Tracking the retail technology space during the coronavirus
Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key Covid-19 developments from last week.
Amazon has said that 19,816 of its 1.37 million US frontline workers contracted the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of the total, a disclosure sought by labour advocates who have criticised its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The company has kept its facilities open throughout the pandemic to meet a surge in demand for online shopping.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), Usdaw and the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) are calling on the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Yvette Cooper, to launch an inquiry on retail violence.
Walmart has announced a new store design and layout focusing on a digitally enabled shopping experience.
This will come to 200 of its 4,500 US stores over the next few months and another 800 next year. The aim is to create “seamless omnichannel experiences that save our customers time and inspire them whether in-store, online or via mobile,” an online post notes.
Morrisons is creating 1,000 new jobs to fulfil online orders for its Amazon partnership.
Lingerie brand Etam has partnered with Bambuser to enable live shopping during its annual Live Show event.
Pinterest has announced new ways users can shop from Pins, on boards, from search, as well as new monetising shopping surfaces for UK advertisers.
Iceland is providing students with £5 off a £40 online shop and offering priority delivery slots for those registering an account with the retailer using a university email.
The move is part of its efforts to support those most affected by UK coronavirus lockdown measures.
Sainsbury’s says that it is on track to deliver 700,000 online grocery orders a week by the end of October.
That number, which covers home delivery and Click and Collect, means the supermarket will have doubled its online capacity since the beginning of March.
UK-based garden centre, Whiteley’s, has invested in face covering detection technology amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Aldi UK is planning to invest £1.3 billion in new stores and jobs after posting rising sales during the coronavirus pandemic.
The discounter expects to open around 100 new stores over 2020 and 2021 in line with its long-term target of 1,200 by 2025, alongside over 100 store upgrades under its Project Fresh initiative.
Other investments include new and expanded distribution centres and the roll-out of its Click and Collect service which was piloted and launched to customers last week.
Morrisons has announced an SOS ‘Serve our Students’ food delivery service aimed at those who are self isolating in halls and campuses during the coronavirus outbreak.
This will launch at the Birley and Cambridge Halls at Manchester Met University, which has been particularly affected by the lockdown measures around student accommodation, and will expand to other universities if successful.
BrewDog has blasted the “hypocritical” UK government over its 10pm coronavirus curfew for pubs and restaurants.
An Odeon cinema in Edinburgh, Scotland is set to host virtual high court jury trials.
After months of uncertainty, we finally have a date for Amazon Prime Day 2020.
