Shopify shuts down Kanye West's Yeezy: these are our most read retail technology articles from last week

Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including Klarna, MarketLeap, Tesco Media and Insight Platform, Zara, Cleveron, Harrods, Incubeta, Coles Supermarkets, Instacart, EG America, and Quorso.

Klarna boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski hails milestone as FinTech giant preps crypto move

Klarna Co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has taken to social media to tease a move by his company in to the cryptocurrency space.

In a post on X, he said: '“OK. I give up. Klarna and me will embrace crypto! More to come Yes I know! This post will get a huge sigh and two views But it still feels historic. Last large FinTech in the world to embrace it. Someone had to be last. And that’s a milestone as well of some sort…”

He added: “Btw all crypto fans. Tell me what we should do with it? We have 85 m users worldwide. 100 bn of volume. Over 0.5 m merchants. About 30% of volume is debit not credit. Over 1 million cards. I have some ideas but keen to hear more!”

Responding to a barrage of replies, he commented: “Wow Will fill my todo list for some while… Promise to follow up with all the ideas and suggestions! Feel free to follow me and I will keep you in the loop. Actually it was three great entrepreneurs introduced to me by Sequoia Capital’s Andrew Reed that made me see the light.”

Shopify powered Yeezy e-commerce website taken down after Kanye West brand sells swastika t-shirt

Kanye West's Yeezy online store was taken down this week by Shopify following the sale of swastika t-shirts.

The musician and entrepreneur reportedly splashed out $2 million on a single advert which aired during the Super Bowl at the weekend, directing people to his website where the t-shirts were being sold.

“So what’s up, guys? I spent, like, all the money for the commercial on these new teeth," he said, flashing a ridiculously white set of gnashers. "So once again, I had to shoot it on the iPhone. Um, um, um, go to yeezy.com.” The aforementioned product, which cost $20, was not mentioned in the ad.

This came as his X account, where he had millions of followers and had been posting highly offensive antisemitic messages, was deactivated.

The rapper's final entry stated: "I'm logging out of Twitter. I appreciate [X owner] Elon [Musk] for allowing me to vent. It has been very cathartic to use the world as a sounding board. It was like an Ayahuasca trip. Love all of you who gave me your energy and attention. To we connect again [sic]. Good afternoon and goodnight."

D2C e-commerce startup MarketLeap snags $8 million Series A funding round led by Smedvig Ventures

MarketLeap, an AI driven platform that aims to simplify and scale D2C e-commerce, has announced an $8 million Series A funding round led by Smedvig Ventures, with participation from Expon Capital, Motier Ventures and business angels including former executives from Amazon, SoftBank, and Unilever. 

The capital injection will allow the company to accelerate platform development and invest in new employees.

MarketLeap offers customers - including Edible Health, 5 Stars United, and MonkeyHands - a platform solution that uses AI powered automation to navigate the complexities of marketplace operations and backend management. It combines a tech solution with partnerships with marketplaces, third-party logistics (3PL) providers, compliance experts, and finance partners.

The company was founded in 2022 by Mamoun Benkirane and Mekki Mouaddeb, who both previously worked for Amazon and Jumia. The inspiration for MarketLeap came when the former led a webinar for Amazon sellers about expanding into new markets and found himself inundated with emails complaining about the complexity of the process and tools provided. Concurrently, the latter found that while many sellers demonstrate exceptional strengths in sourcing profitable products, they face significant challenges in scaling their operations internationally.

Upon realising more than 90% of sellers with revenues over half a million make more than 80% of their revenue in just one market, the pair launched an e-commerce operating system that uses AI and automation to help brands break through barriers to international expansion by connecting them with global marketplace customers.

Tesco Media and Insight Platform notches up an omnichannel milestone with new Nestlé activation

Tesco Media and Insight Platform has announced a new activation with Nestlé, its first ever Tesco Express store wrap.

To celebrate the Tesco exclusive launch of KitKat sharing bars, it created a full funnel campaign designed to engage shoppers at every touchpoint including: bespoke digital promo bay takeovers; special build OOH screens; targeted online sampling trials.

