Has online retail industry darling Etsy peaked? RTIH rustles up the retail technology week in numbers

Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including Currys, Deloitte, MediaMarktSaturn, DPD, Hightouch, Etsy, Amazon, and M&S, FullEnrich.

286,000 and 38,000...M&S is working with Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy and Prostate Cancer UK to encourage men to check their risk of prostate cancer.

As part of the initiative, the retailer is rolling out QR codes in its stores, fitting rooms, and online product listings for its Autograph men’s underwear. These link to Prostate Cancer UK’s online Risk Checker, a tool designed to help men assess their risk and take necessary action.

Sir Chris Hoy, diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in September 2023 with no prior symptoms, is using his platform to highlight the importance of early detection. Following his public disclosure of the diagnosis, 286,000 people used the Risk Checker within two months, including 38,000 individuals with a family history of the disease.

20...Lekkerland SE’s 20th entry in its smart store concept push, the Rewe To Go Smart Box, is now live at Germany’s Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1 Gate B.

In a LinkedIn post, Mehmet Tözge, Vice President Smart Stores at Lekkerland SE, said: “Customer preferences have changed. End consumers want to shop 24/7, quickly and with as few contacts as possible. We’re developing smart stores to meet the evolving expectations of end consumers.”

The Rewe To Go Smart Box is equipped with computer vision technology from AiFi Iand smart vending solutions from Stüwer. The check-in application was developed by Futuremind.

The shopper scans a cashless means of payment at the check in terminal. After that, they can enter the store. Computer vision cameras record which products have been removed. The amount due is automatically debited from the previously scanned means of payment.

In addition, it is possible to select products at Stüwer’s smart vending solution with touch display and then receive them via the output compartment. This is used in particular for tobacco and alcoholic products. Age verification by scanning an identity card or driver's licence ensures compliance with youth protection regulations.

$65 million...Sanas, a real-time speech understanding platform specialist whose customers include UPS and DoorDash, has announced a $65 million Series B funding round.

Quadrille Capital led the round with participation from existing backers including Insight Partners, Quiet Capital, and DN Capital. Digital services provider, Teleperformance (TP), also invested in the company. It brings Sanas north of $100 million in total funding to date.

"Sanas is leveraging AI to revolutionise global communication with its groundbreaking real-time accent translation technology,” says Amine Baji, Vice President at Quadrille Capital. “We have been particularly impressed by Sanas’ user-friendly interface, strong customer reputation, and outstanding growth trajectory."

$3.74 billion...Retail industry darling Etsy has peaked and should look at merger or acquisition options, says Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.

Ladd made the observation as Etsy posted consolidated gross merchandise sales or GMS of $3.74 billion for the quarter ended 31st December, compared with analysts' estimates of $3.88 billion according to data compiled by LSEG.

The online marketplace, which recently made sweeping changes to its C-suite, posted quarterly revenue of $852.2 million, compared with analysts' expectations of $862.8 million. The company also forecast first quarter GMS to decrease 6.8% from a year earlier, a similar rate of decline as seen in the last three months of 2024.

In a LinkedIn post, Ladd said: "I remain convinced that the best move Etsy can make is one of the following: merge with Michaels Stores (new CEO David Boone should pursue this; be acquired by eBay or by Temu."

He added: "Etsy has peaked in my opinion. I think Michaels, eBay or Temu would greatly improve the business."

$2 million...FullEnrich has raised $2 million in its first seed funding round, led by Flex Capital, M-Fund, Kima Ventures, First Degree, Offord Ventures, Duro Ventures. 

Founded in January 2024, and headquartered in San Francisco, FullEnrich says that it reached a seven figure ARR while fully bootstrapped, and serves customers including Mastercard, DocuSign, and Brevo.

It will deploy the new capital to accelerate growth in key markets worldwide, including the US, Europe, Australia, Latin America, and Israel. The funding will also go toward product development and key senior talent acquisitions.

25,000...Currys is supporting Deloitte’s new Recycle for Good launch, enabling the latter’s 25,000 UK people to recycle their old tech and electricals at the former’s stores. 

Deloitte is  encouraging its people to do so for free through Currys Cash for Trash and trade-in initiatives. By doing so, they will also receive at least a £5 Currys voucher, regardless of where and when the tech was originally purchased.

The UK retailer plans to then return some of the collected tech that might be reusable back to Deloitte, so the firm can donate it through its device donation scheme as part of its commitment to digital inclusion.

The collaboration builds upon Deloitte’s existing programme, which sees all its retired laptops recycled and donated to charities and schools. Deloitte says that it has thus far provided over 17,500 refurbished laptops to those who need them the most.

400...MediaMarktSaturn is integrating parcel shops in almost all 400 Media Markt and Saturn markets in Germany.

After a pilot project in around 50 markets, customers can now pick up and send parcels from DPD Germany and GLS Germany. In February, 30 more stores will be equipped.

"For us, close cooperation with retailers is an essential part of our journey to more parcel drop-off and acceptance points and thus more convenience for senders and recipients. As a leading electronics retailer with a strong brand, extensive market network and high customer frequency, MediaMarktSaturn is an extremely attractive partner," says Jens Haberecht, Group Manager Parcelshop at DPD Germany.

$80 million and $1.2 billion...Hightouch, a composable CDP and AI decisioning platform, has raised an $80 million Series C investment round at a valuation of $1.2 billion. This was led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from NVC, Amplify Ventures, ICONIQ Growth, and Bain Capital Ventures. Sapphire Ventures Partner Rajeev Dham will join the Hightouch board.

The investment will help drive adoption of the company’s AI Decisioning product which lets marketers identify a business goal and then lets AI agents deliver the one to one experience that will achieve it. AI Decisioning and Hightouch’s composable CDP product have brought in enterprise customers like PetSmart, Spotify, and Accor Hotels.

“We’ve talked about 1:1 personalisation for years, but it’s not possible with the way marketers work today. Everything is too slow, too manual, and usually results in customers receiving a blizzard of irrelevant communications,” says Tejas Manohar, Co-founder and Co-CEO at Hightouch.

“Our vision is to use AI to help marketers break free of manual work. Instead of building rigid calendars and static journeys that are inherently impersonal, marketers can simply enter goals like ‘drive repeat purchases and subscriptions’ and let AI agents decide what to do next at a 1:1 level. It’s a reimagining of the job of being a marketer.”  

3...Amazon has announced the three newest schools to join the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Just Walk Out technology family: State University of New York Maritime College (with a Market NXT store); Lehigh University (Clutch & Go store); University of Memphis (Ron Hart Foundation Market Nxt store).

"These are all open and ready to welcome students to a frictionless shopping experience. Thanks to our amazing partners and Amazon team for their work on these beautiful stores: Gallery Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services, Sodexo, Grubhub, and Tom Cabral," says Madison DeFranco, Senior Technical Business Development, Just Walk Out Technology at Amazon Web Services (AWS).