Farewell Pedal & Post as PAR Technology bags Bridg: the retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail tech news? Then this is the article for you. Including EE, boohoo, Retail Technology Show 2026, Limy, Screwfix, Matalan, Nothing, Ikea, Amazon, and Currys.
$10 million...Limy, an infrastructure platform for optimising brand performance in the agentic web, has emerged from stealth, announcing a $10 million funding round led by Flybridge with participation from a16z speedrun. Other investors include Axiom, AnD, Communitas & JRV.
“We’re at the beginning of a seismic shift in how information is organised on the web, and brands have to adapt to the AI powered future,” says Jeff Bussgang, General Partner and Co-Founder at Flybridge, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School.
“Limy is leading the way, turning the black box of AI into a channel for brand discoverability, engagement, and direct revenue. Agentic commerce is the future, and Limy is leading brands there.”
“We’ve been highly impressed with Limy’s distinct approach to AI discoverability, leveraging its proprietary data based on agentic behavior rather than user activity,” said Troy Kirwin, Investment Partner at a16z speedrun.
“We’re excited to be backing Limy, who are at the forefront of AI optimisation and advertising in our emerging agentic web era. We have the utmost confidence in the founding team’s technical prowess and leadership.”
1...EE has launched a new Experience store in Lakeside Shopping Centre. The store, which opens at midday, will see a guest appearance from former Lioness Rachel Yankey, who will cut the ribbon and welcome the first visitors.
Lakeside is the first EE Experience store launch of 2026, following 20 openings across the UK within the last 12 months. This is part of the company’s £3 million investment into bricks and mortar retail from May 2025 to March 2026.
The Lakeside store has been designed to help customers get hands on with the latest smart tech, while also providing expert support from EE’s in-store guides for those looking for help with their devices.
It features Experience Zones themed around four key areas - Game, Work, Learn, and Home - along with a Tech Home area showcasing the future of connected living.
$22 billion...Live shopping has moved firmly into the mainstream, reshaping how consumers discover products and how small businesses grow, according to Whatnot research.
The live shopping platform in the UK, Europe and North America surveyed sellers across platforms and its own sellers across the US, UK, France and Germany.
Its report shows that live shopping across North America and Europe is now an estimated $22 billion industry, with Whatnot leading at nearly 60% market share. In 2025 alone, Whatnot generated over $8 billion in live GMV globally, added more than 20 million new accounts, and saw first time buyers increase by 285% year-on-year.
16,000...Amazon this week confirmed it would cut 16,000 jobs - hours after it told staff about a new round of global redundancies in an email apparently sent in error.
The email was sent late on Tuesday and refers to a number of employees in the US, Canada and Costa Rica, with the lay offs said to be part of an effort to "strengthen the company."
GMB Union's Rachel Fagan said: “Amazon is showing itself for what it is; a company that cannot be trusted to do the right thing by working people in the UK."
“Bosses are overseeing thousands of job losses which will cause huge damage in towns and cities across the country. Now is the time for decision makers to recognise Amazon as a company fixated on eye watering profits at the expense of workers and local people.”
£50 million...boohoo delivered some positive news to investors’ doorsteps this week as the fast fashion group continued its turnaround push.
With just a month left to go in its financial year, it revealed trading above expectations. Full-year underlying cash profit is now expected to be £50 million, ahead of previous guidance of £45 million.
"Progress is being driven by continued momentum in its Debenhams brand, but importantly, all of its brands are trading profitably. That includes the once struggling PLT (PrettyLittleThing), which the group had been looking to offload," says Aarin Chiekrie, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"But there’s been a step change in performance since shifting PLT to a marketplace model. This model involves allowing third-party brands to sell their goods on its online platform, with PLT taking a cut of any third-party sales made, and banking just that cut as revenue"
"The marketplace model brings a host of benefits, allowing sales to scale quickly as more sellers are brought into the fold. The third-party sellers also own the stock and are responsible for picking, packing and shipping orders, removing a host of costs and inventory risk from boohoo’s operations."
"Given the pace and scale of the turnaround at PLT, which has driven a sharp improvement in profitability, the group’s changed its mind and decided to hold onto the asset for now. Despite the progress at group level, boohoo isn’t out the woods yet. Retail is a fiercely competitive space, and there are plenty of key customer metrics that need to start trending in the right direction again before investors can get too excited.”
