Peak named among top 50 global tech start-ups powering the new retail world

28 April 2020, LONDON, UK — Peak is among the top 50 retail tech start-ups operating globally, according to a new report published today by RWRC – home of Retail Week and World Retail Congress.

Retailers worldwide are scrutinising their business models more closely than ever, as they grapple with the impact of the coronavirus crisis and seek to deliver sales and maintain relevance among consumers.

There is a growing realisation in boardrooms that collaboration with start-ups and third parties is crucial to achieve these aims and to better position businesses within the new post-COVID-19 world of commerce.

Profiling the top 50 global retail tech start-ups, the Discovery 50 report analyses the influential role start-ups including Peak play in this new world.

Start-ups were judged and shortlisted by a panel of retail and business experts including retail consultant Ian Shephard, retail analyst Natalie Berg, former Morrisons CTO Anna Barsby, Co:Cubed chief executive Jeremy Basset, Retail Week head of insight Lisa Byfield-Green and more.

The Discovery 50 all started trading in the last seven years and have worked with a breadth of retailers and brands to help transform their businesses, either through a pilot or full-scale solution.

Meet the Discovery 50

• Aura Vision
• Avasam
• Catapult
• Clearpay
• Common Objective
• Donde Search
• Duologi
• DynamicAction
• ElizaSixtyFour
• Engagement Agents
• Flux
• Gophr
• Hurr Collective
• Hyper
• Increasingly
• Intelistyle
• Karakuri
• LiSA
• LovetheSales
• LoyaltyLion
• meepl
• Mercaux
• NearSt
• Neighbourly
• Nextail
• Ometria
• Omnia Retail
• Onvu Retail
• parcelLab
• Peak
• Personify XP
• PlanVault
• Quorso
• RevLifter
• Scurri
• Shopper Intelligence
• SignStix
• Smarter Click Technology
• Sook
• Sparkbox
• Spoon Guru
• StorIQ
• Stuffstr
• Thyngs
• TokyWoky
• VeeLoop
• VoCoVo
• WiseShelf
• ZigZag Global
• Zoovu

Many of the start-ups have helped brands to leverage their online presence, support the development of tribes and communities and take costs out of a business – all areas that are front of mind as the sector enters uncharted coronavirus-influenced waters.

Several others specialise in in-store solutions, some of which will be redundant for retailers right now, but which have the potential to help non-essential shops bounce back when the crisis passes.

The report also offers advice on how leaders can open themselves up to new and different ways of thinking and the benefits this can have on the bottom line.

For instance, a 2018 report from professional services company Accenture found only 6% of corporate businesses were generating a significant proportion of their income from new activities and investments. However, this same 6% reported the strongest financial performance of all 1,440 companies Accenture surveyed.

Retail Week commercial content editor Megan Dunsby commented: “The Discovery 50 shows how start-ups can offer a lifeline for retailers.

“Now is the time for businesses to think about how they could work differently with the start-up community and build synergies; from creating a fast-track, light-touch process for forming contractual relationships to pre-allocating some funding that can be used for trials.

“Many start-ups in the Discovery 50 have implemented pilot schemes within weeks of starting conversations with a retailer, while others have been able to integrate full-scale solutions in a matter of months that have delivered major return on investment.

“Retailers should look to the Discovery 50 as a directory of the best start-ups to work with.”

Download the Discovery 50 report here

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