This was also a Nestlé confectionery first, leveraging Tesco Clubcard data to reach the most relevant shoppers, from sofa to store. 

Zara taps Cleveron parcel automation solution for faster, easier Click and Collect delivery

Zara is deploying Click & Collect robotics delivery, powered by Cleveron.

Customers can now pick up their orders from lockers in under ten seconds, from scanning the code to having the package in hand. The service offers 24/7 availability, no queues, and lays claim to higher customer satisfaction, due to it being faster, easier, and more efficient than previous offerings.

"Retail is evolving, and innovative solutions like this are shaping the future," says Fredrik Fenberg, Director of Business Development Nordic at Cleveron.

Harrods appoints Incubeta to accelerate retailer's digital marketing presence in key markets

Luxury department store, Harrods, has appointed Incubeta to manage its global digital marketing account.

The partnership will focus on accelerating digital growth and footfall for the luxury retailer among its highest value customers across key markets - the UK, US, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and three further markets in Asia. This will cover pay-per-click (PPC), SEO, paid media, and digital PR. 

This includes maximising the return from its digital investment to drive sales across its Knightsbridge store in London, online, its app, the Rewards loyalty programme, and its five UK-based H Beauty stores.

Incubeta will deploy its proprietary Seamless Search platform, an AI powered solution. By analysing multiple data signals in real-time, this aims to ensure that Harrods' digital spend is allocated with precision, optimising each campaign for maximum efficiency and impact. Incubeta will also work closely with it to leverage partnerships with brands.

Coles Supermarkets first retailer in APAC region to launch Instacart AI powered Caper Carts

Australian retailer Coles Supermarkets reports the roll-out of Caper Carts, Instacart’s AI powered smart trolleys, at its Richmond Traders location in Melbourne.

Caper Carts are equipped with AI, cameras, and a built-in scale, which work together to automatically recognise items as they are added to the trolley. They enable customers to bag as they shop and watch their running total. At the end of their shopping, customers can checkout directly from the trolley.

Caper Carts sync to Coles’ Flybuys rewards programme. Customers can scan their Flybuys card or Coles app to instantly access personalised offers and view in-store specials on the trolley’s digital screen.

When they shop in-store, they can later view purchased items under their ‘buy it again’ list on the Coles app and website. Equipped with gamified capabilities, they also have the chance to win discounts by spinning a digital wheel on the trolley’s screen at checkout.

Coles is the first retailer in the APAC region to launch Caper Carts, and also the first in the country to introduce AI powered trolleys.

Celtic & Co. taps Refined Networks e-commerce platform to launch with Nordstrom and Macy’s

British heritage fashion brand Celtic & Co. has been selected by two US online retailers to launch its SS25 collection. 

Working in collaboration with e-commerce platform Refined Networks, its womenswear will be live online with Nordstrom and Macy’s by the end of February. 

Zoe Bray, Managing Director at Celtic & Co., says: “We’re very excited to be working with two such iconic retailers in the US. It’s our biggest international market outside of the UK, and being available online with Nordstrom and Macy’s will help us reach new customers and provide learnings to be able to expand our presence in the US even further.” 

US retailer EG America taps Quorso Intelligent Management Platform to improve store operations

Quorso has announced a partnership with EG America, a convenience store retailer in the US. This will see its technology deployed throughout the company’s more than 1,500 retail and fuel locations.

Its Intelligent Management solution consolidates siloed solutions, like tasks, surveys, performance analytics, and exception reporting, into a single platform that aims to drive store performance at every level.

“Quorso is a significant enhancement from legacy reporting and traditional task management systems,” says Elizabeth Pierce, COO, EG America. “The platform enables us to take a more personalised, data driven approach to operational improvements in every store. It also drastically reduces the overwhelming amount of data that our store teams have to process”.

Including Voyantis and Speeral: six retail technology funding rounds you need to know about

RTIH rounds up six retail tech ventures who have recently secured significant investments in their businesses, including MarketLeap, Keychain, Cognida.ai, and Shopfront.