The Next Phase of the Retail Apocalypse: Stores Reborn as E-Commerce Warehouses

Re:The Next Phase of the Retail Apocalypse: Stores Reborn as... by Closi on Monday July 20, 2020 @02:11AM (#23895106)

When the physical stores are open to the public too, the incremental cost can be zero.

This is why grocery E-commerce distribution is usually done from a store estate (with the exception of occado, which has a higher cost to serve but also gives a better resulting service).

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Re:The Next Phase of the Retail Apocalypse: Stores Reborn as... by rjkennedy98 on Monday July 20, 2020 @08:17AM (#23897003)

> When the physical stores are open to the public too, the incremental cost can be zero.

Wow this is so far off (as someone who works at an e-commerce company). Optimizing a warehouse is incredibly difficult and time consuming and often involves expensive and specialized equipment like sorters. Wayfair for instance STILL has only had like 2 profitable quarters and they specialize in e-commerce and fulfillment. Having your employees go pick things off of shelves and pack them and figure out which truck to go on is not a simple problem.

You simply aren't going to make any money if your business model is having employees physically go manually pick stuff off shelves and package them in boxes and ship them at $10 an hour.

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