. When one person posts negatively, it’s not a big deal. But five, 10, 100+ negative comments, that’s incredibly troubling for a retailer.

We’re talking 78% of consumers sharing negative experiences and that figure is very difficult to overcome.”— Keith Phillips, President and CEO, Voxware

Brick-and-Mortar Stores can take a Turkey Day Break • Brick-and-mortar won’t suffer by staying closed on Thanksgiving: “It’s likely that taking a day off for Thanksgiving won’t hurt a retailer’s bottom line this year, because foot traffic data points to your customers doing the same. Stores that stayed open on Thanksgiving in 2017 only saw a 0.7% increase over average holiday foot traffic on that day. So ask yourself: Is that worth missing the pumpkin pie for?” — Sarah Ohle Vice President, Marketing Insights, GroundTruth • The experience is why 88% of holiday shoppers will visit a shopping center: “Consumers crave the experiential nuances of holiday shopping that can’t be replicated online, so it’s no surprise brick-and-mortar stores are expected to see strong results. Because of this demand for experience, we continue to see shopping centers and malls remain the hub of holiday shopping.” — Stephanie Cegielski, Spokesperson, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

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Stores with the Best & Worst Return Policies Holiday return policies: Some naughty, most nice. But these three big retailers — Amazon, Walmart and Target — make holiday gift returns easier.

By Herb Weisbaum | December. 26, 2018 Whether it’s an appliance you don’t need or an ugly sweater you won’t wear, chances are you received at least one gift you want to return.

If you have a receipt, J.C. Penney accepts returns at any time, except for items like appliances and electronics.

If so, you’re not alone. U.S. retailers (both brick-andmortar and online) are expecting to handle about $72 billion worth of holiday returns this year, according to estimates from the National Retail Federation.

That’s 10 percent of their total holiday sales.

An analysis of current holiday return policies by ConsumerWorld.org, a consumer education website, finds that most ma jor retailers are nice, and a few are even innovative.

“Some retailers this year have tweaked their return deadlines — some a little longer, some a bit shorter, and a few even added novel features to their return procedure. But most return rules have remained about the same as last year,” said Edgar Dworsky, founder and editor of Consumer World.

Follow the rules and you should have no problems, Dworsky said. But those rules vary from store to store, so you need to read the fine print, which can be thousands of words long.

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Many retailers continue to offer extended holiday return windows, allowing gifts purchased in November to be returned until mid- to late-January, except for electronics which are generally subject to shorter return periods and restrictions. And if the package is opened, your return rights may be limited.

“My No. 1 tip is to take back your return items in pristine condition with all the packaging and tags, and with a receipt or gift receipt,” Dworsky told NBC News BETTER. “Without proof of purchase, you may only get the lowest price the item has sold for in the past 90 days, or you might be offered nothing at all. Remember, there is no automatic right to return something, unless it’s defective.”

Consumer World’s 15th annual Holiday Return Policy Survey highlights some unusual and noteworthy policies: • Amazon will pay the return shipping on items purchased using Alexa.

• Items purchased on Target.com can be returned for free.

• Walmart customers can start the return process by scanning their receipt on the Walmart app and then head to the in-store express lane.

• Target REDcard holders get 30 extra return days.

• Bed, Bath & Beyond ended its no-time-limit return policy. It’s now one year.

• Many retailers have shortened the holiday return window for Apple products to 15 days starting on Dec. 26. This matches Apple’s standard corporate return policy.

Return Policies are Important to Many Shoppers While most holiday shoppers decide where to buy based on price, quality and selection, 32 percent of those surveyed by the National Retail Federation (NRF) said return policy was an important factor, significantly ahead of customer service (26 percent).

Return policies are very important to online shoppers, according to a recent survey

by Voxware, a technology company that helps retailers manage supply chain issues.

Ninety-five percent of the respondents said the way an online merchant handles returns does influence their decision to order from that company again.

“The returns process remains a critical component to ensuring customer loyalty and maintaining a positive brand reputation,” said Keith Phillips, President and CEO of Broadpath

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Voxware, in a statement.

Return fraud is a huge problem and retailers consider that when they set their holiday return policies. The NRF expects fraudulent holiday returns to hit $6.5 billion this year.

