The five most important retail tech news stories of the week
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 some of the most important and interesting stories from the past five days.
1. Sainsbury’s veteran Clo Moriarty becomes Retail and Digital Director
Clo Moriarty, previously Chief Digital Director at Sainsbury’s, is taking on the new role of Retail and Digital Director at the grocery giant.
2. Cards rule UK payments roost but cash remains important
Cards accounted for 51% of all payments in the UK in 2019, according to a new report from UK Finance.
Cash payments continued to decline in 2019, falling by 15% to 9.3 billion. This was due to changing retail trends, including the online shopping boom and an increase in card acceptance by retailers. Notes and coins, however, remain the second most popular payment method in the UK after debit cards.
3. Waitrose worker makes front cover of British Vogue
In a break with tradition, the new issue of British Vogue won’t feature a celebrity or supermodel on the front cover, but rather key workers who have been going above and beyond the call of duty during the coronavirus outbreak.
This includes Anisa Omar, 21, who works as a supermarket assistant at Waitrose King’s Cross. She is one of three frontline workers to appear on a special gatefold cover, the other two being London Overground train driver Narguis Horsford and midwife Rachel Millar.
4. Locus Robotics announces major Series D funding round
Warehouse robotics startup Locus Robotics has raised $40 million in Series D funding led by Zebra Ventures.
Existing investors, including Scale Venture Partners, also participated in the round. This brings Locus Robotics’ total funding to more than $105 million.
5. Amazon Air boosts aircraft fleet amid coronavirus crisis
Amazon has announced the lease of 12 Boeing 767-300 converted cargo aircraft from Air Transport Services Group.
This will bring the e-commerce giant’s fleet to over 80. One of the new aircraft joined Amazon’s air cargo operations in May, with the remaining 11 to be delivered in 2021.
