The retail technology space during the coronavirus pandemic
Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key Covid-19 developments from last week.
53% of Americans use their smartphone to shop while in bed, according to research by Contentsquare released to coincide with World Sleep Day.
Variety discounters – Home Bargains, B&M, Poundland, Wilko and smaller players – will be worth £12.6 billion by 2022, up from £11.1 billion in 2020, according to IGD.
InPost has partnered with Transport for London (TfL) to roll-out more than 60 new parcel lockers across the TfL network over the next three months.
UK consumers are planning to spend big post-Covid-19 and they have three basic needs – a holiday, haircut and a day out, according to research by EY.
It surveyed over 1,000 people and found that anxiety remains around health and returning to non-essential retailers on 12th April, suggesting that the real spending boost will come later in the summer when larger numbers of consumers have been vaccinated.
3DLOOK has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding, led by Almaz Capital with participation from TMT Investments and Zubr Capital.
Garments and footwear with integrated sensors that transmit biometric information and other datasets will reach new heights of popularity by 2030, with the space set to be worth over $4 billion, according to GlobalData.
Stor.ai, which has developed a digital commerce solution for grocers, has raised $21 million in an extended Series A round led by Meitav Dash and Mizrahi Tefahot.
SumUp has raised a €750 million facility from Goldman Sachs, Temasek, Bain Capital Credit, Crestline, and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
Flying Tiger Copenhagen has launched MishiPay’s mobile self-checkout solution.
Using the technology, customers at 30 stores in Denmark, Norway and Sweden can now scan and pay using their smartphones, leaving them free to exit without having to wait in line at a conventional checkout.
Live video shopping platform Bambuser has launched In-store Solutions, a new business unit dedicated to building interactive experiences connecting physical and digital spaces.
This is pitched at the likes of bricks and mortar retailers, property owners, shopping centres and department stores.
Starbucks has begun offering in all US stores a free service called Aira.
This connects blind and low vision people to trained visual interpreters who provide access to information through a third-party smartphone app.
Clothing retailer, Seasalt Cornwall, has chosen digital marketing agency, Wolfenden, to manage its SEO and affiliates accounts.
This follows a a significant increase in online traffic and revenue since coronavirus lockdowns hit last year and its stores were forced to close.
Mobile payment tokenisation revenue will exceed $53 billion globally by 2025, with OEM Pays and wallets driving adoption, according to Juniper Research.
