The five most important retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, it’s almost the weekend, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past few days.
1. Amazon says sorry to Mark Pocan for employee pee bottles tweet
Amazon has apologised for a tweet it sent to a US congressman denying that its delivery drivers pee in bottles due to pressure to meet quotas.
Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan had flagged the issue in response to an Amazon claim that the company was a progressive workplace.
2. Trax announces $640 million funding round
Computer vision startup, Trax, has secured $640 million in a Series E financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 21 and BlackRock.
The round, the biggest in Trax’s history, also included new investors such as Canadian pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and VC firm Sony Innovation Fund.
3. EE predicts huge surge in demand when England stores reopen on 12th April
Ahead of its 480 stores in England re-opening on Monday, 12th April, EE is predicting a 50% increase in demand for in-person tech support after months of coronavirus lockdown.
EE’s online service is now open for customers to start booking local store appointments. This is coupled with the company’s virtual queuing system.
A number of its stores will also open for longer to cope with pent up demand.
4. Ocado is slowly rolling out its mobile app to customers
Ocado is getting its mobile app back online as demand for its service soars during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The online grocery retailer has issued an app update as it rolls out mobile shopping to a small number of customers “to make sure we’re offering the best possible experience”.
5. Asos announces record results as Covid-19 drives online demand
Asos reports that adjusted profit before tax hit £112.9 million in the six months ended 28th February, a £82.8 million increase on the previous half year.
As coronavirus lockdowns continued to see the closure of non-essential retailers and in turn boost the online shopping space, revenue was up 25% to £1.98 billion.
The fast fashion pureplay also added an extra 1.5 million new active customers, taking its total base to 24.9 million.