Do you like numbers? Do you like retail technology? Then this is the article for you.

38%…UK online retail sales growth on Black Friday weighed in at +38% this year, with the full Black Friday week (defined as 23rd-30th November) seeing growth of 30%. 

That’s according to research by the IMRG, based on the daily online sales performance of 102 UK retailers.

2…Coca-Cola’s two festive campaigns are the best performing Christmas ads in 2020, according to Kantar research.

60 minutes…Shoppers were waiting in queues for over an hour on the Debenhams website this week as they looked to bag deals following the retailer’s collapse in to liquidation.

The department store chain is being wound down after JD Sports pulled out of talks on a rescue takeover.

120,000…Currys PC World says that this Black Friday weekend was its busiest ever online with nearly 120,000 calls taken through its ShopLive personal video shopping service.

370…XPO Logistics has deployed 370 barcode scanners featuring machine vision tech in warehouses in the UK, Spain, France and the Netherlands. 

20,000…Pizza Hut is now accepting cryptocurrency payments at all stores in Venezuela.

The move follows CryptoBuyer teaming with Mega Soft to drive crypto adoption in the South American country by facilitating payments at more than 20,000 shops and businesses.

$2.4 billion…Shopify has announced record setting Black Friday sales of $2.4 billion from the one million plus independent and direct-to-consumer brands on its platform.

1…Westfield London has opened the doors to what is pitched as the world’s first store where you can rent everything you need for Christmas.

A Very Rental Christmas is curated by TV presenter, Laura Whitmore. It will be open until 13th December and offer the likes of eco-friendly potted Christmas trees, a range of decorative lights, traditional and modern decorations and tableware. 

46…Tony Hsieh, the co-founder of online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos, has died. He was 46.

77%…Black Friday saw UK retail footfall down 77% year-on-year, as most non-essential stores remained closed during a second coronavirus lockdown, according to ShopperTrak data from Sensormatic Solutions.

100…Buy now, pay later specialist Klarna did more transactions on Black Friday 2020 than during its first four years combined. Throughout the day it racked up over 100 transactions per second.

1…Sainsbury’s has taken the top spot in Mediaocean’s fourth annual Top 10 Christmas Ad Rankings.

£6.5 billion…Brits are set to spend £6.5 billion at independent retailers this Christmas, according to research from Direct Line – Business.

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