The retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail technology? Then this is the article for you.
1...Primark has launched its first ever mobile game, Primark Legends.
And Amazon has opened its first ever Amazon Fresh grocery store, in Woodland Hills, California, including the Amazon Dash Cart, which enables customers to skip the checkout line, and new Alexa features to help people manage their shopping lists and better navigate the aisles.
56%...Younger Brits have been driving a convenience store revival during the coronavirus outbreak, according to research from PayPoint.
The company surveyed 2,000 people and found that 56% visited their local convenience store for the first time after lockdown started on 23rd March, which rose to 68% among 18-24-year olds and 59% among 25-34-year-olds.
12...FinTech startup Phos has extended its partnership with Mastercard and will now step up the roll-out of its mobile payment solution.
12,000 small businesses across 12 European countries will be able to accept contactless payments using their Android devices, with this number set to increase over the coming months.
36%...UK consumers have grown more comfortable with returning to the shops as the coronavirus outbreak progresses, according to EY research.
1,007 Brits were surveyed for this. Those comfortable going to a shopping mall has risen from 15% in May to 36% in July, and those OK with trying on clothes has increased from 8% to 19%. Similarly, in May, 25% of UK consumers said they felt comfortable shopping in a grocery store, and in July that figure rose to 56%.
6...Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has put on hold plans to invest in Indian startups, Reuters reports.
Citing two sources, the article states that Alibaba, which has put more than $2 billion in to Indian startups since 2015, plans to freeze new investments for at least six months, although it does not intend to reduce its stakes in existing portfolio firms.
£4.5 billion...The co-founder of online retailer and technology venture The Hut Group is in line for a £700 million share windfall.
According to a report by Sky News, Matthew Moulding could land one of the biggest payouts in British corporate history from an incentive scheme to be disclosed this week alongside plans for a £4.5 billion London Stock Exchange flotation.
173...Cimcorp has landed a deal to automate the distribution of fresh produce for Spanish grocery retailer, Alimerka.
Robotic systems at the company's Lugo de Llanera distribution centre, just north of Oviedo, will serve all 173 of Alimerka’s stores across Northwest Spain, as well as another dozen or so customers of its fresh produce distribution subsidiary, Codefrut.
22 million people, representing 40.6% of UK consumers, have used or plan to use the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, according to research by GlobalData.
16,000...Tesco is to create 16,000 new permanent roles to support growth in its online business.
These will include 10,000 pickers to assemble customer orders and 3,000 drivers to deliver them, plus various other roles in stores and distribution centres.
2...M&S is tapping Doddle technology for two new Click and Collect trials: in-store contactless collection (at its Hempstead Valley, Camberley & Longbridge stores) and drive-up collection (at Camberley).
2...MishiPay has launched its Scan, Pay & Go mobile self-checkout solution in Ireland with BWG Foods.
A pilot scheme will see the tech being tested out at two locations within the retailer’s estate: SPAR Cherrywood in Dublin and Londis Newcastle in Galway.
£323 million...Boosted by the coronavirus lockdown, the UK subscription economy is now worth £323 million, with spending on such services increasing by 39.4% year-on-year in July, according to research from Barclaycard Payments.
650...Online electricals retailer, AO, has announced the creation of 650 new jobs across the UK in its retail, mobile, tech, financial services and logistics divisions.
