The retail technology week in numbers
KRW 100 billion…Kurly, the South Korean company behind online grocery delivery platform Market Kurly, has completed a KRW 100 billion ($88 million) Series D funding round.
7%…UK supermalls retail spend will rise 7% out to 2023 as spend is diverted away from “lacklustre and often neglected town centres”, according to GlobalData.
4…Only four of the UK’s 100 largest online retailers provide customers with personalised information about the status of their orders, with 27% not communicating at all during the delivery period, according to a study carried out by parcelLab.
52%…UK shoppers are demanding faster in-store payments that replicate ‘one-click’ transactions online, new research from RetailEXPO reveals.
A survey of 2,000 people showed that self-checkout and scan and go capabilities were the top in-store technologies that would improve customer experience for 52% of Brits. 42% also now want retailers to accept mobile wallet options or digital currencies such as Bitcoin.
$5,000…After being in bear territory there is a growing sense that Bitcoin is back, according to Nigel Green, Founder and Chief Executive of financial advisory organisation deVere Group.
Green was speaking as the cryptocurrency jumped 20% in less than an hour on Tuesday morning, crossing the $5,000 line. “I’m now calling that the market has bottomed and the so-called crypto winter has come to an end,” he said.
“I believe it will now move higher over the next few weeks and months, making steady gains for investors. As the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, this will have a positive impact on prices in the wider crypto sector.”
$1 billion…Online beauty retailer The Hut Group is set to ramp up its tech spending after securing improved banking facilities, in excess of $1 billion.
2,668…London is the top city globally for senior customer experience (CX) job opportunities, research by Feefo has found.
This was conducted by crawling more than 120,000 job listings from ten countries. London, with 2,668 vacancies, has over five times more senior CX job opportunities than the average of 422 for the rest of the world. 33% of the available jobs offer a salary of £50,000 or higher (vs 25% in the US).
£2 million…The Department for Transport has announced a £2 million fund to help companies invest in electric cargo bikes for last mile deliveries.
100 million…By 2020, 100 million consumers will shop in augmented reality online and in-store, according to Gartner.
100…Online retailer AO is cancelling all TV advertising for the year ahead and hiring more than 100 new tech experts.
