Monday, December 23, 2024

Starring Primark, Auger, eBay, and RTS 2025: the biggest retail technology news stories of the week — Retail Technology Innovation Hub

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6. Legion Technologies bags $50 million from Silicon Valley Bank for AI powered workforce management

Legion Technologies, a specialist in workforce management, has received $50 million in financing from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank. The raise, which brings Legion’s total funding to $195 million, follows a $50 million growth round led by Riverwood Capital earlier this year.

“From the beginning, we have been on a mission to improve hourly jobs and the capital we’ve received from investors this year demonstrates the enduring value of that mission,” says Sanish Mondkar, Founder and CEO at Legion Technologies.

“Our tremendous growth stems from the accelerating need for effective workforce management solutions, and this latest financing from SVB further proves that our intelligently automated, employee centric platform is the best choice for today’s hourly employees.”

“There is increased demand for AI native workforce management solutions that can improve both labour operations and the employee experience,” says Marisa Phan, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank.

“Legion has successfully been working to transform the hourly work experience to meet the needs of the modern employee. With this latest financing, we are proud to support Legion as it enables intelligent automation to shape a new future of work.”

7. UK retailer Harvey Nichols teams up with OSF Digital to boost customer engagement with centralised platform

OSF Digital has unveiled a centralised platform for UK luxury fashion retailer Harvey Nichols. The initiative aims to equip Harvey Nichols’ marketing team with advanced tools and insights, driving increased return on investment (ROI) and customer engagement. 

 “We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Harvey Nichols and Salesforce, delivering a transformative centralised platform that redefines customer engagement,” says Gerard Szatvanyi, CEO at OSF Digital.  

“This collaboration underscores our commitment to leveraging Salesforce’s robust capabilities to empower Harvey Nichols with a unified customer view, driving innovation and growth in the luxury retail sector. Together, we are setting a new standard for personalised customer experiences that align with Harvey Nichols’ esteemed brand heritage.”

OSF Digital has previously implemented a Salesforce Loyalty Management system for Harvey Nichols. Building on this, it is now enhancing the retailer’s capabilities with Salesforce Data Cloud and MuleSoft integrations.

Goals include engaging existing customers, boosting retention, and attracting new leads through a centralised platform that enables marketers to elevate segmentation and targeting. By unifying customer data across all channels, Harvey Nichols aims to enhance engagement, personalisation, and conversion while enabling its CRM team to increase efficiency without IT dependency. 

8. eBay and FinTech giant Klarna expand tie up bringing buy now pay later service to new markets

eBay and Klarna have announced the expansion of their partnership to key European markets making the latter’s BNPL options available to more of the former’s shoppers.

Expanding from a launch in Germany, eBay is offering Klarna (including Pay in 3 and Pay in 30 Days)  to people in the UK, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, with more markets coming soon.

Avritti Khandurie Mittal, VP & General Manager of Global Payments and Financial Services at eBay, says: “We are unlocking greater payment choice and flexibility for eBay shoppers by expanding our strategic partnership with Klarna to several key markets.”

“People turn to eBay’s more than two billion listings to find the things they love, from a rare Pokemon trading card to a gently pre-loved Birkin bag or that well-priced Rolex watch. We know our customers value the ability to pay in a way that works for them. With Klarna, eBay shoppers now have the flexibility to pay over time by selecting from a variety of Klarna’s pay later payment options at checkout.”

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