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Chronogolf raises $2 million to offer golf courses inventory management, payment solutions (BETAKIT)
The funding comes from iNovia Capital, Telegraph Hill Capital, VDP Croissance, and Anges QC.
DMS Recommends: Connected Consumer Study: Digital assistants and the future of emerging technology in Canada (DIGITALMAINSTREET)
The digital assistant—already being used by 17% of millennials—is poised to reshape Canadians’ lives in the coming years by helping them navigate the internet more naturally than ever before.
Casper opens a storefront for $25 naps (TECHCRUNCH)
Casper is opening a storefront designed specifically for sleepy New Yorkers in need of a nap. In The Dreamery, you can reserve nooks for 45 minutes at a time, at a cost of $25 per session.
Target’s Instagram-like app links designers with customers (RETAILDIVE)
“Studio Connect enables our designers to interact with guests at any point while developing products, encouraging conversations and adding a level of flexibility to the formal feedback process.”
Walmart said to weigh bids from Capital One, Synchrony for its credit-card business (CNBC)
Walmart wants its credit card partner to support its aspirations for Walmart Pay, with a substantial part of that being an expansion in its offering of mobile payments.
Retail startup Bulletin is giving brands new tools to manage their in-store presence
(TECHCRUNCH)
Bulletin Omni is a software platform that allows brands to apply to sell with Bulletin, manage their inventory and track their sales.
Local retail visibility platform Pointy raises $12 million in Series B (FINSMES)
Pointy provides local bricks and mortar stores with a platform to make all of their inventory visible online.
Equifax and Thinking Capital launch payments platform for small businesses and suppliers (BETAKIT)
BillMarket leverages Equifax’s Small Business Grade solution to allow businesses to access their free credit grades and available credit, determine their credit limits, and extend their payment terms with suppliers by checking their certification reports.
New Nike concept store goes Live in LA (RETAILDIVE)
Experiential doesn’t mean the same for every brand, concept or customer. That’s a lesson the retailer is taking to heart as it iterates on the future of direct-to-consumer stores.
Amazon’s share of the US e-commerce market is now 49%, or 5% of all retail spend (TECHCRUNCH)
It started as an online bookstore, but today Amazon is a behemoth in all areas of e-commerce, fuelled by a strong Marketplace network of third-party sellers, an ever-expanding range of goods from groceries to fashion, and a very popular loyalty program in the form of Prime.
Point-of-sale platform Toast raises $115 million at $1.4 billion valuation (VENTUREBEAT)
The funding was led by T. Rowe Price, with participation from Tiger Global Management and existing investors such as Bessemer, Generation Investment Management, and Lead Edge Capital.
Snap and Amazon are reportedly working on a visual search feature for Snapchat (FORTUNE)
A version of Snapchat being developed for Android phones includes code for a new feature called “Visual Search” that can use Snapchat’s camera to send images of a product or a barcode scan to Amazon, which then display search results.
