THELASTMILE Logistics Outside the Box
TARIFF MITIGATION
MOBILE ECOMMERCE
EXTENDED DELIVERY WINDOWS
REVERSE LOGISTICS
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
HOLIDAY SEASON : SEALING THE DEAL Don’t discount these tactics and tools that accelerate sales and streamline ecommerce fulfillment during retail’s busiest time of the year.
MOBILE ECOMMERCE. Spruce up your mobile storefront to convert sales, as mobile revenue share will climb to a record 56.1% this holiday season, Adobe forecasts. The company expects 7 in 10 retail site visits will happen on mobile devices. USING AI TO BOOST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. Traf c from AI sources (large language models such as ChatGPT and Gemini) to retail sites will rise a whopping 515–520% from the 2024 holidays, according to Adobe. This signi es AI plays a key role in engaging, converting, and serving customers as retailers turn to AI to forecast
policies or offering credit as a main refund option. The latter allows them to keep the sales revenue while encouraging exchanges or new purchases. EXTENDING DELIVERY WINDOWS. Retailers are expanding holiday delivery timelines by offering deals earlier and highlighting cutoff dates on their sites. This allows them to manage customer expectations and potential disruptions.
were able to mitigate tariff pressures in 2025. “Because of this planning and front-loading, much of this year’s holiday merchandise actually arrived earlier than usual,” notes Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. REDUCING REVERSE LOGISTICS FRICTION. Retailers are making returns less costly and cumbersome by including a small returns fee in their
RETAIL STICKING POINTS • Cost-conscious consumers • Supply chain impatience (high expectations for delivery and returns) • Tight margins • Shrinking conversion windows (more browsing, delayed buying)
demand and personalize service. TARIFF PREPAREDNESS.
Retailers that got shipments in early and pulled product forward
Sources: Adobe for Business, National Retail Federation, Vogue
40 Inbound Logistics • December 2025
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