Tracking the retail technology sector during the coronavirus
Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key Covid-19 developments from last week.
Amazon.com sold essential items like toilet paper and antibacterial soap at inflated prices during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by consumer rights group Public Citizen.
UK online sales growth remains strong but is slowing down as more Brits return to physical stores during the coronavirus outbreak.
According to research by IMRG and Capgemini, online sales growth was up 43.5% YoY in August, although sales were down 4.1% MoM.
Buy now, pay later venture, Openpay, has added Fulham F.C. to its merchant roster.
Charlotte Tilbury has deployed Looker, the business intelligence and analytics platform from Google Cloud.
Iceland has announced the creation of more than 3,000 new jobs as it looks to meet the demand for online shopping created by the coronavirus outbreak. It will be bringing in additional delivery drivers as well as expanding the supporting in-store teams.
Square, Mastercard and the Falkland Islands Government have teamed up for Connecting the Falklands. a card and digital payments initiative targeting small and medium sized businesses.
Mexican furniture retailer, Gaia Design, has gone live with new Stickers technology from startup Hullabalook.
The aim here is to recreate the showroom experience that has been lost due to Covid-19. Gaia Design used the tech to launch Sketchbuilder, which allows you to visualise your space with 2D stickers and share or buy products on any device.
European payment service provider, Mollie, has closed a €90 million Series B funding round, taking the total amount raised by the company to €115 million.
The UK retail sector continued to show signs of recovery from the coronavirus outbreak in August, with like-for-like retail sales up 4.7% compared to last year, according to research from the BRC and KPMG.
Indian IT giant Tech Mahindra is teaming up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build and deploy blockchain solutions on Amazon Managed Blockchain.
According to a report by The Economic Times, over the next 12 to 18 months, the company will work on blockchain solutions for the aviation, telecom and healthcare sectors, and also industries like banking and financial services, retail, manufacturing, and oil and gas.
Amazon is developing its Amazon Scout vehicles for use in the UK following the coronavirus powered boom in online shopping. Work is taking place at its Cambridge centre.
London-based startup Social Vend has worked with Haeckles to turn the skincare and fragrances retailer’s Margate store into “a fully automated, humanless experience”
Buy now, pay later specialist Klarna has launched a redesigned app, which includes wish lists and price alerts.
European operator of outlet shopping destinations, VIA Outlets, is renewing and expanding its agreement with Coniq as the sole provider of customer engagement and loyalty software and services across its portfolio.
The value of transactions processed by smart checkout technologies will hit $387 billion in 2025, up from $2 billion in 2020, according to Juniper Research.
This will be driven by retailers seeking sustainable business models in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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