The Hidden Treasure Hunt is open to millions of pupils from the UK’s more than 20,000 primary schools. It aims to increase recycling levels of the old electrical items hidden away in drawers at home.
Recent research by Recycle Your Electricals found that more than 100,000 tonnes of electricals are thrown away every year, with an average of 30 items stashed away in every UK home, or more than 880 million electrical items in total.
These items contain precious materials such as copper, lithium and gold which when thrown away are lost forever, and could instead be re-used in other products. Many electrical products also contain batteries which are fuelling the rise in battery fires in bin lorries and waste centres across the UK.
Participating pupils can drop off their unwanted tech at any Currys store, where they are guaranteed at least a £5 Currys voucher, or at almost 30,000 drop off points across the country to receive points towards their school’s tally.
27%...The majority of UK shoppers remain wary of trusting AI to autonomously transact on their behalf, with payments now the key friction point preventing true end-to-end agentic commerce, according to research from Retail Technology Show.
A survey of over Brits revealed that two fifths have already used AI agents within product discovery, leveraging the technology to search for items or ask for product recommendations. Usage was even higher among younger demographics, with adoption of agentic product discovery rising to six in ten of Millennials and 55% of Gen Z.
Meanwhile, 27% of UK shoppers have already tapped AI agents to make purchases on their behalf autonomously, rising to almost half of Millennials (47%) and Gen Z (46%). However, despite rising adoption, six in ten UK shoppers remain mistrustful of using AI agents to complete end-to-end shopping missions from discovery through to payment.
While concerns about giving AI full autonomy were highest among older generations, rising to 68% of Boomers, even younger demographics who exhibit the highest level of AI adoption expressed unease. 52% of Gen Z and Millennials (55%) remain wary of entrusting AI agents with the entire buying process.
1...London-based consumer tech unicorn Nothing has announced the opening of its first physical store in India - the first in a series of new locations across the globe, due to be announced by the brand this year.
The store, located in Bengaluru, will go live on Saturday, 14th February. Nothing has a store in Soho, London, opened in 2022, and says it will add locations in New York City and Tokyo in the near future.
Carl Pei, CEO at Nothing, which was recently valued at $1.3 billion following Series C funding, says: “Our stores allow people to connect and interact with the brand on a deeper level beyond the product page. People can feel the design, interact with the software, and understand how everything comes together.”
"We started in London. Now Bengaluru, with New York and Tokyo next. Each location is deliberate, these are cities where our community is strongest, where design and experience really matter. India is one of the most exciting consumer tech markets in the world. Young, digitally native, design conscious. Opening here places us where the future is being shaped."
14...Pedal & Post, a UK-based company that specialised in sustainable last mile logistics and local same day and express delivery, is no more.
In an online post, it said: "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that Pedal & Post’s journey has come to an end after 14 years."
The firm put this down to losing a major client earlier this year. "Despite exploring every possible avenue to continue - and truly exhausting all options - we have reached the point where we can no longer sustain the business. As a result, both our Oxford and London sites have now closed," it said.
It added: "We want to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported Pedal & Post over the years: our clients, partners, riders, staff, and the wider community who believed in what we were trying to achieve. Your support meant everything."
"Since our founding, Pedal & Post has worked tirelessly to show that cargo bike deliveries are not just possible, but practical, sustainable, and better for cities. Over 14 years, we’ve helped remove countless vans from urban roads, reduced emissions, and shown that a people powered delivery model can deliver excellent service while putting cities first."
"While this chapter has come to a close, we firmly believe this is not the end for cargo bike logistics. The landscape today looks very different to when we started - with major carriers now investing in low carbon, bike-based urban delivery models and the cargo bikes themselves being worlds apart from when we started as early adopters. We’re proud to have been part of that shift and to have helped pave the way."
2...Matalan is testing out Toshiba’s VisualStore 6 (VS6) EPoS solution, with two pilot stores now live in the UK with the self-service offering.
In a LinkedIn post, Linda Davies, UK&I Head of Project Management at Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, said: “For the second Sunday in a row I’ve been onsite at a Matalan store working on the installation of the Toshiba VisualStore 6 (VS6) EPoS solution.”
She added: “Successfully installing VS6 in two pilot stores is a huge milestone, and it simply wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration, determination, and drive of the entire project team - including the Toshiba UK Professional Services team, UK Managed Services engineers, VisualStore development team, Matalan and Capgemini project team, third-party partners, and the incredible support from the executive teams at both Toshiba and Matalan. A great example of teamwork, resilience and shared commitment delivering real results.”
