DoorDash, Starship, and Shopify. 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 Glovo, Co-op, Jisp, Locus Robotics, Amazon, and Alibaba Group.
56% and 80%…The cost-of-living crisis, rising inflation and fears of a recession are creating considerable challenges for retailers and restaurants in the UK, according to new research commissioned by Glovo.
This found that changing consumer habits post-pandemic, further impacted by the current economic downturn, are causing 56% of businesses to see themselves unprepared for the future.
In the UK, 80% of businesses worry about their future profitability, with 32% facing the challenge of reduced consumer spending.
1,250…Rapid delivery big hitter, DoorDash, is laying off 1,250 people as it looks to rein in costs.
CEO Tony Xu said in a message to employees: “This is the most difficult change to DoorDash that I’ve had to announce in our almost 10-year history.”
“Today, we are reducing our corporate headcount by approximately 1,250 people and saying goodbye to many talented teammates. If you are among those impacted, I am truly sorry and I apologise to have some of you wake up to this news as opposed to reading it during more normal hours.”
20,000…Starship Technologies has partnered with Leeds City Council and the Co-op to bring autonomous grocery delivery to the streets of Leeds.
The service will be available to 20,000 residents initially within the Adel and Tinshill area of Leeds.
Orders are made through the Starship app, which is available for download on iOS and Android, with groceries picked in local Co-op stores on Spen Lane, Tinshill and Otley Road, Adel, for rapid delivery.
The expansion in the north of England for the first time follows the introduction of autonomous deliveries in Milton Keynes, Bedford, Northampton, Cambourne, and most recently Cambridge.
40…Brain Corp, working with Tennant, has completed the deployment of over 40 autonomous in-store scrubbers with the Czech Republic’s Albert, part of the Ahold Delhaize company.
$117 million and $2 billion…Locus Robotics, a specialist in autonomous mobile robots for fulfilment and distribution warehouses, has secured more than $117 million in Series F funding, led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and G2 Venture Partners.
As part of this, Mark Midle, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs, and Zach Barasz, Partner, G2 Venture Partners, will join the Locus board of directors.
The funding round brings its valuation close to $2 billion.
$7.5 billion…Shopify has announced a record setting Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, with sales of $7.5 billion from independent businesses worldwide.
That’s a 19% increase in sales from the $6.3 billion during the same weekend in 2021 (21% on a constant currency basis).
“This year, Black Friday/Cyber Monday showed us once again that consumers are voting with their wallets to support the independent brands they love,” says Harley Finkelstein, President at Shopify.
“We saw record level shopping happening across all channels this weekend, proving businesses that meet their customers where they are, whether that’s online or in-person, will earn their loyalty in return.”
3.7% and 13.9%…Sensormatic Solutions has released footfall data for UK retail stores on Black Friday based on the company’s SensormaticIQ platform.
Shopper visits resulted in a +3.7% increase in traffic across all retail settings on Black Friday, compared to 2021, with high streets performing strongly, up +13.9% year-on-year.
Data from the Sensormatic IQ platform, which captures over 40 billion store visits each year globally, also showed that shopper traffic on Black Friday to retail stores was +32.9% higher week-on-week.
Despite some warnings that the rising cost-of-living could dampen consumer appetite for Black Friday, retail sales were boosted by shoppers seeking out pre-Christmas deals, with Barclaycard saying transactions rose 3.2% on last year’s event, with an all time record number of transactions taking place between 12noon and 1pm.
3…Amazon has announced the expansion of its UK e-cargo bike fleet, with the launch of three further micromobility delivery hubs in Manchester and London.
Part of a five-year £300 million investment in the electrification and decarbonisation of the company’s UK transportation network, e-cargo bikes and walkers are now expected to make more than two million deliveries a year.
Amazon opened these new hubs ahead of Black Friday. They join its existing central London e-cargo bike fleet, which was announced in July.
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