NCR Acquires eCommerce Retail Platform Freshop

NCR Corp., which offers a point-of-sale (POS) platform, has acquired Freshop, an eCommerce company. The combined companies’ products, NCR said in a press release, “will give retailers, especially regional and small grocery chains, the ability to quickly deploy ‘buy-online, pick-up-in-store’ capabilities to serve their customers’ needs directly.”

NCR added, “This combination enables retailers to build stronger customer relationships, strengthen their brands, and earn better margins than with third-party eCommerce providers.”

“As we continue to expand NCR’s software and services-led offerings, the addition of Freshop to our retail platform” will offer greater value to customers, said NCR President and CEO Michael D. Hayford.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The release said NCR estimates buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) eCommerce will grow by 25 percent per year through 2025. “With Freshop, NCR can now help grocers capitalize on the growth in eCommerce going forward,” NCR said, adding that its products can serve customers better than third-party eCommerce providers.

“We know that by joining the industry leader in retail technology, Freshop can scale more rapidly and be an even bigger force in the market,” said Freshop CEO Brian Moyer.

Freshop, based in Rochester, N.Y., said it is dedicated to “building eCommerce solutions to provide full digital engagement for grocery and specialty retail.” The company’s website said its products are used by over 3,000 stores worldwide.

“Freshop’s eCommerce capabilities will become a key component of NCR’s next-generation retail store” products, the release said.

In a recent interview, NCR’s senior vice president and general manager of digital banking, Doug Brown, told PYMNTS that the key industries his company serves are banking, restaurants and retail. The common link, he said, is that they are all about “how do you simplify operations and the customer experience?”

With restaurants, for example, “It’s not just taking orders, but coordinating the process through the entire kitchen staff and then linking it to delivery, pickup and payment for an end-to-end model,” Brown said.

“That’s what we’re about,” he said. “Tackling those tougher problems to simplify things — and that’s true in banking, retail and restaurants.”