Tracking the retail technology sector during the coronavirus
Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key Covid-19 developments from last week.
John Lewis has announced plans to open nine more stores on Thursday, 25th June, following the reopening of an initial 13 locations last week.
New research from the BRC and Opinium highlights how the coronavirus is fundamentally changing our experience of shopping.
As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, 29% of US retailers plan to close their physical locations to go online only, while 14% intend to downsize, according to research from Raydiant.
While almost all high street retailers in England and Northern Ireland planned to reopen by this past weekend, 85% remain worried about the risk the coronavirus poses to staff and customers, according to research from Brightpearl.
Parcel delivery firm DPD has announced 6,000 new UK jobs and an infrastructure investment in response to what it calls “the unprecedented boom in online shopping caused by Covid-19”.
Asda is the supermarket with the most health and safety measures in place to prevent a further spread of the coronavirus, according to research from Shepper.
UK-based mobile shopping startup Jisp has gone live across six stores as part of its recently announced partnership with the Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN).
US fashion retailer Forever 21 has launched a new UK online site, following a collapse into administration last year.
Sustainability was the retail sector’s buzzword of 2019 and this hot streak has continued into 2020.
Movements such as Extinction Rebellion, School Strikes for Climate, veganism, the plastic backlash and biodiversity conservation have been hugely influential here. And many believe that the coronavirus outbreak will take things to the next level.
Amazon has deployed its new Distance Assistant solution at a handful of its buildings. This is a magic mirror like tool that helps employees practice physical distancing.
Seven out of ten UK shoppers plan to maintain their changed shopping habits post-coronavirus lockdown, according to research from e-commerce agency Melody.
Waitrose.com has processed more than 150,000 orders in a week for the first time. This is more than double the amount of weekly orders at the start of this year.
Walmart has partnered with Shopify, the e-commerce platform provider that has emerged as the anti-Amazon.
The US retail giant is out to capture a bigger share of the coronavirus-driven surge in online shopping. It expects to add 1,200 Shopify sellers to its marketplace this year.
UK footfall decreased by 81.6% in May, due to the coronavirus lockdown, according to research from BRC and ShopperTrak.
80% of British consumers are ready to embrace physical shopping again, with just 20% nervous about doing so, according to research from TruRating.