Currys buoyant, but must not get complacent: presenting the retail technology week in numbers

Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including HIVED, Talon.One, Sainsbury's, Walmart, Faire, Evri, Marks and Spencer, IMRG, Ecommpay, and Boost inc.

150%…Faire, an online wholesale marketplace connecting indie brands with indie retailers, reports that demand for Oasis related products has sky-rocketed across the platform as the Manchester band’s much hyped reunion tour kicks off today.

Whether it’s ‘Liam-in-a-tin’ figurines, or Oasis wall prints, UK purchases of Oasis themed products are up 150% year-on-year, with global sales surging 230% and revenue now into the multi-million-pound range.

It’s not just the band’s own merchandise driving momentum - product categories synonymous with Oasis’s iconic look have also seen a boom. Bucket hats, for example, have experienced a 275% spike in UK sales, while global demand is up 75%. Parkas and other Gallagher inspired fashion staples are also seeing a noticeable uplift.

Compared to the same period in 2023–2024, search volumes for products on Faire have increased fivefold. Retailers rushed to capitalise on the reunion hype in August, and interest has remained strong: search volumes have consistently stayed 40% above previous years.

2.7%...Currys saw healthy group sales growth of 2.7% in its FY2024/25, while delivering on its uprated profit guidance of £162 million, with its growing service offering helping to boost its adjusted profit before tax by 37.3%.

This profit performance, alongside a strong cash position, prompted the group’s board to propose a cash dividend of 1.5p per share, higher than its previous estimate of 1.3p. Investors took heart at this news, with Currys’ share price jumping around 7% on Thursday morning.

Sales growth was primarily driven by its UK and Ireland business which continued to outperform (+6.4%), while the Nordic business’ 2.5% sales decline masked an upward trajectory throughout the year and was exacerbated by currency fluctuations.

After a strong H1 performance in the UK and Ireland, with growth of 5.7%, Currys managed to build on this, with H2 sales rising 6.9%. This was despite softer sales during peak trading (+2% l-f-l), meaning that the retailer is carrying strong momentum into its current financial year.

Its strong performance in the UK and Ireland came primarily from the growth of services and solutions sales, with recurring service revenue growing by 12% as well as 14% growth in credit sales and a 26% rise in iD Mobile subscribers. Service revenues will continue to be key to Currys’ strategy due to their positive effects on gross margins, which grew by a further 0.2ppts.

“Despite its strong performance, Currys risks being squeezed across both channels with resurgent performances from its main omnichannel rival, John Lewis & Partners, and online pureplay electricals specialist, AO," says Oliver Maddison, Retail Analyst at GlobalData.

"John Lewis’ reintroduction of its Never Knowingly Undersold price matching scheme saw its technology sales grow by 6.8% in its H2 to 25th January, which was likely a slight dampener on Currys’ peak trading, and is indicative of momentum at the department store."

"Meanwhile, AO saw its business-to-consumer (B2C) revenue grow by 11.9% in its year to 31st March, similarly boosted by services. AO’s range expansion could threaten the gains that Currys has made outside of the major kitchen appliances category, and its intention to start its own mobile carrier risks being a substantial competitor to Currys’ golden goose, iD Mobile. To remain competitive, Currys must continue to emphasise its superior range and staff expertise, as well as its own, wider ranging, price guarantee.”

My “wfh” set up today while Wimbledon is on pic.twitter.com/UuyXawWsgi

— Currys (@currys) June 30, 2025

$42 million...HIVED, an AI powered delivery startup used by retailers including Zara, Uniqlo, and John Lewis, has secured $42 million in Series B funding.

Led by NordicNinja, the cash will be used to accelerate the firm’s UK roll-out and grow its engineering and data teams. The funds will also support development of its logistics intelligence platform HIVEDmind.

HIVED’s delivery service is aimed specifically at e-commerce, using AI, real-time data and modern architecture to connect retailers, warehouses, drivers and end customers with a single integrated platform.

Retailers can integrate directly with its real-time warehouse sorting while routing algorithms adapt to driver behaviour and real-world situations. Its dynamic delivery clusters are redrawn based on live parcel volumes, replacing traditional postcode systems.

