Cyber Monday Hits Record Sales, Couriers Offer Online Deliveries Faster

Holiday online sales were underway in strong fashion yesterday. Experts were forecasting online sales to increase on Cyber Monday, but didn't know they would be as impressive as they were, even record-breaking.

MSN reported this Cyber Monday was the biggest in its' history. Sales grew this year over 30% overall, according to the IBM benchmark, which performs the sales tracking. "Cyber Monday was not only the pinnacle of the Thanksgiving shopping weekend but when the cash register closed it officially became the biggest online shopping day ever," said Jay Henderson, strategy director at IBM. Data tracking firm, ComScore, had a different figure of 20% increase from 2011, yet still is an online sales record of $1.5 billion.

Department stores saw the highest online sales growth with 43%. Wal-Mart and BestBuy are a few examples of retailers that viewed it was a must to be involved in Cyber Monday. These were also two retailers among those that users searched for the most online. So far this holiday season, online sales are higher than in-store sales.

Online shopping still only makes up 10% of the total retail sales. However, with the heavy numbers from Cyber Monday, retailers are seeing consumers are becoming more comfortable shopping online. Mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and iPads, are adding a higher level of convenience and shopping ease. Shopping online will continue to grow, as well as the customer demand to receive their products delivered to their front door faster.

Same-day couriers like A-1 Express are able to help e-retailers offer delivery their online products faster. Companies such as eBay, Macy's, Target, and even Wal-Mart, are already testing same-day delivery in several of their markets. A-1 Express is a nationwide courier with the courier expertise to meet any of your online order fulfillment needs, even during the fast-paced holiday season. Whether a small business or large corporation, A-1 Express can provide a fast courier solution to help you take advantage of the online sales growth.

Reference: 11.27.12, Yahoo News/CNNMoney, Blake Ellis, Cyber Monday sales reach new record

Panic At The Pump After Sandy Storm, Couriers Expect To Soon Operate

Amid the Superstorm Sandy aftermath, there are a number of challenges the New York, Connecticut and New Jersey residents are having to face to make ends meet. One of those was gas, but it is not now. However, residents are behaving as if there will be a gas shortage and there is a panic occurring in many hard hit areas.

CNNMoney reports of panic at the pump because people fear there will be a gas shortage headed their way this week. Many people by the droves are at gasonline lines to full up their tanks, not in only in their cars, but also walk-ins. There has been lines formed with cars and a separate lines for walk-ins with gas containers. Some people are even waiting 4 hours to fill up with gas. Police have to keep the peace. It is a response of fear that all the gas will be gone.

There are many reasons this happens. In the report, an oil and gas expert stated usually after large storms this type of behavior occurs is such places like Florida. People anticipate a gas shortage and they rush to the pumps all at one time. A week later after Superstorm Sandy, this is exactly what is happening. Also, social media has in part in sparking panic and fear about gas. Many people hear about gasoline availability and they all rush there at the same time. Everyone needs gas, but this makes it difficult to be spread where everyone can readily obtain it.

Inspite of the panic, there is said to be plenty of gas in NY. The Jersey turnpike and other NY terminals have gas right now. They have bulk storage tanks of 10 million gallons. It is a matter of receiving the electricity required to access the gas. The panic should be subsiding this week and signs of this is already being seen in South New Jersey. Currently, some gas stations are rationing gas using license plates, just to make sure everyone gets there immediate share. This eliminates wait time at the pump, due to the gas station itself having to refuel.

Many people and business in the storm-hit areas are pursuing to get back up and running. Courier services such as A-1 Express are working hard to be right along with them to assist in their delivery needs. In several areas, continual gas supply is what the same-day couriers are facing to start back running, yet should be seeing signs of complete recovery. A-1 Express is helping transport, from other cities, various products into some areas. We are proud to be a leading provider of same-day delivery services nationwide, and we are in full support of storm relief and recovery.

References: 11.4.12, CNN Money, Jennifer Liberto, Behind the gas panic: One expert explains

Storm Isaac Stops Gulf Oil Production, Gas Prices To Go Up 2.4%

Gas prices were already on the incline as we close the summer and many hoped for the spike to stop. As Isaac gets closer to shore on the Gulf Coast, measures have had to be taken by oil refineries in the area, which will cause gas prices to go up--again.

Tropical Storm Isaac is reported by Yahoo News to be touching the Gulf Coast and refineries are stopping oil production to prepare for it. Production plants will be shut off for about 3 days this week. With the possible reduction of gas supply, gas prices went up quickly on Monday over $.07 per gallon. With Isaac looming, prices could reach a US average of $3.80 per gallon as we head into Labor Day. Gas prices are expected to decline after the holiday and Isaac has subsided.

It appears oil refineries have shut down production as a precautionary measure, but we still will feel the burden this week. Isaac is not as strong as expected and will only be a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday. At this level, the production plants will survive the high winds. The key for the refineries is with so much oil being produced, stopping the plant suddenly if needed, the cooked oil in the pipes could cause delays in restarting it. Therefore, it was expedient to shut them down Monday. As of Monday, %80 of the Gulf oil production was suspended.

To keep gas prices down, the government is considering tapping into the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This is our emergency oil reserve, which was also utilized after Hurricane Katrina. Either way, gas prices could continue to go up in the months to come.

