Do you like numbers? Do you like the latest retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including Target, Boots UK and Deliveroo, The Very Group, Klarna, JD.com and Best Buy.

14.9%…Shares in Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com jumped 14.9% in Hong Kong on Tuesday after the company revealed strong revenue and user growth in the second quarter.

47%…Contactless spending is expected to account for 47% of all UK transactions by the end of 2022, as it becomes the most popular payment method for the first time, according to research carried out by the Centre of Retail Research on behalf of by VoucherCodes.

6%…US startup Lolli has announced a partnership with ticket marketplace StubHub. 

This gives people the ability to earn up to 6% Bitcoin back on tickets for the likes of sporting events, theatre, and concerts.

StubHub joins 1,000+ other retailers offering Bitcoin rewards with Lolli, including Microsoft, Sephora, Kroger, and Best Buy.

$100 million…Online cannabis marketplace startup, Jane Technologies, has closed a $100 million Series C funding round.

$111 million…Klarna’s losses increased significantly in the second quarter.

The Swedish buy now, pay later venture, most recently valued at $46 billion in an investment round led by Japan’s SoftBank, increased the volume of purchases it processed on behalf of retailers by two-thirds in the second quarter to $20 billion.

But its operating losses rose from SKr89 million ($10 million) a year earlier to SKr965 million ($111 million) as credit losses more than doubled in the second quarter.

4…Target plans to open four new sortation centres this autumn in the Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia and Lawrenceville, Georgia markets, the retailer has announced.

Removing the sortation process from the backroom and stores and moving it to a dedicated facility will help free up space and time within retail locations, it says. The centres will get deliveries from stores and sort them for delivery partners like Shipt.

100,000…Zoom 1hr Delivery has reported its fulfilment of over 100,000 orders for the Co-op. 

Zoom, which is not to be confused with an Ocado offering bearing the same name, landed the partnership deal with the grocery retailer last year. The service now covers areas across the UK from Carlisle to Falmouth and throughout Wales.  

30%…Research undertaken by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Politico suggests that many Brits are concerned about a Bank of England issued central bank digital currency (CBDC).

2,500 people were surveyed in the study. 30% believe that a ‘Britcoin’ is “more likely to be harmful than beneficial to the UK,” with 24% stating that it could be beneficial, while the remaining participants at 46% were undecided.

7,873…Millennials are becoming a driving force behind changes to how retailers deliver goods, according to research by Sendcloud. 

A survey was conducted by Nielsen among 7,873 participants from eight European countries (Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom).

Four out of five Millennials in the UK considered flexibility as a key element of delivery compared to 53% of Boomers.

64%…New research from Valtech suggests that UK shoppers are increasingly open to innovative digital technologies designed to help them browse and buy from the safety of their homes. 

The company surveyed over 1,000 Brits and found that 64% are still attempting to avoid the high street due to ongoing concerns around Covid-19. 

14 and 400…Boots UK and Deliveroo have announced an exclusive partnership. 

This is launching at 14 pilot stores. Deliveroo’s UK customer base now has access to more than 400 Boots products on demand.

30…The Very Group, operator of online retailers Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, has extended the next day delivery cut off for customer orders from 7pm to 10pm, thanks to automated technology at Skygate, its East Midlands fulfilment centre. 

Skygate’s automated sortation, selection, picking and single or multi-order packaging technology has orders ready for dispatch within 30 minutes, compared to around four hours at Very’s previous fulfilment centres. 

9%…Consumers are willing to spend 9% more on a product if they receive superior customer service, according to research from Puzzel involving 1,000 Brits. 

111…Following the introduction of Simbe Robotics’ autonomous robot Tally in select stores, Schnuck Markets has announced a multi-year, full scale roll-out at 111 locations across the US.

It says that this makes it the first grocer in the world to utilise AI powered inventory management technology at scale. 

25%…Momentum in the self-checkout revolution kept up in 2020, with shipments booming by 25% globally, according to research from RBR. 

There are more than 20 vendors present, ranging from international suppliers to local players, as well as some retailers building their own solutions. 

NCR is the world’s largest self-checkout supplier, accounting for a third of shipments in 2020. 

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