The retail technology space during the Covid pandemic
Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key retail systems related Covid-19 developments from last week, including Black Friday 2021, Waitrose, Currys, Uber, Buyk, Selazar and Bookshop.org.
Buyk, a startup that promises grocery delivery from dark store to doorstep within 15 minutes, has announced a Stateside expansion into Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, following a launch in Manhattan during September.
Buyk was founded by Slava Bocharov and Rodion Shishkov. The pair also co-founded Samokat, Russia’s largest grocery delivery company, in 2018 before selling their stake to fund Buyk.
Its latest move brings the company’s total number of dark stores to 20.
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.
FinTech venture PayU reports that its Latin America business has seen a 400% increase in payments processing in the last three years.
It says that, with the Covid-19 pandemic influencing consumer shopping habits, the e-commerce space has seen significant and sustained growth across Latin America, positioning the region as one of the most attractive for retailers worldwide.
Waitrose is set to become the first supermarket in the UK to trial a new generation of electric vehicles.
Groceries from its St Katherine’s Dock, London store will be delivered to customers entirely by electric vans equipped with wireless charging technology.
The move is part of an ambition to end the use of fossil fuels across Waitrose’s entire transport fleet by 2030.
By 2030, Waitrose will have electrified all cars, vans and light trucks, and for sectors where that is not currently possible, such as long distance heavy trucks, biomethane will be used.
E-commerce fulfilment startup Selazar has announced a £20 million investment that, it says, will significantly increase its valuation, enhance its UK network and fund expansion into Europe, the US, and Latin America.
Black Friday 2020 was a huge success, thanks in no small part to various coronavirus restrictions, and this year it is set to be even bigger.
According to research from Mention Me, consumers are expected to set a new record, spending 5% more on Black Friday this year compared to last.
Bookshop.org, pitched as the ethical book buying alternative to Amazon, is celebrating the first anniversary since it launched in the UK.
It says that, during this time, customers buying through it have generated over £1.6 million for the 480 independent bookshops on the platform.
Only a third of UK consumers stayed loyal to brands during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research from antuit.ai. The company surveyed over 2,000 Brits for this.
Consumers who switched were more likely to have traded down on grocery retailers during the pandemic than those who traded up from own brand to brands.
US-based startup Fast is launching its one click checkout offering in the UK with Revolution Beauty.
After entering their contact information and payment details as they normally would for their first purchase on a merchant’s site, buyers are automatically signed up and can use the solution at any online store with Fast Checkout.
This year, Black Friday is officially on 26th November (the day following Thanksgiving in the US).
But, since Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the UK, there has always been scope for extending when Black Friday campaigns actually start, and how long they last.
While this has been a trend for a number of years, the Covid pandemic may have accelerated it to an extent that has bought about some changes to the festive trading season, according to IMRG research.
M.Video-Eldorado Group, Russia’s largest consumer electronics retailer, has expanded its capacity for express delivery from stores and increased its courier delivery capacity by 50%.
M.Video and Eldorado stores will continue to operate in line with new region specific Covid restrictions, while focusing on online services.
They offer customers various delivery options ranging from one to two hours.