With so many businesses and consumers heading into the Labor Day Weekend, transporting goods right now is of great importance. This is especially critical to be able to meet last-minute deliveries and other services with the ripple effect of Isaac nationwide. The weather in various states will even be affected. It would be helpful to turn to a courier for same-day deliveries to handle any normal business adjustments.

Courier services such as A-1 Express can help individuals and companies with same-day deliveries nationwide. With this week's gas prices, your business can turn to A-1 Express to deliver your products, which actually could cost less than if your company performed the deliveries itself. This natiowide courier has the ability to optimize delivery routes and provide multi-stop deliveries that can be cost effective. In this difficult time, A-1 Express can meet your delivery needs and help keep your gas costs down.

Reference: 8.27.12, YahooNews, Jonathan Fahey/Samantha Bomkamp-Gas prices rise as refineries shut for Isaac

Nordstrom's Accelerated Building of Outlet Stores May Help Same-Day Deliveries

So many brick-and-mortar retailers right now are very intent on implementing a strategy to reach their respective online markets. Nordstrom's is just one of those companies currently testing in California area markets with EBay to provide same-day delivery of its' products. Same-day delivery is actually nothing new for Nordstrom's, however, having outlet stores is and the company is moving strategically forward in this direction.

Last week Nordstrom's released news that the company will begin the accelerate its' plans to build Rack outlet stores. Their second quarter net income decreased by 11% during the second quarter due to the postponing of their biggest sales event. Their sales did rise by 7.4%. It appears Nordstrom's is saving the big guns for later this year and could very well have to do with their outlet store building strategy.

Does the outlet store strategy have anything to do with competing with online retail via same-day delivery? Well, the more physical locations Nordstrom's has, the better equipped operationally to handled online order fulfillment. Amazon knows this very well with their initiative to add 8 more warehouses to their list of this year alone to accommodate their massive volume of online orders. The world's largest online retail appears to be very serious about the ability to quickly meet online demand. It would not be surprising this is one reason Nordstrom's has outlet stores in mind.

Nordstrom's is in the online e-commerce race with Macy's, Target and other retailers. The company began same-day delivery last year, showing their online products could be delivered within hours. For just $15, online customers can have their product delivered the same day. Any orders placed after 1pm, however, are delivered the following day.

Whether Nordstrom's outlet store plans have to do with being more logistically efficient for online retail or not, the company certainly knows same-day delivery is highly desired by shoppers today. Courier services like A1Express can assist businesses with delivery of their online products and obtain the competitive advantage they need. Nordstrom's has even utilized the large Atlanta courier to help with various same-day deliveries to meet the needs of their customers. Couriers can easily assist Nordstrom's with deliveries from their future outlet stores to come.

References: Washington Post, Associated Press, 8.9.12-Nordstrom raises full-year profit guidance; boosts expansion pace for Rack chain

EBay Launches Tests Of Same-Day Delivery And Utilizes Couriers

Online retail giant Amazon has been in the news lately regarding its' serious pursuit of offering same-day delivery of its' online products. As it turns out, they are not the only online corporation analyzing same-day delivery and making it a core component of their services. Look out Amazon. Here comes EBay.

EBay, the world's largest retail marketplace, has begun testing an impressive same-day delivery service with large retailers says a report from Reuters. Their delivery service will be offered via their newly released mobile application EBay Now. The application will be the platform that enables customers the option of same-day delivery within an hour! The upcoming eBay Now is being tested in San Francisco. Among EBay's host of test retailers include Toy R Us, Target, Walgreen Co, Macy's, Nordstrom Inc, and Best Buy.

The strategy is being driven by large retailers seeking ways to compete with Amazon. The company is outpacing physical location retailers in sales with lower prices and in addition, is after providing same-day delivery to its online customers as well. Amazon is building strategically centralized warehouses to accomodate their same-day delivery model. EBay's approach, on the contrary, is utilizing brick and mortar retailers to test eBay Now in hopes to offer a better delivery service and overall product.

EBay's second quarter growth of 23% thus far in 2012 has had alot to do with mobile shopping. They are expecting to have $10 billion in volume this year, which is double their results in 2011. Mobile shopping technology has surged this year and appears to be here to stay. It simply makes sense for Ebay to go in this direction.

"EBay is offering $15 off the first order through eBay Now. Delivery is free the first three times. After that, delivery is $5 for the test period, and the minimum order is $25", said ebay spokeswoman Lina Shustarovich. The application can be downloaded by shoppers via devices such as iPad. They then select the "Bring It" option once they find whatever they are shopping for. eBay Now will send the order request to the closest courier to the destination, and the courier will then pick up and deliver the product.

With online sales, especially using mobile devices, is increasing, same-day delivery via courier may become the future of e-commerce deliveries. Companies like EBay and Amazon appear to realize couriers can assist companies with gaining the competitive advantage they need in the online world. Courier services such as A-1 Express have a national footprint to assist any company nationwide for same-day deliveries. EBay and Amazon could utilize A-1 Express, as many corporations begin to see the value of couriers.

References: Reuters, 8.6.12, Alistair Barr, EBay tests same-day delivery with big retailers