The retail technology week in numbers
32% of respondents reported that sales volumes were up on a year ago in February, while 24% said they were down, giving a balance of +8%. Retailers expect things to pick up again next month (+21%), with 34% expecting them to rise and 13% to fall. Meanwhile, there was year-on-year growth in online sales volumes (+45%), although this did ease slightly from January (+55%).
26%...of British shoppers expect to start using contactless payments with a smartwatch, bracelet, keyring etc, according to new Mastercard research which included a study involving 50,747 people in the UK, France, Russia, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.
86%...of IT decision makers in the retail sector fear their firm’s revenues will take a hit in the next year if they fail to complete their digital transformation initiatives. That’s according to research carried out by Vanson Bourne on behalf of MuleSoft and involving 104 IT decision makers.
54%...Dedicated shopping apps are driving widespread mobile success for European retailers, according to Criteo’s Q4 Global Commerce Report. The study, which analysed individual browsing and purchasing data from over 5,000 retailers, in more than 80 countries during Q4 2017, reveals that retailers with a shopping app see half of online transactions taking place on mobile devices with 54% of these via their app, opposed to on mobile web.
£300,000…PayTech venture, Thyngs, has raised over £300,000 in a crowdfunding round launched in early January.
2,000…Although the UK won’t be moving to an exclusively online retail world anytime soon, there is a clear demand for increased integration across online and in-store – both in terms of the shopping experience and the customer data collected (or not) at each point. That’s according to research by InternetRetailing EXPO, involving 2,000 Brits.
54…Colombian swimwear, activewear and beach lifestyle brand, Maaji, has selected Tryzens as its e-commerce delivery partner. Tryzens will work with the company on a project to bring its first online trading website to a global consumer base.
Maaji has a presence in more than 54 countries through partnerships with department stores and online retailers such as Amazon, Asos and Nordstrom. It has 12 bricks and mortar stores across the Americas and a significant Millennial following across shoppable social media.
€208,000…A German man has been fined €208,000 for putting veal liver (costing €47) through a self-service checkout as fruit. Munich's district court convicted the 58-year-old businessman, who has not been named, of theft and based the penalty on his monthly income of €24,000.
He previously tried to cheat self-service systems on three occasions and also has convictions for tax evasion. The man has been released from jail, where he had been held since the latest incident in December.
35%...of UK SME owners expect cryptocurrency payments to become a reality on the High Street within two years, according to research from Paymentsense. 21%, meanwhile, predict that cryptocurrency will start appearing within one year.
20%...Walmart is looking to buy a 20% stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart.
1,150…Ant Financial’s Alipay e-wallet service is now available at over 1,150 Starbucks branches across South Korea, making it the first third party mobile-based payment method enabled nationwide at the coffee chain.
900…With supply chain problems meaning some KFC outlets will remain closed for the rest of the week, the company has set up a web page where "fans" can find their nearest restaurant that is still open.
Last week, the chain switched its chicken delivery contract to DHL. “We’ve brought a new delivery partner onboard, but they’ve had a couple of teething problems – getting fresh chicken out to 900 restaurants across the country is pretty complex!” a note on the page says. “We won’t compromise on quality, so no deliveries has meant some of our restaurants are closed, and others are operating a limited menu, or shortened hours.”
It adds: “We know that this might have inconvenienced some of you over the last few days, and disappointed you when you wanted your fried chicken fix - we’re really sorry about that. Shout out to our restaurant teams who are working flat out to get us back up and running again. Hope to see you in our restaurants soon.”