The retail technology week in numbers
1 million…Iceland says that it has recycled more than a million plastic bottles since launching a trial of reverse vending machines in May 2018.
5.7%…After a decent June, UK online sales growth clocked in at just +4.4% year-on-year in July and fell by 5.7% month-on-month (MoM), according to the latest IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index which tracks over 200 retailers.
78%…Reviews and social proof could play a key role in tackling the issue of fashion returns, according to research by Yotpo. The company surveyed over 2,000 UK shoppers and found that 78% had returned up to £500 worth of items in the last year alone, rising to 81% among 14 – 21 year olds
4,000…Walmart and BuzzFeed’s Tasty app have announced a shoppable recipes tie up, powered by the Northfork platform.
Customers can now add ingredients from 4,000 Tasty videos to their Walmart online grocery carts. From there, they can place their order for pickup from more than 2,500 US stores or have items delivered to their homes from more than 1,100 stores across the country.
3…It isn’t all doom and gloom on the UK High Street. The top three healthiest brands in the UK are all bricks and mortar retailers, John Lewis, Ikea and Marks and Spencer, according to research by YouGov.
10…PayExpo has announced that nominations are now open for its Payments Power 10.
$40 million…Autonomous robot delivery company Starship Technologies has secured $40 million in Series A funding.
33%…Shoe retailer, Moda in Pelle, reports a 33% increase in transactions through a social media marketing campaign in support of the Pink Ribbon Foundation.
72% of UK retailers see Click & Collect services as a solution to drive High Street footfall. At the same time, however, UK shoppers leave £228 million worth of items uncollected each year, according to Barclaycard research.
71…Lars Larsen, the founder of Scandinavian furniture retailer Jysk, has died. He was 71.
283…Stein Mart has equipped store associates with iPads to provide mobile checkout and endless aisle shopping features. The discount retailer is utilising Mad Mobile’s Conceirge solution for the initiative across all 283 of its stores.
$250 million…London-based FinTech, Curve, is launching a seven-figure crowdfunding campaign this September.
With a valuation of $250 million, the venture, whose platform consolidates several cards and accounts into one smart card and app, has raised over $70 million to date.
£15 million…Delivery tech firm Sorted has raised £15 million in a Series B funding round led by Merian Chrysalis, alongside Praetura Ventures and NVM Private Equity.
$9.3 million…Nudge Rewards has closed a $9.3 million investment round led by Jump Capital, with support from existing investors.