The retail technology week in numbers

Do you like numbers? Do you like retail technology? Then this is the article for you.

$200 million…Swedish buy now, pay later firm Klarna has officially launched down under. It has also bagged a further $200 million investment from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).

£25…Aldi has come under fire for paying an influencer to participate in a challenge in which she fed her family of four for a week on a £25 shop.

10,000…UPS has made a minority investment in electric vehicles startup Arrival.

It has also announced a commitment to purchase 10,000 EVs from the company, with priority access to buy additional ones. These will be deployed in Europe and North America.

300…UK parcel delivery company DPD is set to take delivery of 300 new electric Nissan e-NV200 vans by May.

$15 million…E-commerce delivery startup Bond has closed a $15 million funding round involving Lightspeed Venture Partners, MizMaa Ventures and TLV Partners.

2…McDonald’s has announced Just Eat as its second delivery partner in the UK and Ireland.

£1 billion…Sainsbury's will spend £1 billion to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero over the next 20 years.

$1,000 and $1,500…New York City Council has voted to ban cashless retail and food stores.

It is passing a bill requiring bricks and mortar outlets in the city to accept US bills and coins or face fines of up to $1,000 and $1,500 for further violations.

£3.2 million…Amazon is set to receive a £3.2 million tax rebate after emerging victorious from a legal row over the size of its warehouse in Gazeley Park in Rugeley, near Staffordshire.

80%…Blockchain technology was heavily tipped to transform supply chains, but 80% of initiatives in this space will remain at a proof of concept (POC) or pilot stage through to 2022, according to Gartner.

28.2%…E-commerce represented 28.2% of all 2019 UK holiday retail sales, surpassing the 25% mark for the first time, according to eMarketer.

72% of UK shoppers say lack of knowledgeable staff is their biggest in-store irritation, according to RetailEXPO research.