The five most important retail tech news stories of the week
It’s Friday, 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. TikTok sizes up to Facebook with US e-commerce push
TikTok is planning to take on Facebook with an aggressive expansion into the US e-commerce space.
According to a report by the FT, citing people who have seen the Chinese social media app’s 2021 plans, the company has briefed advertisers on a number of new features.
This includes a tool that lets its most popular users share links to products and automatically earn commission on any sales.
2. Waitrose tests out farm animal welfare mobile app
Waitrose is rolling out a new mobile application that will help it assess and understand the emotional wellbeing of its farm animals.
This has been developed by animal behavioural scientists at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and licensed by the retailer for trial and development for two years.
3. BRC flags huge cost of coronavirus lockdowns to UK retailers
The three UK coronavirus lockdowns have cost non-food store-based retailers over £22 billion in lost sales, according to the BRC.
Furthermore, tighter restrictions in the run up to Christmas hampered retailers’ ability to generate much needed turnover, which would have helped power their recovery in 2021.
4. UK online retailers break January records amid coronavirus lockdown
Last month saw the highest UK online sales since the coronavirus pandemic began (+74% YoY), and the highest January sales on record since 2008, according to research from IMRG and Capgemini.
A notable trend was the surge in online only retail sales, as consumers navigated the shut down of non-essential retailers during the latest coronavirus lockdown.
5. Aldi USA continues expansion with 100 new stores this year
German discounter Aldi will open around 100 new locations in the US during 2021, with a focus on Arizona, California, Florida and the Northeast.
It will also expand its e-commerce offering throughout the year, adding its curbside grocery pickup service to 500 additional stores, bringing the total number of locations to more than 1,200.
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