Out to Launch:
Target expands Restock next-day delivery service. Target announced that it’s expanding its Restock service to the Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver areas. Retail Dive
Facebook launches Marketplace in Europe. Facebook has started rolling out its online marketplace service Marketplace to 17 countries in Europe. Ecommerce News
Amazon debuts ‘Instant Pickup Points’ in the U.S. for pickups in minutes. Amazon’s latest physical retail foray is called “Instant Pickup,” and it works as the name implies: Amazon shoppers can pick up orders for certain items within two minutes of making their purchase. Tech Crunch
Aldi to launch home delivery in US. Discounter moves into online delivery in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas, responding to Amazon takeover of Whole Foods in June. Fruitnet
Evri opens UK’s largest parcel hub. Logistics provider Evri has opened an automated parcel distribution hub in the United Kingdom, which is said to be the biggest one in the country. Ecommerce News
Flipkart launches ‘Flipkart Global’ to enable sellers to export globally. India’s largest e-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Tuesday announced the roll-out of ‘Flipkart Global’, a program that will provide its 100,000 plus sellers with an opportunity to export their products to buyers across 190+ countries. Economic Times
Kohl’s opens new ecommerce fulfilment centre. Kohl’s opens new e-commerce fulfilment centre. Post and Parcel
Walmart, Google Home team up on Shopping by Voice. Walmart and Alphabet are hoping to challenge Amazon’s business with products that use Google Assistant. Yahoo Finance
Swiss Post now offers four different delivery windows. In the near future, business customers and consumers from Swiss Post can benefit from a new service, which will roll out nationwide. Ecommerce News
Industry Skinny:
More UK online orders destined for EU in July than for four years: IMRG. Nearly three in 10 online orders placed with UK retailers are bound for an EU destination beyond our shores, new data suggests. Internet Retailing
Walmart expands its grocery delivery business, powered by Uber. Walmart is expanding a test of its grocery delivery service, powered by Uber, the company announced this week. Tech Crunch
Alibaba is almost as valuable as Amazon and closing the gap fast. Since the start of 2017, New York-listed shares for China’s largest ecommerce company have jumped almost 90% in value. QZ
Is Amazon about to take over the pharmacy industry? Amazon looks set for a major push into the online healthcare market. Tech World
August bank holiday set to see the first peak of Christmas shopping interest, says eBay. The August bank holiday will spark a series of spending peaks leading up to Christmas, new analysis suggests. Internet Retailing
CitySprint – surge in demand for medicines home delivery. Pharmaceuticals last mile delivery firm CitySprint Healthcare has published research indicating that 84% of pharmacists in the UK have reported increased demand for home delivery of medication in the last 12 months. Apex Insight
Paytm Mall to invest $35M in tech & logistics. Paytm plans to shorten delivery timelines by servicing demand with local supply to provide same-day and next-day deliveries in electronics & appliances categories across 25 cities. Economic Times
Laura Ashley reports growing online sales. Laura Ashley today reported growing online revenues but falling sales across the business. Internet Retailing
Tech Space:
Royal Mail’s new electric vans unveiled. Royal Mail is beginning trials in London of nine fully electric vans with ranges of up to 100 miles. BBC
‘World’s first’ fully autonomous drone delivery service kicks off in Iceland. Drones represent the future of consumer delivery services, if recent developments are anything to go by. Venture Beat
Study suggests last-mile drone delivery could lower carbon footprint. There’s always been talk about how drones could improve the emissions situation produced by our truck-based delivery infrastructure. But you have to look into these things. Tech Crunch
Walmart files patent for floating warehouse. Walmart is taking the competition up a notch, or rather, a few hundred feet. Bisnow
Africa leads the world on drone delivery: flights to begin in Tanzania in 2018. Drone delivery is finally getting off the ground. And the action is happening in East Africa. Spectrum
Ai in ecommerce: How artificial intelligence can help retailers deliver the highly-personalised experiences shoppers desire. Business Insider
Food for Thought:
Returns of online purchases a key factor in ecommerce boom. While the growth of ecommerce is widely viewed as a boon for last-mile deliveries, customer returns of the merchandise that’s delivered also are forcing change across carriers’ and shippers’ supply chains, industry experts said. Transport Topics News
Speed of delivery and user experience fuel retailers’ B2B ecommerce expansion. Prioritizing mobile and omnichannel strategies augment growth opportunities in B2B online retailing market, finds Frost & Sullivan’s Visionary Innovation team. Business Insider
Ecommerce in the Middle East: small but promising market. Middle East countries have some of the highest levels of per capita income but the area is an underpenetrated ecommerce market. Practical Ecommerce
In global ecommerce, the race to solve the ‘last mile’. As ecommerce continues to grow in important emerging markets, how will fashion retailers crack the most difficult logistics conundrum of all? Business of Fashion