The retail technology week in numbers

25%...Mastercard is predicting a significant increase in the use of biometric technology to authenticate who is paying as new EU regulations come into place next September.

Currently just 1-2% per cent of online transactions require cardholder authentication to complete a transaction (mostly likely using a password), but this is set to rise to up to 25% from next autumn.

7.8 million…Over 7.8 million shoppers visited Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City in June, up 6.7% year-on-year.

300,000…Brits want vibrant, diverse High Streets with lower business rates, better parking, more options for independent shops and more specific High Street brands, according to research by conversational commerce platform Maybe*, involving 300,000 members of the public.

45% of shoppers are willing to pay an extra £3-6 for a specific or quicker delivery time, despite 65% having had a bad delivery experience, according to research by HSO involving 100 people. 

100…Starbucks Korea is expanding a cash-free store initiative to 100 locations across the country, including 74 in Seoul and 11 in Gyeonggi Province. 

36…Amazon UK has announced that its Prime Day 2018 event will take place on 16th July. It will kick off at noon and run for 36 hours, six hours longer than last year. 

45…Supporters of the US President have taken to social media to attack Walmart for selling anti-Trump baby clothing online. The clothes feature the slogan ‘Impeach 45’ (in other words, impeach President Trump, the 45th President of the United States).

£1.5 million…Over the past two years, UK retailers have spent almost £1.5 million on failed or cancelled digital transformation projects. And 58% say that this has put them off pursuing such initiatives in the future, according to new research by Fujitsu.

23,000…Around 23,000 of Fortnum & Mason’s customers have had their names, email addresses and home addresses, as well as social media handles, compromised by hackers.

$125 million…Trax, a provider of computer vision and analytics solutions for the retail sector, has completed its largest investment round to date, raising $125 million. This was led by Chinese private equity investment firm, Boyu Capital, which is also an investor in Alibaba.

165…Retail Assist is to provide first-line IT services for 165 Ted Baker stores across the UK and Europe, as a single point of contact seven days a week.

$30 billion…Chinese e-commerce venture, Pinduoduo, aka PDD, is looking to raise at least $1 billion in a US initial public offering, valuing it at $30 billion. 

$25 million…Retail tech startup, Yoobic, has closed a $25 million fundraising round, led by Insight Venture Partners.

14.8%...UK online retail parcel delivery order volumes were up 14.8% year-on-year in May, fuelled by the royal wedding and hot weather, according to the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index. 

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