The retail technology year in review: August

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

Winners

The top three healthiest brands in the UK are all bricks and mortar retailers, John Lewis, Ikea and Marks and Spencer, research by YouGov found.

Autonomous robot delivery company Starship Technologies secured $40 million in Series A funding.

Nudge Rewards closed a $9.3 million investment round led by Jump Capital, with support from existing investors.

Swedish PayTech venture Klarna closed a funding round valuing it at $5.5 billion ahead of a potential stock market flotation.

Zippin moved beyond pilot stage and announced its first public customer, with Brazilian retailer Lojas Americanas set to deploy its checkout-free technology in stores across the country.

Delivery tech firm Sorted raised £15 million in a Series B funding round led by Merian Chrysalis, alongside Praetura Ventures and NVM Private Equity.

Global revenues for blockchain technology are set to hit $10 billion by 2023, with the retail sector playing a key role, according to ABI Research.

UK FinTech venture Flux announced the delivery of its 500,000th digital receipt.

Shoe retailer, Moda in Pelle, reported a 33% increase in transactions through a social media marketing campaign in support of the Pink Ribbon Foundation.

Specsavers announced on Twitter that it would offer Jack Leach “free glasses for life” after the bowler kept his wicket intact to help Ben Stokes and England to a remarkable Ashes victory.

Losers

Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart apologised after a video of rats scurrying around an outlet in Tokyo's popular Shibuya district went viral.

Patrick Byrne resigned as CEO of US online retailer Overstock. This closely followed the announcement of disappointing Q2 2019 financial results.

A no-deal Brexit would end UK 14-day returns and slash EU shoppers’ rights, according to delivery venture ParcelHero.

Also in August…

72% of UK retailers see Click & Collect services as a solution to drive High Street footfall. At the same time, however, UK shoppers leave £228 million worth of items uncollected each year, according to Barclaycard research.

Karen Millen and Coast were an unlikely fit for the fast fashion-focused boohoo, argued GlobalData.

Oracle said it was suing blockchain startup CryptoOracle over its name.

Marks and Spencer completed its acquisition of half of Ocado Retail, giving it a food delivery service for the first time.

Lars Larsen, the founder of Scandinavian furniture retailer Jysk, died. He was 71.