The retail technology week in numbers

34.6%...With Singles’ Day, the world’s biggest online shopping event, currently underway across Asia and coming to a climax this weekend, the region’s largest online grocery retailers are set to grow on average 34.6% a year between now and 2022, according to IGD.

£4.5 billion…Brits are set to spend a record £4.5 billion during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this year, according to research by price comparison site, finder.com.

10…Amazon Prime, which provides members with the likes of unlimited one-day delivery and streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes and over two million songs, turns 10 today.

7.4 million…BNP Paribas has agreed a deal to introduce Chinese mobile payment service, WeChat Pay, across Europe. The roll-out will kick off in Paris and eventually expand to other countries, targeting the approximately 7.4 million Chinese visitors to Europe. 

3…Online fashion platform, Zalando, has announced the opening of its third technology hub outside of Germany, in Lisbon. Lining up alongside facilities in Dublin and Helsinki, this will open at the beginning of 2018 with plans to create 50 jobs in the first year of operation. 

60,000…Amazon has opened a new Development Centre site in Cambridge. The 60,000 sq. ft. facility will when at full capacity be home to over 400 employees including machine learning scientists, knowledge engineers, data scientists, mathematical modellers, speech scientists and software engineers.

8,000…Amazon Cash is now available at nearly 8,000 7-Eleven stores in the US. It’s a big step forward for the service, pitched at online shoppers who don't have a credit card, or prefer not to use one for purchases. It was previously available at the likes of CVS, Speedway and GameStop, along with a few supermarket chains and convenience stores.

89% of Londoners are influenced by how their shopping is delivered to them, according to research by Brisqq involving 1,000 people.

5.3%...Marks & Spencer is to accelerate its store closure plan as it moves to become a ‘digital first’ retailer. It made the announcement on the back of a 5.3% fall in half-year profits. M&S posted underlying pre-tax profits of £219.1 million for the six months to 30th September, down from £231.3 million a year earlier.

1,500…Amazon is to open its fourth Maryland fulfilment facility in Baltimore’s Sparrows Point, which will create more than 1,500 full-time positions.