Metaverse adoption accelerates at pace: 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 Retail Technology Show 2023, Fujitsu, Whitbread, Walmart, Roblox, Pricer, Ocado Retail, Avery Dennison, and Tesco Whoosh.
19%, 42% and 27%…Metaverse adoption is accelerating at pace with many Gen Z’ers now interacting with brands in this brave new world, according to research from Retail Technology Show, which will take place on 26th and 27th April at London’s Olympia.
A survey of over 1,000 Brits revealed that while 19% already interact with brands in the metaverse, 42% of Gen Z shoppers engage with brands using Web3. Meanwhile, adoption amongst Millennials has risen to 27%.
£57.9 million…Fujitsu has announced a five-year deal worth £57.9 million with UK hospitality giant Whitbread.
The contract, which starts in early April and builds on a 35-year relationship between the two companies, will see Fujitsu delivering outlet focused IT services which support the 35,000 employees across Premier Inn, Beefeater, Bar+Block and other brands.
Germany is an important growth market for Whitbread, with significant expansion underway and this contract will support this by providing outlet and corporate on-site support across the region, boosting region specific technical knowledge for help desks, and adapting support to align with Central European Time and local holidays.
6…Walmart has binned a branded space in Roblox called Universe of Play just six months after a splashy entrance on to the immersive experiences scene.
This follows claims by nonprofit consumer advocacy group Truth in Advertising and other watchdogs that the metaverse game not only blurred the distinction between advertising content and organic content, but also lacked required disclosures and manipulated kids into viewing and interacting with stealth ads.
Walmart said the Universe of Play move was “as planned.”
£3 million…UK startup Luna Daily has closed a £3 million investment round and has entered into North America as the first exclusive UK intimate care brand to launch at Sephora.
Led by Redrice, Joyance Partners, Velocity Juice and Angel investors, the seed round will be used to support the global expansion of Luna Daily a year after it was founded by Katy Cottam (former Global Head of Brand Marketing at Charlotte Tilbury).
The brand's products will be listed by Sephora, both online and across 260+ stores in North America.
$11 million and $22 million…SKUx, a payments technology and consumer engagement platform, has bagged $11 million in a Series A round, bringing total funding to date to $22 million.
This new capital positions the company to scale its current product offerings as SKUx continues its implementations with organisations spanning retail, consumer packaged goods, payments, and healthcare.
The Series A round was led by an unnamed strategic family office investor focused on FinTech and payments and included significant participation from Advection Growth Capital and other investors spanning CPG, retail, and healthcare.
500…American Eagle Outfitters is set to launch RADAR’s AI powered inventory tracking technology in approximately 500 American Eagle stores across the US over the next year.
RADAR uses a combination of RFID and computer vision to track and locate in-store inventory in real-time, enabling employees to know what product is in-store, and where, so they can more easily and efficiently serve customers, replenish items on the sales floor, and fulfil in-store and curbside pickup orders.
$15 million…AI driven merchandising experience platform provider, EDITED, has secured an investment of $15 million in a funding round led by Delta-v Capital.
There was also participation from the firm’s original backer Wavecrest Growth Partners, alongside investor groups Beringea and Hermes GPE.
£583.7 million…Ocado Retail, the joint venture with Marks & Spencer, saw revenue rise 3.4% in the first quarter to £583.7 million. The increase reflects a 7.5% drop in the number of items per basket, offset by an 8.3% increase in average prices. This meant average basket value was flat at £124.
There was a 13.8% increase in active customers, to 951,000, reflecting new customer growth and more customers shopping with Ocado for longer.
The group said it was offering more M&S products and acknowledged the current trading environment was “challenging”. Guidance remains unchanged, including mid-single digit revenue growth for the year.
Sophie Lund-Yates, Lead Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “Ocado’s retail arm is in a difficult position. While the cost-of-living crisis rumbles on, being a more premium name in the sector comes with immediate challenges.”
“However, the group seems to be doing well with the tools at its disposal. Although the number of items people are buying per-shop is dropping, which is to be expected as post-Covid shopping habits normalise, this is being successfully offset by higher prices.”
“The price hikes are below the overall rate of food inflation, which suggests this is being well-managed. The proposition clearly remains attractive with customer retention looking stable – no mean feat in the current, highly competitive market.”
“There are of course challenges to consider, not least that competition is still attempting to gnaw away at market share. A true understanding of Ocado Retail’s attractiveness can’t be painted until inflation subsides and the fog clears.”
6,300…Clothing shoppers are highly receptive to frictionless touchpoints that will enhance their in-store experience, such as mobile checkouts and digital receipts.
Scanning digital labels on garments, making use of QR codes, RFID, and NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, for product insight and interaction both pre and post-purchase, is a popular activity.
That’s according to research from Avery Dennison and GWI, involving more than 6,300 clothing shoppers across seven countries (UK, US, France, Germany, China, Mexico and Japan).
$3 million…Videowise, an e-commerce video platform founded in 2021, has announced a seed round funding of $3 million led by Slack Fund, with participation from FounderCollective, Underline Ventures, MuVentures and Ratio Ventures.
“We are committed to supporting companies driving innovation and big ideas. We are thrilled to work with Videowise as the company brings an innovative, commerce centric video platform to revolutionise how brands and retailers interact with customers,” says Slack Fund Senior Associate Dillon Ferdinandi.
1,000…Tesco reports that its rapid delivery service, Whoosh, is now available from 1,000 Express stores across the UK.
This first launched in May 2021 and is now available from half of Tesco’s estate of Express convenience stores across the UK, serving 55% of UK households.
The Hammersmith Olympia Express in London became the 1,000th location to offer rapid grocery delivery to the door when it launched recently.
Whoosh offers customers the chance to order food or snacks from a curated list of 2,500 to 4,500 essential products in as little as 30 minutes, with delivery set at £2.99 for orders that cost £15 or more.
Tesco claims that the immediacy of the service and convenience of home delivery is popular with customers looking for things like a quick and easy meal deal or last minute purchases.
It has been looking at ways to improve the customer experience, with new features on the app such as 15 minute delivery window estimates and live tracking of the rider on a map.
300…Rimi (part of ICA Group) has inked a framework agreement with StrongPoint to supply and install Pricer’s shelf edge automation and communication based on electronic shelf labels to potentially all its 300 stores across the three Baltic countries.
This is the result of a pilot project in Latvia run by StrongPoint for Rimi that tested the efficiency savings of the technology. Similar tests will be made in its stores in Lithuania and Estonia.
$4 million…Rwazi, a Los Angeles-based startup with subscribers seeking to better understand consumers in emerging markets, has raised a $4 million seed stage round led by Bonfire Ventures and also including backing from Newfund Capital and Alumni Ventures.
The SaaS firm plans to use the investment to build on its growth last year, focusing on its penetration in Africa, South Asia, and LATAM.
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