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 the most important and interesting stories from the past five days.

1. UK retailers not out of woods yet after joyful June

June saw a return to growth in UK retail sales, primarily driven by online as a result of coronavirus lockdown measures being eased and pent up demand being released, according to research by the BRC and KPMG.

Despite footfall still being well below pre-outbreak levels, average spend was up as consumers made the most of their occasional shopping trips. On a total basis, sales increased by 3.4% in June, against a decrease of 1.6% in June 2019. This was the highest since May 2018.

2. Amazon Dash Carts will let you skip the checkout line

Amazon has developed a smart shopping cart that lets customers check-out without a cashier.

The Dash Cart is coming to Amazon’s Woodland Hills, California grocery store in 2020.

3. Walmart prioritises card payments during coronavirus outbreak

Walmart is asking customers to use debit and credit cards instead of cash during the coronavirus outbreak as it grapples with a US-wide coin shortage.

4. Government must act now as coronavirus hit West End retailers suffer

Without further government action, retailers in London’s West End are facing £5 billion sales losses and 50,000 job cuts, according to New West End Company.

5. JD unveils Wang Feng as Chief Livestreaming Officer

Chinese rocker Wang Feng is joining e-commerce giant JD.com’s JD Live platform as Chief Livestreaming Officer for flash sale events. His first gig will be on 15th July.