The retail technology week in numbers
10…RTIH recently brought you 10 cool retail tech startups to watch in 2018. The listicle was a huge hit (it currently stands as one of our most popular articles of 2018), so here comes the inevitable sequel. Keep your eyes peeled for these 10 disruptive ventures…
6…Alibaba Group’s cross-border e-commerce channel, Tmall Global, is set to open six new procurement centres to “help overseas vendors capture Chinese consumers’ booming appetite for newer and better imported goods”, Tmall President Jet Jing has announced.
4,000…UK startup HubBox says that it is on track to become the UK’s largest Click & Collect point network by the end of the year.
In an interview with RTIH, Sam Jarvis, Co-founder and CEO, notes that the venture currently boasts over 4,000 Collect Points. By peak 2018, there will be one within 1km of 92% of the UK’s urban population.
50%...Target is testing out a new loyalty programme, Target Red, that includes such benefits as cash back on later purchases. Users can also save 50% off a first-year membership on same-day delivery with Shipt, and receive free next-day delivery with Restock.
98%...New Look’s Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) proposal has been approved by the company’s creditors and landlords, with 98% of votes in favour of the proposal.
47%...UK retailers are losing online customers, and sales, due to poor product information, according to a survey of 2,000 consumers by Pimberly.
47% said that this was the issue most likely to prevent them from buying. Pimberly claims that some online retailers have been papering over the cracks by deploying solutions, such as chatbots, instead of tackling the real challenge, which is how to provide up-to-date and comprehensive product information on their website.
Martin Balaam, CEO at Pimberly, comments: “I think British e-commerce needs to go back to basics this year. We knew asking this question would highlight the requirement for retailers to address their current product information systems, but we were not expecting the results to be this stark. It seems retailers may have been burying their heads in the sand here.”
Behind product information, unclear pricing (18%) poor delivery information (13%) and no customer reviews (11%) were also factors found to irritate shoppers. “In 2018, when we’re constantly hearing about AI, chatbots and virtual reality or exciting in-store experiences, it’s crazy that a simple lack of product information is what annoys consumers most,” Balaam adds. “Why spend all that money driving consumers to your website, to then not give them the vital information they need in order to happily convert?”
$2 billion…Alibaba Group is to put a further $2 billion into Southeast Asian online shopping venture Lazada.
6…Arsenal FC has wrapped up its Innovation Lab, which launched in September with L Marks and aimed to identify new fan experiences. This received over 250 applications, with six startups selected to work with the club to develop their proposals, including artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
500…FedEx is to open 500 FedEx Office locations in Walmart stores across the US over the next two years.
8…Instagram has expanded its shoppable posts feature, created in partnership with Shopify, to eight countries: Canada, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Australia.
42%...Debit and credit cards with a pin number are the preferred method of payment for 42% of Brits, according to Equifax research involving 1,005 people. Contactless methods followed at 34%, with 31% preferring a card to using their phone or wearable technology (3%).
164 British brands in fashion, beauty, homeware and general consumer merchandise will benefit from this initiative, including Victoria Beckham, Vivienne Westwood, Waitrose and Wool and the Gang. The week-long campaign will be timed to coincide with the upcoming GREAT Festival of Innovation in Hong Kong (21st-24th March), which will showcase the best of Britain to Asia.
180…By the 2018 holiday season, Target will offer same day delivery via Shipt in around 180 markets, reaching almost 65% of US households. So said CEO Brian Cornell at Shoptalk, which is taking place this week in Las Vegas.
50…The modern day department store is a place to shop, do and learn under one roof. That’s according to Paula Nickolds, Managing Director at John Lewis, promoting the retailer’s 50th shop, which opened this week at White City, Westfield London.
£40 million…Made.com has pulled in £40 million of equity funding as it looks to expand into new European markets and boost its online presence.
$1 million…Japanese retailer, Aeon, is set to work with Chinese startup, DeepBlue Technology, which counts Alibaba Group as an investor.
The venture has developed a smart store system called Take and Go, tapping the likes of fusion sensors, machine learning algorithms and biometric security technology. Aeon will invest $1 million, taking a 65% stake. It is planning to use DeepBlue's tech to develop its own unstaffed small-format stores as well as smart shopping malls.
It looked at the websites of 46 popular retailers and supermarkets, with 45 not offering information that was completely accurate and clear. As a result of its investigation, 10 retailers have since updated their information to clarify the unwanted and faulty goods returns information highlighted to them. These include Aldi, AO.com, Apple, Ebuyer, Iceland, Lakeland, M&S, Ocado, Tesco Direct and Wiggle.
800…Gap is to transition from a cash-based system to digital payments for its tier 1 suppliers by 2020, in a move that will involve approximately 800 factories in 30 countries.
