Consumers plan to get an early start on holiday shopping: That’s good news for retailers as it should help smooth out the traditional late-season shipping bump.

Walmart finds its EV Canoo: The retailer’s fleet of 4,500 EVs could grow into 10,000 as the company looks to achieve zero emissions. Retail and logistics companies could lead the transition to EV deliveries.

Brands and retailers are adopting new technologies as they pursue supply chain optimization: Kraft Heinz, UPS, and Amazon are looking to AI, the cloud, and other tools to streamline operations.

Retailers take last-mile fulfillment into their own hands: Companies like Costco and Amazon are building their own logistics networks, to the detriment of FedEx and UPS.

Retailers invest in last-mile fulfillment as shoppers clamor for convenience: Growing ecommerce business has led companies to revamp their brick-and-mortar footprints and adopt autonomous delivery methods.

The 2021 holiday season saw the highest retail growth in 20 years, setting the stage for a solid 2022 holiday season.

Sustainability is a hot topic, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, most ecommerce buyers, sellers, and logistics firms are taking steps to be more eco-friendly. But commitment and progress are patchy.

Ecommerce supply chain issues—from out-of-stock products to delayed deliveries—have been at the forefront of consumers’ minds since the beginning of the pandemic. Well before the 2020 holiday season, concerns mounted about “shipageddon,” a potential event in which the supply chain wouldn’t be able to adequately meet significantly elevated ecommerce demand between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The 2020 holiday season’s unprecedented ecommerce surge helped total US retail spending remain positive, setting the tone for healthy outlook for 2021 holiday season growth.

Frictionless commerce, a trend permeating many facets of the customer journey today, leverages technology to improve the retail experience by saving people time and hassle. And arguably the most competitive battleground in frictionless commerce is in fast and free ecommerce delivery.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is creating a major drag on the global economy, it’s helping to accelerate the development and commercialization of several emerging technologies that have, until now, received lukewarm public and/or government support.

The 2019 holiday season posted modest retail sales growth amid a strong consumer economy but challenging calendar. With more economic risks ahead, the 2020 season may be even more challenged for growth.

UPS is anticipating a surge of returns this holiday season, leading into the new year. According to the company, 1.6 million packages are expected to be returned daily the week of December 16 leading into Christmas. And a record-breaking 1.9 million returns are expected to take place on this year’s peak returns day—January 2—up 26% over last year.

If Amazon is poised to gain share in the first half of the final week before Christmas, click-and-collect orders will tip the scales in the direction of big-box merchants during the second half of that week.

The push for more effective ad targeting remains one of marketers’ chief occupations. More than half of client-side marketers surveyed by Econsultancy and Adobe said leveraging data for more effective segmentation and targeting is among their top three organizational priorities this year.

With more logistic facilities opening up throughout the US—and retailers doing a better job of communicating with customers about delivery options—most deliveries managed to meet holiday deadlines and satisfy consumer expectations.

A positive US macroeconomic backdrop points to strong growth across every retail channel, but retailers should pay attention to seven key trends that will determine their ultimate success for the 2018 holiday season.

Global online marketplaces like Amazon and Alibaba have risen to prominence and are becoming a competitive threat to retailers and brands around the world. According to a 2018 Salesforce survey, merchants have reason to be concerned. Online buyers are starting their hunt for products on marketplaces with increased frequency.