The retail technology year in review: April

RTIH takes a look back at April and rounds up the winners and losers.

Winners

Argos for the first time exceeded £2 billion in sales generated through customers using smartphones and tablets.

Klarna released its annual financial report for 2018.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally cleared PayPal’s $2.2 billion takeover of iZettle, concluding that the merged group would still face “significant competition” from the likes of Worldpay and Square.

US startup Happy Returns closed a $11 million funding round headed up by PayPal.

Helsinki-based blockchain-powered social marketplace SOMA closed a €1.1 billon bridge funding round, which includes the Finnish Government and private angel investors.

Kurly, the South Korean company behind online grocery delivery platform Market Kurly, completed a KRW 100 billion ($88 million) Series D funding round.

UK supermalls retail spend was set to rise 7% out to 2023 as spend was diverted away from “lacklustre and often neglected town centres”, according to GlobalData.

Online beauty retailer The Hut Group was ready to ramp up its tech spending after securing improved banking facilities, in excess of $1 billion.

Starship Technologies notched up 50,000 commercial deliveries in the UK.

Ethical consumer mobile app CoGo closed a £300,000 funding round led by members of investment platform Conduit Connect and a series of angel investors and family offices.

Losers

JCPenney quietly dropped Apple Pay.

Year-on-year total UK retail employment fell by 2.4% in Q1 2019, a higher reduction than the one of 2.2% seen in Q4 2018, according to the BRC. And more jobs would disappear unless the Government changed its approach to the sector, the organisation claimed.

Sainsbury's and Asda ditched their planned £13 billion merger after it was blocked by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA), with the regulator saying it would lead to higher prices in stores, online and at many petrol stations across the UK.