Print Unit Sales Continue to Roll in Mid-September (publishersweekly.com)

At Walmart Distribution Center 6020 in Brooksville, Florida, we’re used to pioneering new technology. In fact, 6020 was Walmart’s first high-tech DC. Once again, innovation is afoot in our facility, where associates have been working alongside a new autonomous forklift system that’s bolstering their skills and bettering their jobs while building our business. After a 16-month proof of concept, I’m proud to announce Walmart is taking another step into the future, rolling 19 autonomous forklifts across four high-tech DCs, with the potential for more as we evaluate the benefits to our associates and operations. I believe these benefits will be wide ranging. And I should know – I’ve seen them firsthand.

The U.S. Postal Service will deliver more than 15 billion pieces of mail this holiday season. In the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the Postal Service also expects to deliver 850 million packages, which is more than a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year. “The Postal Service is well prepared to meet our customers’ needs during the holiday season, especially as demand for package deliveries continues to grow,” said Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General and CEO. The Postal Service will be expanding its Sunday delivery operations to locations with high package volumes beginning Nov. 26. The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities, and anticipates delivering more than 6 million packages on Sundays this December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages on Christmas Day in select locations. Click Read More below for additional information.

In the first full fiscal year after the Jet.com acquisition, Walmart posted a 44% increase in e-commerce sales to $11.5 billion across all its U.S. sites. However, web sales grew only 23% in the fourth quarter as problems managing inventory resulted in some items being unavailable to online shoppers. Walmart, No. 3 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500, also announced a 47% year-over-year rise in gross merchandise value—the value of all goods sold on its e-commerce sites, a figure that includes merchandise sold by other merchants on Walmart.com and Jet.com. Overall, the company’s revenues were up 3.0% year over year, a $14.5 billion rise to $500.3 billion. The company’s 23% online growth in the fourth quarter was down from last quarter, which saw a 50% increase, and Q4 last year, during which online sales grew 29%. Click Read More below for additional information.