Less Storefront, More Storage As E-Commerce Keeps Growing

The e-commerce juggernaut shows no signs of slowing, as Target demonstrated when it threw down the free-shipping gauntlet to Walmart and Amazon. Many retailers are finding that their online sales outpace their in-store sales to such an extent that they are reducing their expensive retail space and increasing their storage space – a smart move that saves money as well as accommodating shifting consumer habits. This report in the Toronto Globe and Mail discusses the new paradigm: .

The move from malls to mail order raises other questions for retailers, however: Where will their e-commerce products be stored – Overhead lifts? Multi-level industrial shelving? And how will inventory tracking systems function for online-order fulfillment – can an existing RFID tagging system be adapted for fulfillment? If you’re a retail operation making the storefront-to-storage shift, how are you handling the transition? We’d like to hear your story.

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