11 in 5...New Europe wide analysis by AI cybersecurity firm Ethiack has found that one in five UK retailers’ websites expose customers to hacking risk, due to expired or misconfigured security certificates and exposed web server information.
The study analysed the public facing digital infrastructure of 1,722 major European retailers, mapping almost 58,000 digital assets including websites, e-commerce platforms and customer facing services. UK retailers accounted for the highest number of expired or invalid SSL certificates in the dataset.
The findings land after a series of high profile retail cyber incidents in 2025, including attacks that hit Co-op and M&S hard, and disrupted online ordering, in-store trading and supply chains.
Check out the study here.
5...Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer, is launching its secondhand marketplace in Sweden on 28th January. The platform will then be available in five countries: Spain, Norway, Portugal, Poland, and Sweden.
Ingka Group is aiming to reach 170,000 listings in 2026. Following pilots in Spain and Norway, and after launching in Portugal and Poland in 2025, Ikea says it has gained valuable insights into customer preferences, pricing models, and operational challenges in the secondhand market. These have helped shape the launch in Sweden. The retailer’s workers have been the first sellers and ambassadors, before opening up to the wider public.
“With the launch of Ikea’s secondhand marketplace in Sweden, we’re taking a meaningful step toward unlocking an even more affordable Ikea range while making it easy for customers to prolong the life of their items. Our ambition is to build the most vibrant and inclusive community where people connect with each other and with Ikea to make home furnishing pass-on easy, accessible, and rewarding,” says Kirsten Andersson, Managing Director for Platform & Marketplaces at Ikea Retail (Ingka Group).
“In markets where the service is already live, we’ve seen strong demand for bedroom furniture, storage solutions, and living room seating. It’s especially encouraging to see customers returning to buy or sell more items from the Ikea range.”
She adds: “We’re witnessing a cultural shift where buying secondhand furniture is no longer stigmatised. It’s stylish, smart, and socially accepted. With half of people donating unwanted items and two in five reselling them, the rise of resale and donation culture reflects changing values across generations.”
“In response to this shift, we aim to simplify and enhance secondhand buying and selling experience by providing a platform where customers can buy and sell secondhand products directly from each other. This aligns with evolving customer expectations.”
$3.3 million...Consio AI, a startup that automates phone-based engagements for e-commerce brands, has announced a $3.3 million funding round. Its first such round, this was led by RTP Global (early backers of Datadog and Delivery Hero), with participation from Jason Lemkin’s SaaStr Fund, Mu Ventures, the founders of Gorgias, and industry operators from Ramp and Datadog.
Consio was co-founded by Philippe Roireau and Martin Latrille, who were early employees at Gorgias, a customer support unicorn.
“Shoppers making big purchases want real conversations not another email or chatbot,” says Roireau. “Consio picks up every inbound call instantly and places perfectly timed outbound follow-ups, so brands never miss a sale or make customers wait.”
The new capital will be used to accelerate engineering, go to market, and partner ecosystem growth.
“Voice is the most underutilised conversion lever in commerce especially for high ticket purchases,” says Thomas Cuvelier, Partner at RTP Global. “Consio AI unlocks the phone channel as a profitable growth engine. Backing Philippe and Martin was obvious given their unique domain expertise from Gorgias.”
1,000...Screwfix, a Kingfisher Group owned retailer of trade tools, accessories and hardware products, reports a milestone of 1,000 stores across the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and France.
In a LinkedIn post, John Mewett, CEO at Screwfix, said: “When we opened our very first store in Yeovil back in 2005, I don’t think any of us imagined we’d be celebrating 1,000 stores today. This growth has only been possible because of the trust and loyalty of our customers and the incredible commitment of our colleagues.”
He added: “Reflections on our journey to store 1,000; the strength of our people - Across our 1,000 stores, it’s our 14,000 colleagues who go the extra mile; Customer experience - Our store network is the backbone of our promise to the trade. We focus on being convenient so that busy tradespeople can get what they need quickly and get back to the job; A shared international journey – From our start in Yeovil to our expansion into Ireland in 2019, to our recent growth in France - it's been a huge team effort; Creating opportunities – This isn't just about store numbers; it's about the thousands of jobs and career paths we’ve helped build in local communities over the last two decades.”
