The retail technology week in numbers

$2.6 million…Retailers will invest on average $2.6 million to optimise their e-commerce operations in the coming year, according to research by Yottaa.

46%…Online fashion shoppers now spend more on mobile than desktop: 46% v 44% (the remainder is from tablets), according to Nosto research.

£52.8 billion…The demise of Toys R Us and Maplin has driven sales away from retail parks, where non-food sales declined by 1.1% in 2018, the worst performance over the past five years, according to GlobalData. The company’s latest report reveals that despite a challenging 2018, retail parks will experience decent growth over the next five years, with spend rising £4.1 billion to reach £52.8 billion by 2023

AUD$12 million…PayTech venture Splitit has closed its initial public offering (IPO), raising AUD$12 million.

2,000…Brexit uncertainty is the biggest concern for consumers in 2019, with many expecting their personal finances to weaken in the year ahead, according to research conducted by NatWest and Retail Economics and involving 2,000 people.

186…Scotmid Co-operative is deploying aerofoil technology for chilled food cabinets across its 186 convenience stores in Scotland and the North of England.

14%…Despite high levels of support from retailers, only 14% of Americans currently use OEM-Pay (payment services provided by smartphone vendors) for in-store purchases, according to a Juniper Research survey of 1,000 people.

£45 million…London-based UX analytics platform ContentSquare has closed a £45 million Series C funding round led by French private equity firm Eurazeo. This builds on the £47.7 million raised through two prior rounds.

100…SOHO Coffee Co. has partnered with Yoyo on a new payments and loyalty app.

Available to download for iOS and Android users, this will be rolled out to all SOHO Coffee-owned stores in the UK. Customers will instantly earn 100 loyalty points for every £1 they spend via the app. They will then be able to choose from a range of food and drink rewards in exchange for their accumulated loyalty points.

104,000…Walmart is using Spark City, a simulation-style video game, to assist in training its store associates. Developed by staff member Daniel Shepherd and available in the App Store and Google Play, this puts players in charge of a Walmart dry grocery department. It was piloted with Walmart Academies and already has had more than 104,000 downloads.