retail
UK driver shortage could steer grocery retailers toward bigger profits
The increasing prices as a result of today’s driver shortage could create a far more profitable e-grocery opportunity for British retailers by driving click-and-deliver customers to click-and-collect.
The Main Tab revamps luxury goods marketplace after picking up $1M in pre-seed funding
The company is launching a new website and app this fall with about 200 luxury retailers.
Marc Lore-backed ‘conversational commerce’ startup Wizard raises $50M Series A from NEA
Marc Lore, who earlier this year stepped down from his role as Walmart’s head of U.S. e-commerce, is now backing a new startup in the e-commerce space called Wizard. Lore…
Amazon opens its first 4-star store outside the US
Amazon has opened a 4-star store in a mall just southeast of central London. It’s not just the first 4-star store outside the US, it’s also the company’s first UK…
B2B marketplace ZAX targets Latin America’s wholesale sector with $6M in fresh capital
ZAX’s platform unites freight, delivery and payments tools to connect sellers and buyers in Brazil.
Over the past year, Latin America has been covered heavily in the international news as the COVID-19 pandemic led many to question our endurance in the face of a crisis.
Inventory optimization startup Flieber bags $12M, aims to help retailers avoid out-of-stock, overstock moments
The platform aims to give multi-channel brands a leg up when it comes to determining what the ideal stock level would be across all of their sales channels and inventory…
Albertsons sets off Firework’s livestream, shoppable video experience on website
Albertsons is the first U.S. grocer to utilize Firework’s platform to create, host and curate its own short-form and livestream video to improve customer engagement.
Cartona gets $4.5M pre-Series A to connect retailers with suppliers in Egypt
Today, Cartona is announcing that it has raised a $4.5 million pre-Series A funding round to connect retailers and manufacturers via an application. It’s looking to take a large piece…
Constructor finds $55M for tech that powers search and discovery for e-commerce businesses
One of the biggest problems in the world of e-commerce is the predicament of shopping cart abandonment: when shoppers aren’t getting to what they want fast enough — whether it’s…
A specific vertical of BNPL products is gaining traction: one targeted toward small and medium enterprises (SMEs), also known as “SME BNPL.”
Extra Crunch roundup: China’s new data privacy law, fractional farming, debt vs. equity
China’s first data privacy laws go into effect on November 1, 2021. Will your company be in compliance? Modeled after the EU’s GDPR, the new regulations “[introduce] perhaps the most…
Customer experience startup Clootrack raises $4M, helps brands see through their customers’ eyes
Clootrack is a real-time customer experience analytics platform that helps brands understand why customers stay or churn
Featured Article
D2C specs purveyor Warby Parker files to go public
Warby Parker has two main sales channels, largely attractive economics, falling losses and rising adjusted profitability. You could even argue it handled the pandemic well. So what’s it worth?
Shipt’s new feature pairs members with their favorite, 5-star shoppers
Target’s same-day delivery service Shipt is launching a new feature that will pair customers with their favorite shoppers on future orders. This “Preferred Shoppers” feature will be available as a…
Givz raises $3M in seed funding to make donations a marketing tool for businesses
Givz, which has developed an API-powered platform that gives brands a way to convert discounts into donations, has raised $3 million in seed funding. Eniac and Accomplice co-led the financing…
Tiger Global backs Nacelle with $50M for its e-commerce infrastructure
Consumer shift to buying online during the global pandemic — and keeping that habit — continues to boost revenue for makers of e-commerce developer tools.
Amazon will pay you $10 in credit for your palm print biometrics
How much is your palm print worth? If you ask Amazon, it’s about $10 in promotional credit if you enroll your palm prints in its checkout-free stores and link it…
White-label SaaS shipping startup Outvio closes $3M round led by Change Ventures
Outvio offers online stores of any size a post-purchase shipping setup, which seeks to replicate an Amazon-style experience where customers can also return packages.
Acrew Capital, Jeff Bezos back Colombia-based proptech La Haus’ $100M debt, equity round
La Haus, which has developed an online real estate marketplace operating in Mexico and Colombia, has secured $100 million in additional funding, including $50 million in equity and $50 million…
Twitter launches US e-commerce pilot that lets users shop from profiles
Twitter this morning will launch a pilot in the U.S. aimed at testing the potential for e-commerce on its platform. The company is introducing a new “Shop Module” that offers…
Vaayu’s carbon tracking for retailers raises $1.6M, claims it could cut CO2 in half by 2030
Carbon tracking is very much the new hot thing in tech, and we’ve previously covered more generalist startups doing this at scale for companies, such as Plan A Earth out…
Misconceptions about AI in the workplace have long been a barrier to widespread adoption — but companies experiencing labor shortages should consider where it can make their employees’ lives better.
Apple is opening a store in downtown LA’s nearly 100-year-old Tower Theatre
This Thursday, Apple will mark the opening of a new store in downtown Los Angeles. The space occupies the newly renovated Tower Theatre, which opened in DTLA’s Broadway Theater District…
Transmit Security raises $543M Series A to kill off the password
Transmit Security, a Boston-based startup that’s on a mission to rid the world of passwords, has raised a massive $543 million in Series A funding. The funding round, said to…
A look inside Google’s first store, opening in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood tomorrow
There have been plenty of pop-ups over the years, but tomorrow Google’s first store opens in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood. The brick-and-mortar model finds the company joining peers like Apple, Microsoft,…
Twitter to begin pilot testing Fleet ads starting today
Ads are coming to Twitter’s version of Stories, known as Fleets. The company announced today it will began pilot testing Fleet ads in the U.S., which will bring full-screen, vertical…
There may be billions of IoT devices in use today, but the tooling around building (and updating) the software for them still leaves a lot to be desired. Esper, which…
Look out Amazon Go — A Lisbon startup plans to offer autonomous stores to other retailers
Look out Amazon Go. A Lisbon startup plans to offer the same autonomous store technology to other retailers. Lisbon-based Sensei, a computer vision startup that allows convenience stores to offer…
Location data analytics startup Placer.ai raises $50M Series B
It’s been a very tough year for Placer.ai’s core customer segments of retail and commercial real estate, to put it mildly. But the foot traffic and location analytics startup saw…
