Sent Items #208: Sunday, October 26, 2025

Inflation is real folks! I just came across $75 pumpkins at our local patch here in Nashville. Inflation or are these heavily-tariffed pumpkins from Canada?

Today is also the beginning of UPS peak season surcharges 😏 [fyi, DCL has one of my favorite shipping carrier peak season and surcharge resources]

Before we get into a few headlines, a couple quick PSAs:

Applications for our Spring 2026 Logistics and Leadership retreat are due November 1. We have a terrific second cohort coming together and have space for only a couple more brands. Apply ASAP to be considered (remember, it’s a free trip for brands, including a 2-night stay at the Soho House, valued at $4,950).

This has been a huge week at Third Person. We had our biggest product release since launching the business in early 2024.

In just 18 months, we've helped over 1,000 brands connect with 3PLs and generated over $25 million in new business for our partners. But one thing 3PL partners have told us is that finding deals is only half the battle. So we launched three new subscription tiers that give 3PLs market intelligence, competitive insights, and strategic positioning – not just leads.

Third Person is becoming the marketing infrastructure 3PLs need to stay ahead in the market. Watch my message here:

Finally, my latest (and tastiest?) unboxing from Harry & David’s:

Now onto some news…

Amazon unveiled a trio of new technologies that it is testing or preparing to deploy in its warehouses and delivery vans (WSJ). These include a robot arm called Blue Jay to sort packages; an AI agent called Eluna to help managers deploy workers and avoid bottlenecks; and augmented-reality glasses to be worn by delivery drivers.

The announcements are the latest in a yearslong effort by Amazon to automate more warehouse tasks. Around 75% of Amazon’s deliveries are in some way assisted by robots, the company has said. The average number of workers in Amazon facilities fell to around 670 in 2024, the lowest in 16 years, according to a WSJ analysis.

Analysts expect Amazon to see billions of dollars in cost savings every year as it automates more of the logistics process, both through increased efficiency and reduced need for humans. The company is projected to have nearly 40 delivery fulfillment centers equipped with robots by the end of next year, which would result in up to $4 billion in cost savings.

Amazon’s latest AI bet is about helping people ‘decide’ what to buy (Retail Brew). Amazon’s “Help Me Decide” uses AI to analyze shopper browsing history and pick an item for them. Amazon introduced a new AI-powered “Help Me Decide” button that recommends products based on shopper browsing history and preferences. Amazon said the idea is to offer a clear product recommendation with explanations.

Amazon’s Help Me Decide lives inside the Amazon Shopping app to recommend one product once consumers have viewed a few similar items. The button appears on the product page and the recommendation includes an explanation of why it’s the pick for the Amazon customer. Users can also see an “upgrade” or “budget” alternative before checking out.

Amazon links up with USPS for doorstep returns (SupplyChainDive). Amazon recently began offering doorstep pickup from the U.S. Postal Service for select customer returns. The capability, which launched in the summer, is currently available to some customers for eligible items.

While Amazon didn’t specify the extent of the service’s coverage, Third Person CEO and founder Matthew Hertz said in a LinkedIn post (who, me?!) USPS returns pickup was available for his Amazon order in Nashville, Tennessee. The free pickup required a box and a label.

For Amazon, the additional returns option comes as it gears up for the peak shipping season and the expected post-holiday wave of returns. Retailers forecast 17% of 2025 holiday sales will be returned, a notch above the projected 15.8% in overall annual sales to be returned this year, per a report from the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns.

Macy’s opened its largest and most-automated warehouse yet as it looks to reset its supply chain to speed up fulfillment and grow sales. (WSJ)

The new $640 million, 2.5 million-square-foot building in North Carolina employs robots to pick clothes, shoes, cosmetics and home goods for online orders and to restock stores.

The company has been working to turn around a yearslong sales slump, in part by overhauling stores, closing unproductive locations and streamlining its supply chain. Macy’s has closed one distribution center and two third-party logistics facilities over the past two years, and added automation to other warehouses as it seeks to fulfill online orders faster and ensure the products customers want are in stock at stores.

Macy’s says its new building will deliver online orders to customers faster and in fewer shipments, leaning on technology from Norwegian warehouse-automation provider AutoStore and Austrian logistics-automation company Knapp. When customer orders come in, robots pick merchandise out of a grid system where goods are stowed, and bring the items to workers. Employees then scan the items into a pocket-sortation system that carries the items to a packing station, where workers prepare orders for delivery.

The facility for now is handling Macy’s online orders and store replenishment with plans to extend service to the Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury brands over the next two years.

Experts predict cautious consumers will slow their roll in 2025 (Retail Brew). Retail Brew’s roundup of forecasts shows a rough consensus that retail sales growth will slow this year, even as consumers show resilience.

Looking exclusively at online sales, Adobe Analytics predicts a 5.3% increase this year. That’s down from an 8.6% gain in 2024. Adobe found evidence that consumers are hungrier for deals than ever, with the five-day period including Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday comprising 17.2% of sales, up from 6.3% last year. It expects retailers to hold steady on their discount rates, and for more shoppers to use buy now, pay later apps for their holiday shopping.

Have a great week!

- Matt

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