38. FedEx, UPS Facing Amazon Challenges

Retailers have felt the strain from Amazon for years, but that competition is finally stretching into the shipping industry. The retail giant is continuing to build out its own delivery service as the demand for faster shipping grows. FedEx and UPS are both making strategy changes in the face of growing competition from Amazon.

First, here are some retail headlines.

Mobile Shopping App Mavely Launches

After operating in beta since April, mobile shopping app, Mavely, officially launched last week. The app aims to reward users for purchasing and recommending products from more than 100 brands. CEO Evan Wray said the company is already seeing a buy conversion rate of up to 12 percent on products and anticipates having 30,000 users by the end of the year. According to Wray, Mavely is becoming a competitive alternative to costly social advertising and provides marketers with an efficient way of acquiring customers at half the cost of Facebook ads.

M.M. LaFleur Opening Concept Store

Apparel company M.M. LaFleur is opening its first concept store, M.M. To Go in Manhattan’s Financial District. Unlike the retailer’s showroom spaces where shoppers booked styling appointments and waited for items to be shipped, the new concept will have no appointments and let customers take purchases out of the store. The new concept features 10 core apparel pieces ranging from sizes zero to twenty-two.

Stitch Fix Acquires Tech from Finery

Popular online personal styling service, Stitch Fix, has acquired the tech of digital wardrobe startup, Finery. The startup’s technology scans user’s e-receipts for purchases, then auto-populates to digitize a virtual wardrobe that can be accessed by users to help them keep track of what they already own and assemble outfit options. With Stitch Fix facing competition from other retailers like Amazon, Express, and American Eagle who have launched their own monthly services, the new tech acquisition will provide the company a way to better serve their clients and learn more about their style needs.

Walmart Piloting Healtcare Store Concept

Starting next month, Walmart will pilot a new healthcare store concept in one of its Georgia locations. Walmart already runs clinics in several of its stores, but the new Georgia location will add services like dental, mental health counseling, X-rays, and audiology. The retail giant appears to be positioning itself against CVS Health, which recently announced plans to expand its Health Hub pilot to 1,500 locations by the end of 2021.

With Americans facing increasing difficulties with insurance and care options, Walmart seems to be taking advantage by offering more integrated healthcare. The retail giant has reportedly been considering some sort of expansion for a while. Last year, the company was said to be considering major acquisitions in the health space. Though the acquisitions never happened, this new announcement confirms that Walmart is continuing to focus on growing in a space that’s poised for disruption.

Coming up...

Amazon poses as a threat to more than just retailers. FedEx and UPS are making strategy shifts as the retail giant builds its own delivery service. More after this.

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Fedex, UPS Facing Amazon Challenges

While retailers have been battling Amazon for years, the war has finally spilled into the shipping industry. FedEx and UPS have both recently made changes in answer to Amazon’s growing competition. As Amazon continues to build out its own delivery services, the shipping companies have had to make strategy changes. FedEx has recently announced they would not be renewing two contracts with the retail giant, one of those being their Ground delivery contract. They’ve also expanded their delivery service to seven days a week. UPS has been experimenting with drone delivery and self-driving trucks as they work to modernize their services. The moves come as Amazon has invested in resources for their own delivery service. The company has been building their air fleet and offering $10,000 to employees who want to start their own local delivery business.