An app-based, ‘pay-per-task’ platform which connects gig workers with independent and franchise convenience stores has expanded into Manchester, following its UK launch in Leeds in January.
Traxlo – which is also running pilots in London and Milton Keynes – said it opted to establish a hub in the city following demand from retailers there “looking for new ways to control rising labour costs”.
Convenience stores using the platform pay on a “outcome-priced, pay-per-task” basis - for example restocking one pallet of goods or completing a gap scan in a store - rather than the “inflexible, fixed-cost” route of securing temporary staffing from traditional agencies, Traxlo said.
“Many independent and franchise retailers are actively looking for new ways to manage rising employment costs while keeping stores running at a high standard,” said Paul Vezelis, CEO and co-founder of Traxlo.
“We’re seeing strong early interest from operators who want more control over labour spend and the flexibility to respond to daily operational needs. Our pay-per-task model helps them reduce fixed costs, protect margins and run more efficient stores without the risk of over-staffing.”
Retailers, either at HQ or local level, set payment levels for tasks in advance, which typically range from £3 to £50.
These tasks are then distributed locally via Traxlo’s gig worker app (tasku.app) which allows local gig workers to view and choose tasks they are qualified to undertake. Traxlo handles all quality control, including initial legal right-to-work checks and task training.
Some 30,000 gig workers are registered as ‘taskers’ on the platform across Europe. More than a thousand have already signed up to complete tasks in Manchester.
Traxlo was founded in 2020 in Lithuania, and since then its marketplace has delivered more than 300,000 physical tasks, ranging from shelf replenishment and product scanning to warehouse unloading and online grocery order picking.
Users include Carrefour, Rewe Group, Baltic retail player Rimi, and Żabka, one of Poland’s largest convenience store chains.
Last year, Traxlo raised €1.6m to extend its business across central and eastern Europe.
“There are plenty of reports and statistics about declining retail staff morale, a worsening labour market and the impact of higher wage costs and tax increases,” Vezelis said. “Having tested and refined our model in Europe for the last few years, we are now in exactly the right position to empower UK retailers to manage a flexible, specialised, trained human resource on a pay-per-task basis.”
“This model brings with it a time and cost reduction but also enables internal staff to focus on core, high-value tasks and improves a store’s local community engagement as it becomes recognised as both a place to earn as well as spend,” he added.
Traxlo is currently developing an AI engine, which will automate task creation and completion checks using LLM agents and computer vision.
“We’re not another gig or shift labour app. We’re building the labour infrastructure for the age of AI,” Vezelis said. “If AI is automating knowledge work, Traxlo is standardising and distributing physical work at the same scale.”
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