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. Including Flipdish, Back Market, The Very Group, Sainsbury’s, Asos, Tesco, Ikea and eBay UK.
257…Israel-based computer vision startup Trigo has announced a partnership with Wakefern Food Corp., the largest retailer owned cooperative in the US which owns and operates 257 supermarkets under the ShopRite and PriceRite banner.
$100 million and $1.25 billion…Flipdish has announced a $100 million funding round at a $1.25 billion valuation.
Founded in 2015, the venture itself as an alternative to online fast food delivery services such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats by helping restaurant owners bring their online ordering capability in-house.
$100 million and $1 billion…Location analytics startup Placer.ai has closed a $100 million Series C funding round at a $1 billion valuation.
Noam Ben-Zvi, CEO at Placer.ai, comments: “With this funding, we will accelerate the development of our platform, adding an unprecedented range of new data sets - such as vehicle traffic, planned construction, web traffic, purchase data, and much more - as well as more advanced solutions to empower any professional with a stake in the physical world to make better decisions, faster than ever before.”
2.7%…Ouch! The UK online retail market just experienced its lowest rate of growth in 22 years of tracking by industry association IMRG.
Online revenue in 2021 finished up +2.7% year-on-year against 2020, according to the IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance of over 200 retailers.
This followed huge growth in 2020, when Covid lockdowns pushed online retail revenue up +35%, a seven-fold increase on the rate from 2019. The very high comparison meant most of the growth in 2021 was actually negative.
$1 billion and $40 billion…Payments company Checkout.com has closed a $1 billion Series D funding round, valuing it at $40 billion.
€628 million and €7.4 billion…Bolt, which operates on-demand ride hailing, shared cars and scooters, and restaurant and grocery delivery, has raised €628 million at a valuation of €7.4 billion.
It will use the cash to continue expanding to new geographies and to bring more consumers and partners to its “super app”.
Its 15 minute grocery delivery option, Bolt Market, will be building out dark stores in more cities to expand the service beyond the 10 where it is currently active.
£4.5 million…mmi Analytics, a provider of beauty industry insights, has raised £4.5 million from angel investors.
123%…New UK research from Cardlytics highlights the rise and rise of rapid grocery delivery apps like Zapp, Getir and Weezy in 2021, and the impact this is having on supermarkets and convenience stores.
Cardlytics data, based on the purchasing habits of over 22 million UK bank accounts, shows that spend on these apps grew by 123% in the last five months compared to a 22% decrease for traditional supermarkets.
Convenience stores and corner shops also fell by 22% in the same period.
$510 million…Refurbished electronics marketplace, Back Market, has announced a Series E funding round of $510 million led by new investor Sprints Capital and also involving existing backers.
8.3 million and 80%…The Very Group, which operates online retailer Very.co.uk, reported a successful second peak for Skygate, its fulfilment centre in the East Midlands, UK, which opened the day the first national Covid lockdown began in March 2020.
It says that 8.3 million items were processed in total, all shipped with 80% recycled content in Very dispatch bags.
2…Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has opened two automation powered ochama stores in the Netherlands.
These involve robots preparing parcels, and home delivery service.
The first two ochama pick-up shops are in Leiden and Rotterdam, with two more set to open in Amsterdam (Diemen) and Utrecht.
£852,500…DigiDoe, a London-based startup that offers biometrics-based payments to merchants without the presence of a card or phone, has secured £852,500 from new investors.
20 million…Tesco is offering a new payment method to its 20 million Clubcard members.
They can now apply online following a phased Tesco Clubcard Pay+ launch which began in March 2021 with a limited number of customers and Tesco colleagues.
Shoppers can use a new debit card to pay, save and earn Clubcard points. Tesco is offering double Clubcard points for the first three months to pull people in.
1…eBay UK is giving football fans the chance to sign World Cup winner and former Real Madrid Galactico Roberto Carlos, and ex-Juventus and Chelsea women’s star Eni Aluko to their Sunday league teams for one match.
$45 million…India-based artificial intelligence and computer vision startup Avataar has secured $45 million in a Series B funding round.
50%…Ikea routed more than half of its order fulfilment through big box stores rather than customer distribution centres in 2021.
According to a a blog post by the retailer’s franchisee, Ingka Group, this practice will continue in 2022.
Ingka Group plans to open more stores and launch faster and more affordable and sustainable delivery options, such as Click and Collect in stores that are around one-fifth the cost of home delivery, and thousands of neighbourhood pick-up points.
