18 Apr BRIEF: Sears launches distribution service for small businesses
April 17–It’s the many faces of Sears: retailer, online travel agent, big data analyzer, and now distributor.
The Hoffman Estates-based company, which traces its roots to a mail order catalog, said Wednesday that it has a launched a new service that will allow small businesses a way to manage storage, packing and shipping of their e-commerce orders.
The items can be sold on Sears.com, through the retailer’s third-party selling site, Sears Marketplace or anywhere else they market and sell their products. The sellers will pay a fulfillment fee per item that is stored, picked, packed or shipped and a commission per sale if the item is sold on Sears.com. The retailer has been already testing this service — called “Fulfilled by Sears” — in specific markets for a few months, according to a spokeswoman.
Sears said the introduction of the new service combined with double-digit sales growth in its online business last year show its renewed focus on the rapidly growing space.