$135 million...Talon.One, an enterprise loyalty and promotion software provider, has announced a $135 million funding round from new investors Silversmith Capital Partners and Meritech Capital, with participation of existing backer CRV. 

Talon.One’s platform enables over 270 customers across a range of sectors to tap data in building personalised, scalable promotions and loyalty programmes. Customers include H&M, adidas, Costa Coffee, Sephora, Ticketmaster and Nordstrom. 

The new capital will accelerate innovation of the Talon.One platform and strengthen the company’s market position in the US, UK, Europe and APAC. The investment will focus on delivering AI powered intelligence and predictive insights, as well as deepening enterprise capabilities across sectors.

£17 billion...In a new report, environmental NGO WRAP claims UK consumers are spending £17 billion on food that is thrown away or an average of £1,000 per four-person household.

WRAP says that the amount of household food waste in the UK decreased by 9% between 2021 and 2022. It attributed this decline to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, which meant fewer meals were prepared at home, and increasing food prices in 2022.

However, while the figures demonstrate that it is possible to significantly reduce household food waste, they also show that the UK is not currently on track to meet international targets.

4...The Chief Executive of M&S, Stuart Machin, has said he hopes operations will be running “fully” within four weeks. The retailer is continuing to put systems back online following a hugely damaging cyber attack.

Half of its online operations have returned to normal, but there remains work to be done around Click and Collect services. 

Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: ‘’Marks and Spencer is halfway there, but there’s still a lot to get back online before the company can put the cyber attack behind it. 50% of online operations are back up and running, but its popular Click and Collect services remain suspended.”

She adds: “At the company’s AGM, Machin put the latest timeline on a recovery at four weeks. This should mean the retailer will hit August firing on all cylinders once again. Management have previously estimated that it could cost as much as £300 million in lost sales and operational disruption, although it’s likely that this will be mitigated by insurance claims and cost efficiencies made elsewhere.”

“While services have been suspended the company is believed to have used the opportunity to speed up part of its digital transformation plan, as well as ensuring that its IT systems are robust enough to withstand a future attack.”

4.7%...Sainsbury’s like-for-like sales rose 4.7% in the first quarter (exc. fuel). The UK grocery giant's market share increased to the highest total in almost a decade, with full-year retail underlying operating profit guidance of around £1 billion reiterated.

Aarin Chiekrie, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “Sainsbury’s made its way onto more customers' shopping lists in the first quarter. It continues to pinch market share off the competition, reaching its highest total in almost a decade.”

“With more trolleys rolling toward its tills, the nation’s second largest supermarket saw like-for-like sales rise 4.7% in the period. In part, that’s thanks to a herculean effort to improve its range, quality and value perception in recent times. And expanding its Taste the Difference range, Aldi price match and Nectar prices across even more products is helping to keep existing customers loyal."

"Despite the top line moving higher, recent changes to employers’ National Insurance and minimum wages are set to bring at least £140 million of extra costs this year. Sainsbury’s is doing what it can to trim costs throughout the business, including closing its in-store cafes and streamlining behind-the-scenes operations, but the group’s guidance still points to full-year underlying retail profits remaining broadly flat at around £1 billion."

"Trading, so far, has been promising, and while it’s still early in the group’s financial year, signs of an all out price war among the major supermarkets hasn’t materialised. If that remains the case through the rest of the year, the current profit guidance looks a touch conservative, so there could be some positive surprises for investors who are willing to remain patient.”

Katie Bickerstaffe and Steve Hare will join the Sainsbury's Board as Non-Executive Directors following the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 3 July 2025. Read more: https://t.co/LUGHUgWbMT

— Sainsbury's News (@SainsburysNews) April 3, 2025

73%...New research from privacy tech provider Usercentrics find that more than half of UK consumers are concerned about their data being used to train AI and most do not fully understand how businesses are using their information.

Usercentrics surveyed 10,000 internet users in the US and Europe, including 2,000 UK consumers, about their views on digital trust concerns. 

Published in The State of Digital Trust report, the findings show 73% of UK consumers do not fully understand how businesses are using their data and 58% are concerned about their information being used to train AI.

61% said they feel as though they have “become the product” and 40% would choose the “accept all” option less often than they did three years ago, as concerns around privacy increase.

