The Walmart+ subscription program, introduced by the retailer seven months ago, now boasts more than 60 million customers with its growth driven in large part by Walmart's grocery offerings. Recent figures indicate that 28% of current Walmart+ shoppers subscribed to the service in the past year to take advantage of lower grocery prices along with free delivery and curbside pickup options.

Amazon will now offer garage grocery deliveries in more than 5,000 US cities as an added benefit for Prime members, and the service will include Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market deliveries. The expansion of the retailer's Amazon Key program, which started in Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles in November, requires customers to have the right hardware so drivers are able to access the garage and leave packages inside.

Auction prices for newer-model used sleeper tractors have hit a six-year high, according to J.D. Power Valuation Services, due to shortages of new and used trucks. However, as trucking companies earn more from rising freight rates, they are more comfortable paying more for trucks, according to Steve Tam, vice president of ACT Research.

Distributors thinking of converting outside salespeople to internal roles should instead hire specialists to handle inside sales and provide them with artificial intelligence tools and proper training, writes Benj Cohen. Justin Roff-Marsh of Ballistix also warns against conversions and recommends properly defining salespeople's responsibilities and creating the right environment for them to succeed.

Some 57% of business-to-business marketers find measuring content marketing moderately difficult and say the top three challenges are determining return on investment, limited budgets and inadequate data, according to a study by Ascend2 Research and KoMarketing. B2B marketers say the most important strategic element of content measurement is establishing a reliable process or strategy, and the top metrics used are conversion rates, website traffic and social media engagement.

Sometimes a project or work question needs a quick "yes," but other times, giving people time to think, ask questions and give input will create greater engagement and support, writes Kate Nasser. "When you expect a quick yes from others, you throw away the trust you could otherwise develop while building participation," she writes.

Designed for C-suite executives, these roundtables provide actionable strategies that will increase your company's competitive advantage. Companies belonging to this community are from distribution firms between $100 million and up to $1 billion in annual sales. You'll engage in thought-provoking conversations with your peers and hear from industry experts on topics that will ultimately increase your profits! Register today.

How have distributors been innovating their business during the pandemic? Find that out and much more from 10 distributors who tell their stories and share ideas for both surviving and thriving in a drastically changed business environment. Author Mark Dancer shares up-to-the-minute ideas and insights from distributor leaders based on their experiences and lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic. Order this just-released e-chapter, "Distribution Leans In: Stories of Resiliency and Innovation During the COVID-19 Pandemic."

Fees on wholesale distribution's most common credit card transaction type, card-not-present payments, are often the greatest percentage of firms' overall treasury management costs. Stream the new podcast to hear B2B A/R and Payment experts detail how Surcharge as a Strategy reduces accounts receivable costs, increases margins, and encourages least-cost payment routing.