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Online shopping

COVID-19

A holiday glut of packages prompts a shipping crisis for small businesses

by Justin Ho
Dec 24, 2020
Retailers are increasing shipping fees while fielding more calls from customers, asking, "Where's my package?"
Mail carriers load up their trucks at a USPS distribution center in El Paso, Texas, earlier this year.
Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images
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Shipping delays cause problems for small retailers

by Marielle Segarra
Dec 22, 2020
We’re expecting record online sales this holiday season, and shippers are having a hard time keeping up.
Postal workers sort, load and deliver mail outside a USPS location in Los Angeles, California, in August.
Kyle Grillot/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

A freight time to be in shipping

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Dec 21, 2020
In recent months, freight rates have been skyrocketing.
A truck carrying a cargo shipping container drives across a bridge in the Port of Long Beach on Dec. 14, 2020.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

How we shop for the holidays is different this year

by Marielle Segarra
Dec 16, 2020
People are shopping online more, buying gifts for fewer people — and in some cases, changing up what they usually give.
Laurie Dieffembacq/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Retailers have to figure out how to handle all our online returns

by Andy Uhler
Dec 14, 2020
One challenge for those managing "reverse logistics"? Not enough room to store everything we want to send back, one study says.
Packages are processed at a U.S. Postal Service distribution center in Oakland, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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As more and more people download video games, what's the future for retailers?

by Andy Uhler
Dec 8, 2020
Video game retailer GameStop reports third quarter earnings, but its business model may be getting old.
An 11-year-old boy plays Fortnite, on April 23, 2020, in South Pasadena, California.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
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COVID-19

Holiday surge in e-commerce could cause delivery crunch

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Nov 27, 2020
It won't be as bad as early in the pandemic, but shoppers should plan ahead.
A postal worker loads packages into a mail truck outside a USPS center in Los Angeles, California, in August.
Kyle Grillot/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Online shopping uptick expected to continue for holidays

by Samantha Fields
Nov 26, 2020
But the uncertainty of this holiday season could give small, local businesses an edge if they offer last-minute shopping options.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Housing Works
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Cardboard boxes in high demand this holiday season

by Marielle Segarra
Nov 16, 2020
Online sales are expected to surge this year because of the pandemic. And that means retailers need a lot more boxes.
A postal worker monitors packages at a processing and distribution center in April in Oakland, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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U.S. was top seller to China during Singles Day

by Jennifer Pak
Nov 12, 2020
But overall retail sales in China for the year are still down significantly due to the pandemic.
Workers sort packages for delivery at a warehouse of China Post Group in Hengyang, in central China's Hunan province on Nov. 12, 2020, a day after the end of the Singles Day shopping festival.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
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