The five biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, the week is nearly done, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Nuro, Currys, Amazon and Instacart.
1. Nuro closes mega Series D funding round
Autonomous vehicle company Nuro has announced a $600 million round of funding led by Tiger Global Management.
This has pushed its valuation to around $8.6 billion, according to media reports.
There was also participation from Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Gaorong Capital, Google, Kroger, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Woven Capital, and other existing investors as part of the venture’s Series D funding round.
The cash will support the development and deployment of Nuro’s autonomous delivery service across the US.
2. Instacart launches Publix Quick Picks online convenience store
Instacart has announced Publix’s virtual convenience offering, Publix Quick Picks.
Available across the latter’s entire seven US state footprint, this allows customers to shop from Publix’s assortment of fresh groceries, pantry and household essentials, meals, snacks and more, for delivery in as fast as 30 minutes with Instacart Priority Delivery.
3. Majid Al Futtaim inks Carrefour UAE online delivery deal with Yandex
Majid Al Futtaim, which specialises in shopping mall, communities, retail, and leisure across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, is teaming with Russian tech giant Yandex to explore autonomous technology solutions that enhance Carrefour UAE’s last mile delivery capabilities.
This makes Carrefour the first omnichannel retailer to use self-driving robots for online order delivery in the region.
A pilot, involving customers in select neighbourhoods across the UAE, is set to launch in early 2022.
4. Seventh Amazon Fresh store set to open in Holborn London
Amazon is gearing up to open an Amazon Fresh location in Holborn, London.
No news on the exact launch date. But we can reveal that this will be the e-commerce giant’s seventh such UK convenience store to feature Just Walk Out Shopping tech, which was pioneered at the Amazon Go offering in the States.
The other six are in Camden, Ealing, Wembley Park, White City, Canary Wharf and Dalston.
5. Currys announces London rapid delivery trial powered by Uber
Currys has partnered with Uber on a London-based delivery trial that gets small tech products from stores to shoppers in as little as 30 minutes.
Launching the week of 15th November, this is Uber’s biggest UK retailer partnership to date and builds on Currys’ online and delivery proposition, which includes the ShopLive 24/7 video shopping service and its one-hour Order & Collect offering.
During the pilot, which will run for three months, shoppers using Currys’ website can choose from a range of 1,800 tech items, including headphones, printer cartridges, laptops and phone chargers, with the delivery powered by Uber’s technology and network of couriers who use the app.
The pilot phase will be rolled out across 15 London stores, including Croydon, West Drayton, Colliers Wood, Enfield, Hayes Staples Corner, Old Kent Road, Kensington, Brixton, Wembley Stadium and Oxford Street.
