Gap Exiting Malls, to Shutter 350 Stores by 2024 (mytotalretail.com)

The United States Postal Service reported new preliminary delivery performance metrics for the fiscal third quarter ending June 30 showing continued service improvements across First-Class Mail, Marketing Mail and Periodicals. For the third quarter, the average time for the Postal Service to deliver a mailpiece or package across the nation was just 2.5 days. FY2022 third quarter service performance scores covering April 1 through June 30 included: *First-Class Mail: 93.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 5.6 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.7 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter. *Periodicals: 86.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 4.8 percentage points from the fiscal second quarter.

Kohl’s announced the opening of its sixth e-commerce fulfillment center in Etna, Ohio (10201 Schuster Way) to support the company’s continued online demand and digital sales acceleration. The 1.2 million square-foot facility is Kohl’s largest, most efficient fulfillment center and will be dedicated to processing, filling and shipping Kohls.com orders. The next-generation facility leverages automation and technology to make processing and delivering Kohls.com orders faster and more efficient. Construction of the facility began in 2019, was temporarily paused in 2020 due to the pandemic, and resumed in 2021. “Over the past five years, Kohl’s digital sales have grown more than 100 percent. Our investment in a highly efficient sixth e-commerce fulfillment center will meaningfully grow our peak fulfillment capacity,” said Paul Gaffney, Kohl’s senior executive vice president, chief technology officer and head of supply chain. “The new facility makes Kohl's more efficient at fulfilling orders via automation and modern technology, puts Kohl’s products geographically closer to our customers, and ultimately gets our great products to our customers faster.”

In an attempt to reduce costs, many banks, utilities, insurers and other service providers are switching consumers from paper to electronic bills and statements, often without their consent, and some are now charging fees to receive paper statements. Others are urging their customers to switch from paper to digital communication because it’s “green” or “better for the environment.” But a recent survey commissioned by Two Sides North America and conducted by international research firm Toluna found that consumers want the freedom to choose how they receive important communications from the companies they do business with. The Two Sides survey showed that 81% of U.S. consumers believe they should have the right to choose how they receive important communications from their service providers, on paper or electronically, and 73% believe they should not be charged more for choosing a paper bill or statement. These percentages increased from 2021 by 78% and 67%, respectively. While using the internet can be a quick and convenient way to transact business, companies that default customers to electronic communication put at risk many Americans who do not have broadband access, cannot afford it or have difficulty using the internet.