RTIH presents the retail technology week in numbers

Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Featuring Ocado, Farfetch, Checkout.com, Jokr, Rappi and Choco.

17,000 local high street stores could open in the next 12 months as British shoppers adapt to a post-lockdown world by looking local, according to research from Barclays Corporate Banking.

125,000…Online grocery venture, British Corner Shop, has opened a new warehouse in the Netherlands after Brexit caused a surge in demand across Europe.

The 125,000 sq ft unit is the company’s first European warehouse and is set to serve as a distribution centre for customers across Europe and beyond. 

$50 million and $80 million…Yoobic has closed a $50 million Series C funding round led by Highland Europe.

The company provides an app for frontline and service workers to manage tasks, communicate with eachother and management, and also go through training, development and and other e-learning tasks.

It has raised $80 million in total since inception and works with more than 300 brands across 80 countries, including Boots, Carrefour, Lancôme, Lacoste, and Puma.

2…Autonomous shopping venture AiFi has ramped up its partnership with US retailer Loop Neighborhood to introduce its computer vision, camera only platform into stores in California, starting with two Bay Area locations.

This follows a tie up to design an autonomous gas station store, using AiFi’s NanoStore model in Campbell, California in 2019.

$100 million and $850 million…E-commerce startup Fabric has landed a $100 million investment.

This comes just five months after it raised a $43 million Series A round. The four-year-old company says revenue has grown more than 800% year-over-year, with the coronavirus pandemic accelerating e-commerce adoption.

The Series B round values it at $850 million.

$170 million…Rapid grocery delivery startup Jokr has closed a $170 million Series A funding round, three months after the company started operations in the US, Latin America and Europe.

$100 million…Berlin-based startup, Choco, which has built ordering software for restaurants and their suppliers, has raised $100 million in Series B funding.

$138 billion…The value of the embedded finance market will exceed $138 billion in 2026, up from $43 billion in 2021, according to Juniper Research.

1 trillion…There was a major jump in the number of mobile payment users in 2020, powered by the coronavirus outbreak.

According to eMarketer research, last year, for the first time, total mobile payment users worldwide (those who had made a purchase at least once in the prior six months) surpassed one trillion.

$10 billion…The UK ranks third in the world, behind the US and China, for its number of tech businesses valued above $10 billion, according to research from Tech Nation.

The former has doubled its number of companies (aka decacorns) at this stage in six months alone, with seven companies reaching $10 billion valuations in 2021: Revolut, Wise, Arrival, eToro, Checkout.com, Farfetch, and Ocado.

New @Kantar_UKI data is out! @Ocado Retail gains share as it continues to be the fastest growing grocer in the UK against a backdrop of YOY decline in the grocery market.
⬆️ 🛒 #GroceryMarketShare pic.twitter.com/W9W8gDF67o
— Luke Jensen (@LukeJensenOcado) July 21, 2021

$5.25 billion…Colombian on-demand delivery startup, Rappi, has bagged approximately $500 million at a $5.25 billion valuation in a Series G round led by T. Rowe Price.

79% of high street retailers are planning to implement more technology solutions this year as bosses rely more than ever on insights from their data, according to research from Fourth.

62% and 49%…The closure of pubs and other hospitality venues during lockdown has directly impacted the UK’s wellbeing with younger adults the worst affected, according to research from the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD).

2,055 people were surveyed for this. 62% believe the social and mental wellbeing of the population has declined due to the closure of hospitality venues.

49% said the experience of lockdown has helped them appreciate the contribution that pubs, bars, restaurants, and cafes make to their social and mental health.

Six UK grocery retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, have written to Brexit minister, Lord Frost, and Vice President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations, Maroš Šefčovič, calling for urgent action to address the future of GB-NI trade following the end of the Northern Ireland grace period in October.