The retail tech space in August: good month/bad month

Retail Technology Innovation Hub takes a look at the retail technology space during August and rounds up the winners and losers

Good month for…

It isn’t all doom and gloom on the UK High Street. The top three healthiest brands in the UK are all bricks and mortar retailers, John Lewis, Ikea and Marks and Spencer, according to research by YouGov.

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

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

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

Zippin has 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 has 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 has announced the delivery of its 500,000th digital receipt.

Shoe retailer, Moda in Pelle, reports 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.

Bad month for…

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

After a decent June, UK online sales growth clocked in at just +4.4% year-on-year in July and fell by 5.7% month-on-month (MoM), according to the latest IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index which tracks over 200 retailers.

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 could end UK 14-day returns and will slash EU shoppers’ rights, according to delivery venture ParcelHero.

The jury’s out on…

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 are an unlikely fit for the fast fashion-focused boohoo, argues GlobalData.

Oracle is suing blockchain startup CryptoOracle over its name.

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