Tag: USA

Direct Mail boosts online commerce

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

Online retailers and marketers gearing up now for the holiday season need to consider two pieces of research from comScore that show important consumer shopping and shipping habits.

According to the “2007 Multi-Channel Direct Mail Study,” direct-mail recipients were nearly twice as likely to purchase from a retail website as those who received only an Internet communication. And when the mail piece was a catalog, the results were even better — influencing more than two-thirds of shoppers to visit the site. That traffic created a 163 percent increase in sales over those who did not receive a catalog.

Catalog recipients typically buy more items (4.1 compared to 3.2) and spend more money (USD 88 compared to USD 69), the study showed.

That same research showed that catalogs jumpstart holiday shopping. In November, catalog recipients were significantly more likely than non-catalog recipients to have shopped online for holiday gifts.

Consumers were equally clear in wanting a choice on how to receive their online orders. “Package Delivery Research” found that 63 percent of online shoppers want an option to select the delivery company for their packages. A retailer’s favorability improves with the option to choose. Six out of 10 shoppers said they have a better opinion of companies if they could always select their preferred delivery company.

About 28 percent of business owners and 12 percent of consumers who shop online do not buy from companies that don’t offer a choice. Almost half of consumers who selected a delivery company chose the U.S. Postal Service (46 percent), according to the research.

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Self-Service economy arrives gradually

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

At airports, supermarkets and big-box retailers, “customer service” in recent years has meant self-serve _ aided by touch-screen kiosks.

As digital kiosks become more user-friendly and capable of handling more complicated tasks, health care providers, fast-food chains and other businesses say trading face-to-face encounters for face-to-monitor transactions improves service and saves money.
Yet the complexity of human decision-making and service expectations in different industries means any possible self-serve revolution is more likely to be a gradual transition.

“Every time you see a door, there’s an opportunity for a kiosk to be deployed,” Juhi Jotwani, director of marketing and strategy for retail stores at Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM, likes to tell her staff. Opportunity is knocking: IBM’s kiosk orders have quadrupled in the past four years.

Numerous airlines use IBM’s customer kiosks. Caribou Coffee and Cheesecake Factory employees use them to manage recipes and to enhance order speed and accuracy. The Virgin Megastore in Times Square has 150 kiosks that process 450,000 music previews per month.

Still, “none of the players in this market have even scratched the surface” of the multibillion-dollar potential, Jotwani said, even though consumers hooked on text-messaging and interactive Internet gaming now expect greater control over their purchasing experiences.

An April report by consulting firm Summit Research Associates Inc., estimated 800,000 customer kiosks, not including ATMs, will be installed in North America by the end of 2007 and hit 1.2 million by 2009.

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ASTAR Air Cargo Acquires Aircraft

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

ASTAR Air Cargo today announced it has finalized terms to purchase two DC-8-73 aircraft with long-range capabilities and a spare engine currently leased from Bank of America’s leasing division. Acquisition financing to ASTAR has been arranged and is being provided by HSH Nordbank AG, New York Branch. The aircraft are part of ASTAR’s current dedicated fleet assigned to DHL Express under a long-term ACMI agreement expiring in 2019.

“ASTAR made the strategic decision to purchase these airplanes to enhance our position as a provider of airlift services for our primary customer, DHL Express,” said Steven A. Rossum, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ASTAR. “Less than a year ago, HSH arranged and provided the financing to enable ASTAR to complete the acquisition of 20 Boeing 727-200A Freighters. This newest acquisition of aircraft is consistent with our business growth strategy to lower our costs and enhance our competitiveness”.

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New U.S. Postal Service rules now in effect for packages and envelopes

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

A new U.S. Postal Service policy has gone into effect as of Monday for packages and envelopes that weigh more than 13 ounces if they’re being mailed with only stamps as postage at a location other than a post office retail service counter.

Customers can use of one several online postage applications, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or an Automated Postal Center if they wish to mail items that weigh more than 13 ounces in postal service collection boxes or pot office lobby mail slots; or if they wish to leave the items for pickup by their letter carriers. Online postage applications include the postal service’s Click-N-Ship service on usps.com and PC Postage from and authorized USPS vendor.

If a customer is unable to use one of the above methods to prepare and affix postage, items weighing more than 13 ounces must be presented for mailing at a post office retail service counter. Business customers who use postage meters may continue to use meter postage for packages of any weight and mailing method.

Customers will notice new decals on USPS collection boxes and post office lobby and Automated Postal Center mail drop slots. The new red, white and blue decals inform customers that deposit of stamped mail over 13 ounces in prohibited and any such mail will be returned.

Previously, the prohibition applied to mail more than 16 ounces. The change is part of ongoing security measures established by the postal service, in cooperation with other government agencies to keep the public, customers, employees and the U.S. Mail safe.

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New Postal Strikes – Small Businesses Paying the Price

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

Small and medium sized businesses spend millions of pounds on their post every day, and are the ones paying the price as the postal strikes continue.

Each day on average, over GBP 2 million of post is sent by small and medium sized businesses; and the strikes could cause cash flow problems, customer relationship problems, or even the failure of a business if payments or invoices are delayed by even just a few days.

Natalie Evans, Head of Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Most smaller sized businesses have no option but to use Royal Mail and collectively spend millions of pounds each day on their post. This series of strikes is doing nothing but cause delay and frustration for those who rely on the postal service and the sooner it is resolved the better.”

With strikes continuing until at least the 8th August (with different sites at different times), the problem is not likely to get better anytime soon. You should make sure that customers and suppliers are aware of potential delays, and try to plan ways around the problems (E.g.: Paying directly into a bank account instead of sending a cheque) to ensure your cashflow is affected as little as possible.

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