In today’s ExchangeWire news digest: New data shows global buy-now, pay-later purchases surged in 2021; Apple’s attempt to reject a lawsuit from the creator of rival app store Cydia is dismissed; and Indonesian startup Astro raises US$60 million ($47 million) in a Series B funding round.
Global buy now pays later buys hit $120 billion in 2021
New findings from GlobalData have revealed that global purchases buy now, pay later (BNPL) reached US$120bn (£95bn)a nearly fourfold increase from US$33bn (£26bn) in 2019.
The analytics and consultancy firm’s report showed BNPL purchases accounted for 2.3% of global e-commerce last year, indicating the service’s growing popularity over the past two years. Companies such as Zilch, Afterpay and Klarna have seen demand for their services soar during the coronavirus pandemic as consumers overwhelmingly shift to online shopping. CNBC data suggests that young consumers in particular have driven this growth for BNPL services.
Chris Dinga, Payments Analyst at GlobalData, commented, “This rapid growth is due to the growing number of merchants accepting these solutions,” adding, “There have been huge partnerships with e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Shopify, opening up a whole new world of consumers.
GlobalData’s findings, however, come as BNPL companies brace for a regulatory crackdown in the UK. The Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority are expected to move towards implementing tougher consumer protection measures in the coming months. Klarna anticipated this stricter regulatory framework by implementing new measures, which means that the use of its service could have an impact on consumers’ credit scores. The Swedish company has also reduced its workforce by around 10% in order to protect its profits in the context of a global economic slowdown.
Apple faces new lawsuit against Cydia
An amended antitrust lawsuit filed against Apple by the creator of Cydia will go aheaddespite the tech giant’s attempts to dismiss the case.
Cydia was developed before the App Store and allowed iPhone users to download third-party apps to jailbroken devices. Its creator, Jay Freeman (also known as Saurik) alleges that Apple has “wrongfully acquired and maintained monopoly power” over the payment and distribution of iOS apps, depriving third-party apps of “the ability to compete the App Store”. Freeman permanently closed Cydia in 2018.
Freeman previously filed a lawsuit against the company in 2020, which failed due to California District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ ruling that its claims exceeded the four-year statute of limitations for antitrust lawsuits. Gonzalez Rogers, however, gave Freeman the opportunity to amend his complaint, which the software engineer did to accuse Apple of implementing “more aggressive” changes in iOS from 2018 to 2021. According to Freeman, this approach prevented Cydia and similar third parties. Party app stores run efficiently on iPhones.
Apple’s motion to dismiss the revised lawsuit was denied by Gonzalez Rogers, who gave the California-based company 21 days to respond to the refiled lawsuit.
Astro raises $60 million to develop 15-minute grocery delivery service
Indonesian grocery delivery company Astro has closed a $60m (£47m) Series B funding round.
Led by Accel, Tiger Global and Citius, the funding round included investments from existing investors Lightspeed, Global Founders Capital, Sequoia Capital India and AC Ventures and brought Astro’s total funding to US$90 million ($71 million). pound sterling).
Founded just nine months ago by Tokopedia’s Vincent Tjendra, Astro offers 15-minute home deliveries within a 2-3km radius, housing inventory in rented “dark stores”, distribution points used for online shopping. The company employs 1,000 delivery drivers and operates in around 50 sites across the Indonesian capital Jakarta, an area of around 30 million people.
Astro said its revenue has increased tenfold in recent months and downloads of the company’s app have reached 1 million.
Astro’s meteoric growth comes at an auspicious time for online grocery shopping in Indonesia, which is expected to reach $6 billion (£4.7 billion) by 2025. This latest round of funding will allow the startup to improve user acquisition, enhance product development, and build on its existing workforce of 200 employees.
Also in the news:
– Merkle appoints Mark Atkinson as UK Sales Director
– Announcement of the winners of the prestigious MIXX Awards 2022 from IAB Europe!
– Hawk becomes the first platform on the market to integrate Skyrise data into the CTV offer
– Upcoming VlogBox Get-Together webinar to review data analytics and user engagement
