Coronavirus outbreak: how the retail technology sector is reacting
Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key Covid-19 developments from last week.
US-based last mile delivery venture Onfleet has raised $14 million in a Series A funding round led by Kennet Partners.
Brits are set to spend around £6 billion on Black Friday this year, according to research from shopping comparison site, finder.com.
Fashion and lifestyle brand, Hush, says that it has broken its daily sales record, with transactions exceeding £1 million for the first time following the roll-out of a a new mobile first e-commerce platform.
Morrisons has become the first major UK supermarket to announce a shopping discount for teachers and school staff.
Recognising their efforts in keeping schools open during the coronavirus pandemic and ensuring key workers with children can continue to work, this will kick off on Monday and run until 3rd January 2021.
85% of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have had their brand negatively impacted due to an association with a social media influencer, with 24% of these claiming to have been adversely affected multiple times.
25% report losses between $100,00-$250,000 from these experiences, according to a report by Duff & Phelps and Kroll.
60% of people plan to have completed their Christmas shopping by the end of November, research by OnePoll on behalf of John Lewis Partnership has found.
Coca-Cola Freestyle has launched a 'pour by phone' contactless experience powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Superdry is tapping Yext tech to deliver official answers to inquiries about more than 500 of its stores and franchises in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe and United States.
45% of consumers in nine countries use contactless payment with more than two-thirds having two or more cards stored in their digital wallet.
That’s according to an ABI Research survey of 2,000 people in the US, China, Japan, South Korea, UK, Spain, France, Germany and Italy, carried out behalf of the the NFC Forum.
Brits are staying loyal to convenience stores during the coronavirus outbreak despite having the freedom to shop further afield, according to research by PayPoint.
This is based on data collated from its UK network of 27,500 local convenience retailers from July to September.
Brits are actively seeking out more sustainable products and services and rewarding environmentally friendly businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to research from E.ON.
The company surveyed 2,000 people and found that 36% are buying products from companies with strong environmental credentials. A further four in five say they are planning to purchase goods and services from venture they know have made a concerted effort to be eco-friendly.
US-based online grocer Farmstead has hired Sara Custer as Head of Operations.
Custer was previously VP of Operations at Imperfect Foods. She has also served as SVP of Operations at GrubMarket, and held senior operations roles at Munchery, LivBlends, Blue Apron and Whole Foods Market.
Travel retailer Dufry is trialling a Scan, Buy, Fly mobile self-checkout solution with MishiPay at two stores in Zurich airport.
Customers can scan and pay for items using their phones, leaving them free to exit the store without any need to queue or wait at a conventional checkout. They will also be able to earn and redeem RED loyalty benefits through the MishiPay app.
Google Cloud has released details of its work with Ikea as the retailer accelerates its digital transformation amid the coronavirus outbreak.
FreshToHome, an Indian e-commerce startup that sells fresh fish and meat, has raised $121 million in Series C funding.
Retailers will increasingly invest in digital technologies, including digital assistants, ambient commerce, artificial intelligence, automation and advanced analytics in a post Covid-19 era.
That’s according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan, entitled The Four Ps of the Future of Retail (the four ps being future retail place, future points of commerce, future people, and future processes).
Marks and Spencer is increasing capacity at its online distribution centre at Castle Donington, as it prepares for high Christmas demand during the coronavirus outbreak.
It is hiring 500 extra seasonal staff, which comes on top of the creation of 400 permanent roles in July.
Retailers globally spent over $10 billion on technology to enable home working and enhance their e-commerce channels during the first three months of Covid-19.
That’s according to the 2020 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey, which is based on over 4,200 responses.
