The retail technology week in numbers
$225 million…Walmart has announced the acquisition of Cornershop, a marketplace for on-demand delivery from supermarkets, pharmacies and specialty food retailers in Mexico and Chile. It is splashing out $225 million and says that the deal is an “important step forward in accelerating the company’s omnichannel capabilities and growth in Latin America”.
€55 million…The GMB union has slammed Amazon following the announcement that, in 2017, the online giant paid €55 million in European tax, just 0.02% of its €25 billion revenue.
67% of UK consumers have abandoned an online retail transaction due to frustrations over the payment process, according to research by PPRO Group involving 1,000 people.
10%...Patrick Byrne, the CEO of US online retailer Overstock, has sold 10% of his shares.
28%...The majority of people using voice assistants have trust issues with their devices, according to a new study from Accenture. 28% of the 1,000 people surveyed said they shy away from using their device to make payments, others worry about transferring money (27%) and using it to pay bills (28%).
25%...Asia-Pacific (APAC) is leading the race in encouraging its population to become a completely cashless society, with consumers in the Philippines and China in particular using e-payments in their everyday purchases, says GlobalData.
According to the company’s 2018 Q3 global consumer survey, 25% of consumers in China find stores that support advanced payment methods, such as Apple Pay, to be one of the most convenient when deciding where to do their grocery shopping.
80% of UK shoppers want retailers to offer live visibility of their order, yet 20% of retailers still don’t offer real-time order tracking, according to research by Sorted.
42%...UK retailers are looking to transform e-commerce and in-store business and IT strategies to remain competitive. But they are being held back from delivering on their plans by barriers including budget constraints (42%), a lack of IT/technical skills (27%), the availability of partners to support (20%), and legal and regulatory compliance (19%).
That’s a key takeaway from new research by Rackspace, involving 250 UK IT decision makers.
52%...B2B e-commerce customers favour high-quality customer service over delivery speed and competitive pricing, according to new research by PushON.
The survey of 1,000 UK consumers found that 52% of business customers would buy from a smaller retailer if they offer a good level of service. Similarly, 40% would do so if they felt the retailer was an expert in its field and could provide specialist advice and support.
$36.6 billion…Alibaba Group’s Co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma has announced plans to hand the reins of his e-commerce empire to CEO Daniel Zhang.
The former English teacher, 54, is looking to focus on philanthropy in education. Ma, who founded Alibaba in 1999 and stepped down as Chief Executive in 2013, is China's third richest person with a net worth of $36.6 billion according to Forbes magazine.
20,000…Argos has launched a voice shopping service, enabling customers to reserve 20,000 products at 850 stores using a Google Home smart speaker.