To reduce return fraud and stop return abuse, some chains now require a driver’s license or some other form of ID before they’ll take something back without a receipt. That way, they can enter this information into a database to see if you’re a serial returner, someone who has a track record of buying things and returning them.

Best and Worst Return Policies Despite the challenges created by returns, some retailers continue to have incredibly generous policies, while others make it a real challenge or impossible to bring things back.

Consumer Reports advises its readers to shop at stores with generous return policies and avoid those that don’t. To that end, the editors analyzed 21 national retail chains and categorized their return policies as best and worst.

No surprise that Nordstrom, L.L. Bean, Costco, Eddie Bauer and Zappos made it on the best list, but so did JCPenney and Kohl’s (their “hassle free” return policy has no time limit, except for electronics).

On the “tough for returning gifts” list: Sears, Kmart, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy (a 15-day return window for most items, except for Elite members and there’s a 15 percent restocking fee for drones and some digital cameras) and Apple (if the item is valued at more than $750, you’ll wait 10 days to get a refund check).

“The takeaway here is that you really need to look at the store’s return policy,” said Consumer Reports senior editor Donna Rosato. “Don’t assume that just because it’s a luxury-type store, it will have a liberal return policy. A very high-end store or a specialty store might have a really stingy policy, while an everyday retailer might have a very liberal policy. You’ve got to check.”

Shopping Tips From Your Favorite Stores • Costco • Target • Trader Joe’s Broadpath

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• Starbucks • Panera Bread Want more tips like these? NBC News BETTER is obsessed with finding easier, healthier and smarter ways to live. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Broadpath

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Significant Increase in Consumer Expectations for Online Retailers this Holiday Season Shoppers increased their expectations for the accuracy and speed with which retailers deliver holiday purchases.

By Monica Chin | December 13, 2016 Voxware, a provider of cloud-based solutions for distribution operations, released consumer survey data demonstrating the heightened expectations to which online retailers will be held during the 2016 holiday shopping season. In the third biennial survey of its kind, more than 500 consumers were surveyed about their holiday shopping plans, expectations for delivery of items that they purchase online or by phone during the holiday season, and the impact that late or incorrect deliveries have on their future shopping decisions.

As compared to the results of past surveys, in 2016, shoppers significantly increased their expectations for the accuracy and speed with which retailers deliver holiday purchases.

Smaller and specialized retailers are not excluded from these increased standards, with 67 percent of respondents expecting a similar or better experience as compared to what larger retailers provide.

Significant findings of the Voxware Survey of Holiday Shoppers 2016 include consumer expectations for accuracy and speed at the holidays increased since 2014: • 84 percent of consumers stated that expectations are higher than they were two years ago.

Broadpath

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• 78 percent stated that their expectations for on-time and accurate delivery are higher during the holiday season than during other times of the year.

• 25 percent of respondents expect holiday gifts purchased online or by phone to be delivered within two days even if they did not request expedited shipping; in 2014, only 8 percent of respondents had this expectation.

“Although few U.S. retailers promise delivery within two days of an order being placed, there is clearly an increased expectation for speed and accuracy,” observed Keith Phillips, president and CEO of Voxware. “Call it the Amazon Prime effect if you like, but understand that new standards have been set, and retailers need to meet or exceed them, or risk being passed over by consumers.”

Significant findings of the Voxware Survey of Holiday Shoppers 2016 include the negative impact that errors or delays have on retailers is higher than ever: • 27 percent of online or catalog shoppers will altogether abandon shopping with a retailer that makes even one error in product delivery.

• 63 percent will abandon shopping with a retailer altogether that makes two to three errors in product delivery.

• 19 percent of online or catalog shoppers will abandon shopping with a retailer altogether that delivers a holiday purchase later than promised even one time.

• 60 percent will abandon a retailer if it delivers later than promised two to three times.

• 35.4 percent will abandon shopping with a retailer altogether after receiving one incorrect item (up from 16.5 percent in 2014).

• Three incorrect items or less will cost a retailer 91.8 percent of their customers (up from 68.4 percent in 2014).

