The retail technology week in numbers

2,000…Walmart’s technology arm, Walmart Labs, is planning to hire more than 2,000 employees by the end of the year, as the retailer ramps up its e-commerce strategy.

€13 million…Italian startup, Supermercato24, has raised €13 million in a Series B funding round led by FII Tech Growth, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst and current investors 360 Capital Partners and Innogest.

87 billion…Adoption of mPOS devices, such as those from iZettle and Square, will drive annual mPOS transactions to over 87 billion by 2023, according to Juniper Research.

59% of Brits want retailers to offer faster fulfilment, yet 32% of UK omnichannel retailers still lack next day delivery capabilities to meet these demands, even though Amazon has been offering to fulfil orders in 24 hours for the last 10 years.

50%...Only 50% of retailers believe they offer the same level of customer experience online as they do in-store, according to iAdvize research.

60% of consumers around the world want an Amazon Go-style experience from their retailers, according to MuleSoft research involving 8,019 people. And among 18-34-year-olds, this rises to 77%.

$24.7 billion…JD.com reports that transaction volume reached a record high of $24.7 billion during its 18-day June anniversary sales event (aka 6.18).

19.4%...May was a scorcher of a month for UK online retailers, with sales up 19.4% year-on-year, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.

$10 million…Independent retail platform Trouva has expanded to its first international city, connecting the UK with Berlin. This follows the startup’s $10 million Series A round last November.

£15 billion…Westfield London has welcomed half a billion shoppers across its London centres over the past 10 years, generating £15 billion-plus in sales.

$550 million…Google is to invest $550 million in Chinese e-commerce giant, JD.com, as part of a strategic partnership geared towards creating “helpful, personalised and frictionless shopping experiences”.

2,000…Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F) is joining True’s Leading Industry Partner Programme.

True works with over 2,000 young businesses in the retail and consumer sector each year and will partner with A&F, which consists of Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister Co., and abercrombie kids,to apply its knowledge and resources to the efforts already underway at the company, as it focuses on transforming its operating model to evolve with the changing retail landscape.

13.2 billion…Debit cards have for the first time overtaken cash as the most frequently used payment method in the UK, according to UK Finance. New technology, payment innovation and changing consumer habits contributed to 13.2 billion card payments at the end of 2017 vs cash payments (13.1 billion).