Dive Brief:
- J. Jill will launch ship-from-store capabilities in the latter half of fiscal year 2025, executives for the apparel retailer said on an earnings call last week.
- The new omnichannel capability will be the first the company rolls out once its new order management system goes live, Chief Financial and Operating Officer Mark Webb said. J. Jill expects the OMS to be fully up and running in the next few months, according to President and CEO Claire Spofford. The company has been working to upgrade the system since 2023.
- "We believe the added benefits of capabilities like ship from store that we will begin to introduce in the latter half of the year will not only create a more robust customer experience, but will potentially deliver added margin benefits as well as additional sales opportunities longer term," Spofford said.
Dive Insight:
The ship-from-store capability could help J. Jill boost sales, as it allows the company to fulfill online orders that may not have been able to previously, Webb said. It could also drive stronger profit margins for clothes that otherwise may have been destined for more aggressive markdown prices, he added.
With ship-from-store capabilities, J. Jill will join other retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Ulta that have leveraged their store footprints for faster and more cost-effective deliveries. J. Jill acknowledged the importance of faster and lower-cost shipping options to remain competitive in its 2023 annual financial report last year.
The company’s outbound shipping costs to customers totaled $20.2 million in fiscal year 2023, down slightly from $20.4 million in 2022, per the report. Outbound expenses for fiscal year 2024 were not available as of Monday.
J. Jill has increased its flat-rate shipping fee "due to significant cost increases from our shipping partners," the company said on its website, although it didn’t specify when the increase occurred. Its current standard delivery fee for such orders is $9.95.
The retailer’s standard delivery service uses UPS Mail Innovations, per its website, a U.S. Postal Service-reliant offering that rolled out a sharp rate hike in 2025 amid changes in how the USPS works with shipping partners.