Mewett concluded: “A heartfelt thank you to everyone at Screwfix , across Kingfisher and our suppliers who have contributed to this growth. This is an incredible milestone, and one we’ve achieved together.”
$27.5 million...PAR Technology, a foodservice technology provider, has agreed a deal to acquire identity resolution and shopper intelligence platform Bridg, a division of Cardlytics.
The purchase price is $27.5 million, subject to adjustments with a maximum total purchase price of $30 million, and is payable in shares of PAR Technology common stock. PAR Technology will also assume certain liabilities associated with the acquired assets. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
“Adding Bridg will propel us toward delivering the industry’s most complete and intelligent platform, built to unlock 1:1 customer connections at scale,” says Savneet Singh, CEO at PAR Technology. “As we connect data seamlessly across every touchpoint, we will redefine what insight driven execution looks like and empower brands to move faster, operate smarter, and achieve stronger profitable growth in a marketplace that will only become more competitive.”
One-third of UK-based listed retailers issued a profit warning in 2025, marking the fourth consecutive year that the proportion of warnings from the sector has been at this level or above, according to research by EY Parthenon.
FTSE retailers issued 15 profit warnings in 2025. Although the total number of warnings fell from the 20 issued during 2024, pressure intensified as the year progressed, with nine of the 15 issued in the second half of 2025. The FTSE personal care, drug and grocery sector saw warnings rise to eight in 2025 from five the previous year.
Silvia Rindone, EY-Parthenon UK&I Retail Lead, says: "Changing consumer behaviour is continuing to make the trading environment challenging, with shoppers trading down, delaying purchases until promotions, and becoming increasingly selective.”
“Despite an uplift in retail sales in 2025, this masks the persistent pressures that many businesses are facing. Rising employment costs - from the national living wage to national insurance - have proved difficult to absorb or pass through in a market defined by fierce competition, price wars, and volatile demand patterns.”
“The growing divergence in performance across the sector reflects another structural challenge: the accelerating pace of digital and AI enabled transformation. Those able to invest in new technologies, automation and operational agility are pulling ahead, while others are struggling to keep up as tech savvy competitors move quickly to capture market share.”
“Varied Christmas trading results highlighted these pressures, as well as the growing gap between winners and those falling behind. Success in the year ahead will depend on clarity of proposition, and the ability to drive full‑price sales and loyalty in a market where consumers are more discerning than ever.”
32%...A survey of 1,000 UK adults, conducted by The Harris Poll UK, highlights the growing pressure on retailers’ free returns policies, as they balance customer expectations with operational sustainability in times when both customers are financially challenged and retailers are facing increased costs.
Most shoppers now support ‘fair use’ free returns policies to curb abuse and keep returns for the majority.
The research shows that 32% of UK shoppers have engaged in wardrobing, rising to 43% among under-34s, with 21% admitting to doing so frequently. A third of shoppers say they ‘wardrobe’ more often due to ongoing cost-of-living pressures, underlining how financial strain is pushing shoppers to ‘play the system’.
Returns already represent a major cost for retailers, estimated at £27 billion a year across the UK reverse logistics chain, with around one-third of clothing shoppers regularly returning items.
Steve Brockway, Chief Research Officer at The Harris Poll UK, says: “Free returns still matter enormously to UK shoppers, and for many people they play a real role in deciding where to buy. But this research shows there is also a strong sense that the system should be used fairly.”
“Most people recognise that a small minority of serial returners are driving up costs, and they are supportive of sensible limits when those limits are clearly designed to protect free returns for the majority.”
£60,000...Spar Alloa Road has broken the £60,000 monthly sales barrier on rapid grocery delivery after a record December performance by the family run convenience store.
The store, operated by Asiyah and Jawad Javed, generated £63,424 in online sales from 2,830 orders in December alone and acquired 349 new customers during the month.
Across 2025, Spar Alloa Road grew Snappy Shopper sales by almost 120% year-on-year, reaching £350,000 in annual delivery revenue, up from £160,000 in 2024.
Jawad says: “The growth we’ve seen has been huge. In December alone, we broke the £60,000 in online sales barrier for the first time. That level of growth came down to strong offers, great prices and the fact that customers genuinely love a bargain.”
With an average order value of £30 in December, delivery has shifted beyond top up shops, with many customers now ordering multiple times a week.
Continue reading…