And then there were 20: Amazon Fresh UK convenience store was to open at Notting Hill Gate in London
Amazon UK is opening a Just Walk Out technology-powered Amazon Fresh store in Notting Hill Gate on 29 November.
This will be the 20th in the UK market and the 19th in London, with the location outside of London in Sevenoaks, Kent.
It will include an Amazon collection and returns counter and follows the launch of new stores in Liverpool Street earlier this year and Moorgate in August.
In an interview with RTIH, Amazon Fresh UK director Matt Birch said it would have the latest in Amazon Fresh thinking both in terms of the range and also its payment options. Tackling the issue of payments for Amazon Fresh has been a necessary focus, with many blaming the slower-than-expected store rollout on the limited ways customers pay.
The original goal had been a portfolio of more than 200 stores by the end of 2025. Previously, the ability to pay was limited to payment by QR code. That has now changed.
“We have thought a lot about how customers can pay in our stores. Instead of just paying with the QR code, which a lot of our customers love, you can also just tap a credit card to pay, and in response to listening to customers and how they want to experience our stores, ” Birch said.
E-commerce disruption: OnBuy boss Cas Paton talks first profitable month and plans for 2024
UK-based online marketplace OnBuy had its first ever profitable month in October and expects a profitable quarter.
In a LinkedIn post, OnBuy founder and CEO Cas Paton, who did not disclose specific numbers, said: “We have closed a strategic investment from a NASDAQ-listed global technology player. Now we are inviting our existing shareholders to invest in the next tranche of the journey.”
He added that his company was exploring the possibility of opening a small round for external investors, sellers, customers to participate through crowdfunding.
Freedompay announces addition of micro-donation charity Pennies to its technology stack
FinTech firm Freedompay has announced a strategic partnership with Pennies, the micro-donation charity.
This will see it integrate Pennies into its technology stack.
Alison Hutchinson, CEO of Pennies, says: “We are delighted to partner with FreedomPay, whose innovation, growth and focused mission have the potential to unlock millions more opportunities for micro-donations.”
“FreedomPay’s values align with our own commitment to making it easy to give every day – ensuring customers have affordable ways to donate and enabling brands to create real social impact.”
“We look forward to working with FreedomPay and their merchants, using technology for social good and raising millions for charity.”
Electronics retailer Maplin is implementing the new TrueLayer payments app as it goes live on the Shopify App Store
FinTech firm TrueLayer reports that its new payments app is now live on the Shopify App Store, allowing UK and EU merchants to add open bank payments to their checkout.
Electronics retailer Maplin has gone live with the app, with additional partners to be announced soon.
The move enables Shopify merchants to add instant bank payments to their website in a matter of hours.
As a result, TrueLayer says they can quickly take advantage of a faster and more secure payment option at a fraction of the cost of cards or PayPal.
TrueLayers Open Banking payments are digitally native and require no manual data entry. Customers’ information is automatically filled in directly from their bank account. Payments utilize biometric authentication to verify customers’ identities.
Irish startup GreyScout secures an investment of 3.5 million euros for an online fire protection platform
GreyScout, a SaaS platform for online brand protection, has announced a €3.5 million seed investment, bringing the total to €4.5 million.
The round was jointly led by Act VC and Tribal, with participation from Furthr VC, Enterprise Ireland and HBAN.
Founded in 2020 by John Killian and Chris McCauley, GreyScout is designed to programmatically monitor e-commerce channels, identify potential intellectual property violations and gray market activity, with the company catching the attention of the likes of Nestle, Bayer, Netgear, Mayborn and Dorel Maxi-Cosi.
TalkShopLive and Bass Pro Shops power country music legend Garth Brooks live shopping event
TalkShopLive and Bass Pro Shops have streamed Inside Studio G as a live shopping event featuring American country singer-songwriter Garth Brooks.
The livestream event took place on November 6 at 7:00 PM ET during Brooks’ weekly series and featured Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris in conversation with Brooks discussing his new album, Time Traveler, available only in The Limited Series box set available at Bass Pro Shop throughout North America and globally through this event.