The retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail technology? Then this is the article for you.
34…At one of its Supercenters in Fayetteville, Ark., Walmart is experimenting with a new checkout setup, which it says could cut wait time for customers and reduce training for associates.
The retailer has eliminated all checkout lanes, instead placing 34 registers along the edges of an open area. Each one is equipped with a green light alerting associates and customers to available checkout bays. Further details here.
160…Walmart is also converting 160 of its US store parking lots into drive-in cinemas.
7 million…M&S has written to its seven million Sparks members to let them know the loyalty scheme will now be ‘digital first’.
16%…Just 16% of UK consumers intend to return to their old shopping habits post-coronavirus lockdown, according to research from Wunderman Thompson Commerce.
20 retailers, including Amazon, Boots UK, Ikea, Next, M&S and Ocado, have signed a declaration to tackle the causes of climate change.
$15 million…Chinese startup Pudu Robotics has announced a $15 million Series B round, with Beijing food services group, Meituan as the sole investor.
8.5%…Sainsbury’s has paid tribute to the strength and flexibility of its digital and technology platforms during the coronavirus outbreak.
The grocery giant said that total first quarter sales increased by 8.5% as it beat expectations despite the pandemic. Although it was forecasting a £500 million profit hit due to crisis-related costs, stronger grocery sales and business rates relief would offset the shortfall, it added.
244…John Lewis Partnership is shaking up its technology operations via a new partnership with Wipro.
This will see the latter take over IT infrastructure services for the retailer, with 244 non-customer facing John Lewis employees being transferred to Wipro later this year under TUPE regulations, a measure that acts to preserve staff members’ terms and conditions during a switch of employer.
€1.5 million…Irish e-commerce venture Scurri has announced a €1.5 million investment round. This involved existing investors and associates including Act Venture Capital, Episode 1 and Pa Nolan and brings the company’s total funding to €8.5 million.
£35…Lost Stock, a fashion initiative set up in the wake of Covid-19 to save lives in Bangladesh, has launched kidswear boxes.
For £35, customers receive a personalised selection of childrenswear stock (cancelled by high street retailers) direct from manufacturers. Each purchase supports a family in Bangladesh for one week.
3…Waitrose has announced a third London-based online centre as it looks to boost shopping slots in and around the capital.
The centre, in Greenford, West London, will be opened and operated with logistics company Wincanton and potentially could be up and running by December of this year.
53% of Brits feel that retailers are doing enough to protect the public from coronavirus, with only 9% disagreeing, according to research from the BRC and Opinium.
7…Boux Avenue, the lingerie retailer owned by Theo Paphitis, has begun a phased return to shopping centres and the high street.
It is opening an initial seven stores: Cabot Circus, Bristol; West Quay, Southampton; Bullring, Birmingham; SouthGate, Bath; Manchester Arndale; The Friary, Guildford; Bentall Centre, Kingston. Plans are afoot to bring back further locations in the coming weeks.