• In 2014, only 35 percent of respondents reported being less likely or much less likely to make future purchases from a retailer that failed to deliver holiday purchases within two days of the promised delivery date. In 2016, those same reactions were selected by 45 percent of respondents.

• 27 percent of respondents expect to be offered some type of compensation (i.e., discount, coupon, credit, etc.) from retailers that send them an incorrect item.

Broadpath

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• 9 percent expect to be offered compensation if items are delivered late • 46 percent of respondents said that they were likely or very likely to publicly share their negative experiences online, with an additional 29 percent reporting they were somewhat likely to do the same.

Significant findings of the Voxware Survey of Holiday Shoppers 2016 include small and specialized retailers must perform as well, if not better, than larger retailers: • 21 percent of consumers surveyed expect an even higher level of service from small and specialized retailers than provided by their larger counterparts.

• 46 percent of respondents expect them to deliver service that is equal to that of their large competitors.

“This survey shows that consumer expectations are at their highest level during the holiday season with expediency, accuracy and traceability driving online retail shopping trends. Retailers are facing tremendous pressure to get orders right and get them delivered faster than ever before,” said Phillips. “With 77 percent of shoppers intending to have more gifts delivered to themselves this season compared to last year, the stakes are too high for fulfillment failures.”

Broadpath

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Survey: Shoppers have Rising Standards for E-commerce Delivery By: DC Velocity Staff | December 7, 2016 Shoppers are holding online retailers to heightened expectations for swift and error-free delivery during the 2016 holiday shopping season, a survey shows.

More than one-third of consumers—35.4 percent—will abandon a retailer for shipping a single wrong item, according to the study by voice platform provider Voxware Inc. And shoppers are not letting smaller retailers off the hook. Two-thirds of respondents said they expect a similar or better experience as compared to what larger retailers provide.

Those results show higher standards for the accuracy and speed of holiday e-commerce fulfillment than respondents had in previous years. Voxware asked more than five hundred consumers about their holiday shopping plans, expectations for delivery of items that they purchase online or by phone during the holiday season, and the impact that late or incorrect deliveries have on their future shopping decisions.

One in four shoppers said they expect holiday gifts purchased online or by phone to be delivered within two days... even if they have not requested expedited shipping. In the company’s 2014 survey, only 8 percent of respondents had that expectation.

Likewise, 84 percent of consumers said their expectations are higher than they were two years ago, and 78 percent stated that their expectations for on-time and accurate delivery are higher during the holiday season than during other times of the year. The results expand on preliminary findings from the Voxware survey that found that early holiday shoppers have higher expectations for swift delivery than their more leisurely neighbors.

“Although few US retailers promise delivery within two days of an order being placed, there is clearly an increased expectation for speed and accuracy,” Voxware President and CEO Keith Phillips said in a release. “Call it the ‘Amazon Prime Effect’ if you like, but understand that new standards have been set and retailers need to meet or exceed them or risk being passed over by consumers.”

The survey also showed that shoppers will punish retailers that wilt under this rising pressure.

• 27 percent of online or catalog shoppers will altogether abandon shopping with Broadpath

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a retailer that makes even one error in product delivery, and 63 percent will jump ship if that retailer makes two to three errors.

• 19 percent of online or catalog shoppers will abandon shopping with a retailer that delivers a holiday purchase later than promised, and 60 percent will do so if the retailer provides late delivery two or three times.

• 35.4 percent will abandon shopping with a retailer after receiving a single incorrect item (up from 16.5 percent in 2014), and shipping three or fewer incorrect items will cost a retailer 91.8 percent of their customers (up from 68.4 percent in 2014).

• 27 percent of respondents expect to be offered some type of compensation—such as a discount, coupon, or credit—from retailers that send them an incorrect item.

And 9 percent expect to be offered compensation if items are delivered late.

• 46 percent of respondents said that they were likely or very likely to publicly share their negative experiences online.

“This survey shows that consumer expectations are at their highest level during the holiday season, with expediency, accuracy, and traceability driving online retail shopping trends. Retailers are facing tremendous pressure to get orders right and get them delivered faster than ever before,” said Phillips. “With 77 percent of shoppers intending to have more gifts delivered to themselves this season compared to last year, the stakes are too high for fulfillment failures.”

Broadpath

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