RTIH brings you the retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including Starship Technologies, NASCAR, Amazon, Tesco, Trigo, and Sainsbury’s.
1…Sensei reports that Muffato has adopted its AI platform for what is pitched as Brazil's first autonomous supermarket.
The Muffato Go store, which opens today and is situated in Curitiba, Paraná, comes without queues, self-scanning or any form of physical checkout, and is the first deployment of Portugal-based Sensei's technology outside of Europe.
Shoppers download Muffato’s app, which generates a QR code that enables them to enter the store, pick up their items and leave.
A network of sensors provides the input Sensei's AI needs to keep track of the items each customer selects and returns throughout the 250 square metre location.
$25 million…Dropit, which provides sourcing, allocation, fulfilment and last mile distribution solutions that can be integrated directly into brands’ existing fulfilment management systems, has completed a $25 million Series C funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to $50 million.
$8 million…SparkPlug, an incentive management and wage supplementation platform for frontline workers, has announced an $8 million Series A funding round.
This was led by Lightbank, with participation from Industry Ventures, as well as existing investors TenOneTen Ventures and Jason Calacanis, bringing the company’s total investment raised to $11.5 million.
24…Starship Technologies has launched its robot delivery service at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
A fleet of 24 robots will be providing deliveries from campus merchants.
Starship is also launching a giveaway for students who take a selfie with the official ‘I Voted’ sticker.
They can upload their photos to Starship’s Instagram account and tag their school. One winner at each school will be randomly selected to choose a t-shirt, hat or tote bag from a newly launched line of Starship branded merchandise.
1…NASCAR is to open its first concession using Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology and Amazon One offering during NASCAR Championship Weekend (4th-6th November).
Fans at Phoenix Raceway will be able to purchase snacks and beverages without waiting in line at a checkout. This marks the first time Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology and Amazon One are being used at a professional racetrack.
$1 million…E-commerce platform startup, Krepling, has closed a $1 million pre-seed round.
Founded by brothers Liam JE Gerada and Travis Gerada (who are 22 and 19 years old respectively), the Silicon Valley-based firm enables merchants and retailers to build and scale their e-commerce operations through no-code and AI enablement.
48%…British retailers can expect a busier Black Friday than last year, according to research from Sitecore.
The company polled 2,156 UK consumers in August.
It found that 48% are planning to take part this year. In comparison, 38% said they shopped on Black Friday last year.
3…Tesco has announced an expansion of its GetGo autonomous stores trial, with Chiswell Street Express now open in central London.
There will also be another location in London and one in Birmingham, allowing customers to shop and pay without scanning a product or using a checkout.
Like Chiswell Street, these will also offer the option of using a self-service or attended checkout if preferred.
The sites in Fulham Reach Express in Parrs Way, London, and Aston University Express in Aston, Birmingham are due to open over the next few months.
Tesco launched its first GetGo store in High Holborn in October 2021, which will continue to offer a purely checkout-free model.
Shoppers need to download the Tesco app and select the GetGo option. They can then walk in and pick their shopping, before scanning their app as they walk out.
Continuing Tesco's partnership with Trigo, a combination of cameras and weight sensors will establish what customers have picked up and charge them for products directly through the app when they leave the store.
$70 million…Cover Genius, which specialises in embedded insurance, has raised $70 million in Series D funding in a round led by Dawn Capital, with participation from new investor, Atlas Merchant Capital, and existing backers including GSquared and King River Capital.
The raise will assist in the InsurTech’s growth and expansion of its insurance distribution platform, XCover.
It builds on a £54 million Series C funding round from last year.
$1 trillion…With big tech companies and leading payment providers set to take over the buy now pay later (BNPL) sector, as spearheaded by Apple’s Apple Pay Later offering, GlobalData expects the market to surpass $1 trillion by 2030.
59% and 49%…Cybersecurity is a key dampener of British consumers’ confidence in the online retail sector, according to research from Akamai.
The company surveyed 2,171 people.
It found that 59% of those who shop online would ditch a retailer if they were the victim of a cyberattack and 49% don’t trust retailers to keep their personal details safe.
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