NewStore - Bringing the Joy Back to Retail

Fact Sheet

• Customer Since: 2021
• Website: www.newstore.com/
• Carriers Used: FedEx, USPS, UPS, Canada Post
• EasyPost APIs Used: Shipping API, Rating API, Tracking API

The background

In 2020, the retailer's demand to ship-from-store blossomed, making up 16.5% of all orders shipped. However, ship-from-store itself is not new. While nearly all businesses were struggling through supply chain challenges and trying to meet the growing volume of ecommerce orders over the past year, NewStoreopens in new tabopen_in_new's customers already had access to an easy and efficient ship-from-store solution.

Six years ago, NewStore, a turnkey omnichannel store solution for global DTC brands, began looking for a partner to help its customers capitalize on their brick-and-mortar stores' inventory. A first-of-its-kind cloud platform featuring point-of-sale, order management, inventory, and native clienteling in one application, NewStore wanted to make the retail shipping experienceopens in new tabopen_in_new easier. By connecting each of its customers' store locations and empowering its customers' employees to do more, NewStore has helped the likes of Burton Snowboards, Decathlon, GANNI, Goorin Bros, Marine Layer, and UNTUCKit to increase sales and improve efficiencies.

Selecting a partner

To enable the "ship" in ship-from-store, NewStore knew it needed an expert shipping partner to help. So, NewStore turned to EasyPost.

NewStore found EasyPost's ease-of-use both for itself, but more importantly, for its customers crucial. With clear and easy-to-understand documentation, EasyPost allowed NewStore's customers to be up-and-running in hours compared to days, or even weeks, as is the case with some other vendors.

By partnering with EasyPost, NewStore customers can ship items directly from the store in addition to the warehouse. EasyPost's highly reliable and flexible shipping API is a single integration to the NewStore platform that allows customers to ship with over 100 global carriers and thousands of services, making EasyPost an obvious choice when it comes to shipping. The wide variety of carrier options makes ship-from-store easy to implement and a value-add to NewStore customers.

During the setup process, the NewStore customer is also able to choose their preferred carrier and shipping options (down to the location if needed). If the customer is an enterprise with multiple locations, they only have to set up one account with EasyPost. The customer can then manage unlimited carrier accounts and tie those to separate cost centers if needed. This bespoke approach allows NewStore customers to manage a growing network of stores and carriers through a single EasyPost integration.

One of the benefits of shopping in-store versus shopping online is that the customer can have their item that day. When having an item shipped, customers typically need to wait at least a day to get their item. EasyPost has integrations with same-day shipping carriers, allowing NewStore customers to ship items out and have them delivered on the same day, making for a truly convenient experience for shoppers

Returns are guaranteed to happen now and then, and processing them can be a hassle. With this partnership, EasyPost makes this process easier for both the NewStore customer and the buyer. EasyPost's API allows NewStore customers to print return labels with all of their in-store shipments. This seamless integration allows NewStore customers to take returns in their stores instead of their warehouse, enabling faster refunds and getting stock back on shelves to be sold.

With EasyPost, NewStore customers can:

• Ship from their stores for both online orders and endless aisle orders using an extensive list of carriers supported by EasyPost out of the box. This allows retailers to expose store inventory to all ordering channels (omnichannel!), resulting in higher profits via better sell-through. This also enables retailers to provide faster shipping speeds by shipping from nearby stores.
• Ship internationally from their stores, including using a paperless online filing of customs paperwork, which means no extra steps for the store associate and easier processing through customs.
• Print return shipping labels in all shipping containers shipped from their stores, making it easy for customers to return their products.
• Ship transfer orders from their stores to move products from one store to another store or the warehouse.
• Use same-day shipping carriers when shipping from their stores for impressive customer delivery speeds.
• Have real-time shipment tracking information for all their shipments to provide the best visibility and customer service.

NewStore + EasyPost in action

Marine Layer is an American-made brand built around "absurdly soft" clothes. On the path to becoming a Certified B Corporation, the San Francisco-based company is sustainable, eco-friendly, and committed to making meaningful contributions to its community. These are all major drivers of the brand's rapid growth since its founding more than a decade ago.

While the in-person shopping experience for Marine Layer was an essential part of their business for its first years, the growing interest in ecommerce meant it needed to shift. Marine Layer began looking for the ideal retail technology partner to help its omnichannel customers experience its clothes both in-store and online and ultimately partnered with NewStore and EasyPost.

Marine Layer chose to completely re-platform its direct-to-consumer business and go all-in on omnichannel, unifying its physical and digital spaces. However, in order to connect consumers to the Marine Layer experience in an omnichannel world, the company needed precise inventory. Using the NewStore Omnichannel Platform, which natively combines store inventory management with POS and OMS, Marine Layer has been able to achieve inventory flexibility. As the brand's master for all store inventory functions, from cycle counting to receiving to transfers, NewStore makes ATP stock available to sell across the entire enterprise. As a result, Marine Layer is able to lean into omnichannel fulfillment as an essential means to its growth.

The company also wanted to invest in a system that would maximize the value of every customer touchpoint, significantly modernizing its direct-to-consumer store network. The partnership between NewStore and EasyPost helped Marine Layer do just that.

Today, 15% of all Marine Layer ecommerce orders are shipped from one of its 47 stores nationwide (versus a warehouse), using NewStore's ship-from-store solution, powered by EasyPost. This significantly reduces friction in the buying process as it gets orders to customers faster.

It also allows Marine Layer to add a local touch back into its shipping, an important characteristic for this neighborhood brand. Even more, 5% of the brand’s weekly store sales are now from endless aisle orders. Store associates never have to call another store or say no to a customer with real-time inventory data at their fingertips.

Conclusion

With EasyPost powering the back end of the shipping process, NewStore can continue focusing on making the customer and associate-facing experience as straightforward as possible and genuinely bring joy back to retail.

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