The six biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Retail Technology Show, Amazon Fresh, Ikea, and Instacart.
1. Retail Technology Show 2022 releases visitor numbers
Retail Technology Show, which took place in late April at London Olympia, saw over 6,850 retail professionals attend the two day event.
They joined 200+ technology exhibitors on the show floor and 90+ industry luminaries who spoke on the conference programme.
80% of the UK's top 25 retailers and brands were in attendance, including Amazon, Asos, B&Q, Dunelm, Tesco, Next and Boots.
2. Spotlight on Sevenoaks as Amazon Fresh UK stores move outside London
It’s official! Sevenoaks in Kent will host the UK’s first Amazon Fresh checkout-free store outside of London.
On Sunday, we reported on rumours that this would be situated in the former Baby Gap outlet in Bligh's Meadow.
Council planning documents, we noted, showed that permission had been granted for both interior and exterior work on the site.
And job listings had also been posted for retail associates at a Sevenoaks store powered by Just Walk Out technology.
Now an Amazon spokesperson has told RTIH: “We’re delighted to serve customers in the Sevenoaks area and look forward to opening more stores in the future.”
3. The new normal: is the UK online retail boom over?
UK online retail sales fell -12% year-on-year (YoY) in April, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the performance of over 200 brands.
With last month’s results representing the first time in two years that the Index was not skewed by pandemic lockdown comparisons, expectations for a return to pre-Covid patterns had been high.
However, there was no actual growth in online sales – with last month’s performance simply mirroring April 2021’s growth of +12%.
This was also evident in the weekly results, with growth in week four of April 2022, for example, at -10% against +10% for the same week the year previous.
4. Made.com snaps up Trouva to expand choice and reach
Made, an online retailer which designs and sells homewares and furniture, has announced the acquisition of Trouva.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The latter is a platform to discover independent boutiques and brands, offering customers a curated range of homewares, lifestyle and fashion products.
Launched in 2015, Trouva has its HQ in London. The company has relationships with over 700 boutiques across Europe and has delivered to 34 countries worldwide this year.
It will continue to operate as a standalone brand led by the current leadership team of Alex Loizou (CEO) and Dimple Patel (COO).
5. Ikea announces major investment in store network as it adapts to online boom
Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer, is to invest more than €3 billion in new and existing stores by the end of next year.
“More than ever before, we want to optimise our network of stores in order to cater for an inspiring shopping experience – no matter how or where our customers choose to engage with us,” says Tolga Öncü, Retail Operations Manager, Ingka Group.
“With this investment we aim to secure the long-term viability of our business by making Ikea more accessible, more affordable and more sustainable.”
The company will focus its expansion investments in new physical stores – such as the one opening this week in Nice – as well as in revamping existing ones for a more immersive experience and to support increasing demand for home deliveries.
Recently a store in Kuopio, Finland, was rebuilt to also fulfil customer online orders, allowing customers to get their orders in half the time and with 40% reduced cost of delivery for pick-up parcels.
6. Instacart submits confidential filing to go public
Grocery delivery big hitter Instacart has submitted a confidential filing to go public.
The company did not offer any indication of timing for its debut.
A spokesperson would not confirm whether an initial public offering was planned or a direct listing.
Instacart saw an explosion in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But in March, it reduced its internal valuation from $39 billion to $24 billion, stating that it was confident in its business but was not “immune to the market turbulence that has impacted leading technology companies”.