Consumers surveyed by Usercentrics ranked transparency over data collection as the top way to increase trust, followed by strong security guarantees and the ability to control or limit data sharing. 

Banks had relatively high levels of trust around data collection, with 62% of respondents trusting these organisations compared to just 27% of consumers trusting social media platforms.

UK consumers seem to be increasingly aware of their rights under privacy regulations, but just 52% of surveyed consumers said they trust regulators to hold companies accountable and 20% said they were skeptical that regulators can or will hold them to account.

36.9%...In partnership with UK online retail association, IMRG, Ecommpay has launched a new report, Sustainability & Social Impact in E-commerce: Consumer Trends in Charitable Giving and Environmental Expectations. 

1,000 Brits were surveyed for this.

Key findings at a glance:

• 36.9% of consumers actively support charities, while 36.6% donate when the opportunity arises

• 24% would choose a brand that supports a charity; 41% would at least sometimes be more inclined to shop with a retailer that supports a charity

• The checkout stage is the preferred time to make charitable donations for 53.4% of consumers; giving as part of a loyalty programme is preferred by 26.5%

• A one-off donation is the preferred choice for 59.4% of consumers

• 34.6% of consumers ‘sometimes’ choose to shop with retailers that are environmentally friendly with 38.9% of 18-24 year olds shopping ‘often’ with eco-friendly brands

• Eco-friendly packaging and sustainable product materials are top consumer demands at 32.3% and 21.9% respectively; carbon offsetting would be a motivator for more than 1 in 10 consumers

£50 million...UK parcel delivery company, Evri, has announced plans to grow its out of home offering by 2030 - more than doubling its network of ParcelShops and lockers to 25,000.

It is set to stump up £50 million+ to launch an owned, in-house network of smart lockers. Evri will roll-out 10,000 lockers as part of this initiative.

It currently has a network of more than 10,000 ParcelShops and lockers, which includes its flagship independent shop network, Post Office branches, corporate partners such as Co-op. Parcelshops and locker locations are set to grow to 25,000, hitting the 2,000 locker milestone before Christmas.

The announcement follows a 500% year-on-year increase in locker usage, a trend which is anticipated to continue.

1.2 million...Last month, Walmart Unlimited, a gamified mini-series, served up a third and final chapter.

This made its debut earlier in the year, brought to you by Walmart, Unity and Spatial in collaboration with animators and producers Martian Blueberry and game development studio PIGIAMA KASAMA.

The first episode introduced characters inspired by Walmart’s real-life suppliers, including A Dozen Cousins founder Ibraheem Basir.

It was the US retail giant’s latest attempt to tap immersive commerce - a form of online shopping that combines VR with 3D visualisations and gamification - to connect with the next generation of consumers.

In the third episode, players joined Jabari, an aspiring artist guided by the Young Kings founder, as he journeyed through a sci-fi dreamscape to find elixirs and unlock his crown. Along the way, they faced new challenges and also discovered shoppable beauty and self-care products woven into the adventure.

"With over 1.2 million players and an average in-game time of more than 35 minutes, our gamified series has exceeded expectations," says Matteo Fanchin, Co-founder at PIGIAMA KASAMA.

"For the first time, immersive storytelling, action gameplay, and real product discovery converge in a multi-platform branded experience - built entirely on Spatial and playable on any device."

€16 million...Boost inc has raised €16 million to fuel its international expansion and product innovation. Growth equity firm Direttissima Growth Partners led the Series B round, joined by Capmont Technology and Kineo Capital, with support from existing partners.

Founded in 2020 in London, Boost inc specialises inunattended retail technology and lays claim to thousands of live locations, customers across three continents, and a 150-strong team working from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and four additional countries.

Founder and CEO, Pascal Uffer, says: “Our rapid growth leading up to this moment shows the timing is right. The market is ready, our technology is proven, and we’re ready to accelerate our international expansion together with our partners.”

The cash will support entering new international markets, expanding the product portfolio, and deepening its technology capabilities. Boost inc’s Founder and CFO, Johannes Lermann, comments: “Moving from angel backed funding to institutional investment is a significant step. With these long-term partners at our side, we’re ready to strengthen our board and keep raising the bar for what’s possible in unattended retail.”