It’s Friday, the week is nearly done, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail technology space. Here's your briefing on the most important and interesting stories from the past five days.

1. Luxury brands embrace Singles' Day as livestreaming goes mainstream

Alibaba Group reports that orders on its e-commerce platforms during the Singles’ Day shopping extravaganza hit a record 498.2 billion yuan ($74.1 billion).

If there were any lingering doubts about the health of China’s retail sector, the $74.1 billion in gross merchandise volume transacted during Alibaba’s 2020 11.11 Global Shopping Festival should erase them. #Double11 https://t.co/z5K4c9MWVv
— Alibaba Group (@AlibabaGroup) November 11, 2020

2. UK retailers look to reach Net Zero by 2040

63 UK retailers, including Co-op, Iceland Foods, John Lewis Partnership, M&S and Sainsbury’s, are committing resources to support the BRC Climate Action Roadmap.

This aims to bring the retail industry and its supply chains to Net Zero by 2040.

Only through cross sector collaboration can we build a #lowcarbon economy. @the_brc has brought UK retailers together to create ambitious road map to #NetZero - join the launch 10/11/20 with #COP26 President pic.twitter.com/wxwJyYiH2t
— Mike Barry (@planamikebarry) November 6, 2020

3. Ocado hit by US ITC investigation into its robot technology

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has announced plans to launch a formal investigation into Ocado, which could prevent its robots and other technologies entering the country.

It will look into Ocado’s Smart Platform (OSP) technology based on allegations of infringement of numerous patents from Norwegian firm AutoStore.

Grocery retailer @OcadoGroup has signed agreements with major partners for systems that unlawfully infringe @AutoStoresystem intellectual property. In defense of our patented technology, AutoStore has filed lawsuits against Ocado. Learn more here: https://t.co/9tJMQoMFdJ
— AutoStore (@AutoStoresystem) October 1, 2020

4. EU regulators hit Amazon with antitrust charges

The European Commission has filed antitrust charges against Amazon, accusing it of using business data to gain an unfair advantage over independent sellers operating on its platform.

The charges follow a two-year investigation into Amazon's dual role as a marketplace as well as a vendor.

The Commission has also opened a second formal antitrust investigation into the possible preferential treatment of Amazon's own retail offers and those of marketplace sellers that use the e-commerce giant’s logistics and delivery services.

Data on the activity of third party sellers should not be used to the benefit of Amazon when it acts as a competitor.

We reached the preliminary conclusion that Amazon has illegally abused its dominant position in France and Germany: https://t.co/sCN2eaF18I #EUAntitrust pic.twitter.com/mK8PplVNAO
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) November 10, 2020

5. Online retailers set for coronavirus powered blockbuster Black Friday

UK online retail sales are set for growth of 35-45% during the Black Friday peak, according to IMRG.

With the coronavirus outbreak causing non-essential physical stores to be closed for long stretches of 2020, growth for the year so far (January-October) is up 34.9%, whereas for 2019 as a whole it was 6.7%.