It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, 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 few days.

1. Grosvenor Group backs retail tech startup NearSt

NearSt, a British retail technology venture that aims to drive more people onto the high street, has raised £2 million in seed funding from international property company Grosvenor Group.

The London-based company, which was founded in 2015, has now raised £5 million in total.

We're thrilled to announce a further £2m in funding, setting us up for a truly transformational 2021. It's an incredible time to be doing what we're doing; when there is such opportunity to make a massive, positive, lasting impact to the way the world shops - online AND locally. https://t.co/SdYF5r5lFW
— Nick Brackenbury (@NickBracko) January 4, 2021

2. Amazon Air boosts cargo network with 11 new aircraft

Amazon has purchased 11 Boeing 767-300 aircraft as it looks to speed up delivery times for US customers.

The e-commerce giant is buying seven aircraft from Delta and four from WestJet, which will join its Amazon Air cargo network in 2021 and 2022.

Wheels up! 🛫

Today, Amazon Air announced its purchase of 11 aircraft that will take to the skies in 2021 and 2022. These new additions to our growing fleet will help us continue to delight customers for years to come. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/TAu6eoIaD1
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) January 5, 2021

3. Primark announces additional coronavirus hit

Primark says it will lose an additional £220 million in sales under new restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19 in the UK.

Its owner, Associated British Foods, expects to lose £650 million in sales in the year to September, up from the £430 million it had flagged up on 4th December.

This followed the government announcing the likes of Manchester and Birmingham must join London and the south east of England in closing non-essential stores.

As per government guidelines, our stores in the UK are closed. The well-being and safety of our colleagues and customers remains our top priority. We’ll let you know once our stores will be opening again. Take care, stay safe and thank you for your ongoing support 💙 pic.twitter.com/M6at28PpqA
— Primark (@Primark) January 5, 2021

4. Udaan targets ‘unique’ Indian e-commerce opportunity

Indian business-to-business e-commerce startup Udaan has raised $280 million.

The extension of its Series D round includes existing investors Tencent, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, GGV Capital and Altimeter Capital, along with newbies Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital.

The Bengaluru-based venture, founded in 2016, has now pulled in $1.15 billion in total funding.

Happy to announce that we've raised $280 Million in additional financing, further reinforcing the huge potential of b2b eCommerce in India.

We'll deploy the funds towards further market creation & bring the benefits of b2b eCommerce to small businesses.https://t.co/4ZxPfOdxX6
— udaan (@udaandotcom) January 6, 2021

5. Online and SmartShop key as Sainsbury's has a cracking Christmas

Sainsbury’s delivered 1.1 million online food orders in the ten days to Christmas, double the number of 2019

The supermarket announced this as part of a strong Q3 and Christmas performance.

We’ve published our Q3 trading statement for the 15 weeks to 2 Jan 2021. We're changing guidance for the full year to March 2021 and expect FY UPBT of at least £330m (v £586m last year) compared with previous guidance of £270m https://t.co/kSHPj3bAJH #JSQ3 $SBRY
— Sainsbury's News (@SainsburysNews) January 7, 2021