The retail technology week in numbers
30…Even in the face of continued economic uncertainty and concerns over Brexit, Central London remains a prime destination for international brands and interest is still growing, according to Colliers International research. This shows that over 50% of stores on core shopping streets are international brands and 30 new retailers have arrived in the last year alone.
2,000…More than 2,000 UK charities are now live on AmazonSmile. Customers who shop at smile.amazon.co.uk can choose a charity who will receive donations (0.5% of the net purchase price of eligible products) from the e-commerce giant at no additional cost to the customer or charity.
50…Poq, Nuggets, MishiPay and Exaactly have made it onto the European RetailTech Top 50 List, which was announced this week at the Millennial 20/20 FUTR Summit in London.
75,000…Supermarkets ruled the 2018 Mother’s Day roost when it came to social media marketing, according to research by SocialBakers. Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda took the top spots for the posts with the most social media interactions, racking up 75,000 between them.
Euro 360 million…ING has splashed out Euro 360 million for a 75% stake in omnichannel payments service provider, Payvision.
$82 million…Actis has headed up an $82 million investment in Indian digital retail payments platform, Pine Labs.
15%...Apple Pay has pulled ahead of Google Pay when it comes to usage and interest among US Millennials and Generation Z, according to research by Dealspotr.
The company surveyed 1,000 people in February: 500 Millennials and 500 Generation Z. “Overall, we found a higher adoption of Apple Pay among young adults than we expected,” Dealspotr says. “Most of what we've been reading indicates lacklustre adoption in general, but our research indicates that this trend may be changing, especially among users between 18 to 35. 15% across both demographics have used Apple Pay to pay for items online. Given that most websites don't support Apple Pay yet, this seemed high. We believe that the majority of these cases involve paying for items through iOS mobile apps that connect to Apple Pay, indicating strong use of the offering within native iOS applications.”
70 million…With rumours circulating that Amazon is set to take the plunge into banking, the e-commerce giant’s financial services division could grow to more than 70 million US consumer relationships over the next five years or so, the same as Wells Fargo, the third largest bank Stateside. That’s according to Bain & Company.
$800 million…Rent the Runway, an online service that provides designer dress and accessory rentals, has secured investment from Blue Pool Capital. The company, which principally invests on behalf of Alibaba founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, has put $20 million into the business, valuing it at around $800 million.
£893 million…Brits are set to spend £893 million on chocolate, gifts, Easter eggs etc, according to research conducted by price comparison site, finder.com.
Its study, which analysed 240 of the UK’s leading retailers, revealed that while 98% of brands have a website, there is a shortfall in the number supporting this with other sales channels. Four in five shoppers are using retailers’ mobile app, but only 51% of brands have invested in this technology, despite the fact that app conversion rates are around three to four times higher than mobile sites alone.
