The retail technology week in numbers

5…John Lewis Partners have accused the retailer of spying on them during a pilot project that involved fitting mystery shoppers with hidden body cameras. This has been tested out at five John Lewis and four Waitrose stores.

3,750…The Co-op says that it has increased in-store task completion by more than a third just five months after launching MyWork, a mobile task management system, across its 3,750 stores and 70, 000+ store colleagues.

800…Coop Sweden has selected category management technology from JDA Software as it looks to reduce waste and improve product availability in its 800+ grocery stores.

4…Asos has recruited four new non-executive directors, including Luke Jensen, CEO at Ocado Solutions.

2…The under pressure John Lewis Partnership is integrating the teams behind its two brands, John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners, and narrowing its senior management team.

€100 million…US behaviour analytics venture, Mixpanel, has announced a €100 million European expansion plan.

130…Net-a-Porter has opened a flagship store on Alibaba Group’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion channel.

This will initially offer more than 130 luxury and designer brands, including Balmain, Jimmy Choo, Tom Ford, Brunello Cucinelli, Isabel Marant, The Row, Chloé, Cartier, Piaget, Montblanc and Van Cleef & Arpels. More will be added over the coming months.

37% of Brits have been forced to deliver a neighbour’s unclaimed parcel to their door in the last three months, despite the recipient receiving a ‘sorry we missed you’ card with collection details, according to iParcelBox research involving 2,000 people.

£127.4 million…Beaverbrooks has released its annual financial results as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.

For the full year to 2nd March 2019, turnover increased 2.9% to £127.4 million with operating profit before discretionary payments at £12.4 million. Gross profit margins reduced to 16.4% (2018: 17.3%) as a result of subsidiary results, investment in staff salaries, training and new stock lines in preparation for the 100-year birthday celebrations.