Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key retail systems related Covid-19 developments from last week.

There are around 5,000 fewer physical UK stores since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning one in seven shops now lie empty, according to the British Retail Consortium and Local Data Company.

UK-based online adult retailer Lovehoney has bagged The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its growth in overseas sales over the last six years.

Since 2015, said sales have grown from £12 million to £56 million.

Woolworths Group has announced plans for its first automated customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in Auburn, New South Wales as it looks to better serve the online grocery needs of Western Sydney customers.

If approved by the NSW Government, the retailer will build the facility in partnership with Knapp, whose automation technology will help personal shoppers pick and dispatch up to 50,000 deliveries a week.

Cadbury has worked with VCCP on the launch of a campaign, #ForTheLoveOfChocolate, that calls on Brits to support high street chocolate shops during the coronavirus outbreak.

EDITED, a London-headquartered retail data and analytics platform, has acquired retail tech startup DynamicAction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lisbon-based computer vision startup, Sensei, has secured a seed round of $6.5 million.

Waitrose is expanding its Deliveroo service to 110 new stores with up to 400 new roles created by the roll-out.

That will take the number of its locations on Deliveroo to 150 in total by the end of the summer.

Sainsbury's slumped to a £261 million loss in the year to 6th March despite strong food and Argos sales during the coronavirus pandemic.

The grocery giant said it had spent £485 million on Covid-related costs. It also paid back business rates relief on its stores.

We’ve published our preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 6 March 2021. We are making good early progress in delivering against our plan to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s https://t.co/c7yeVIyEsb #JSPrelims $SBRY pic.twitter.com/TrffLu3xIJ
— Sainsbury's News (@SainsburysNews) April 28, 2021

Amazon’s Key by Amazon In-Garage Grocery Delivery service is expanding to everywhere grocery delivery from the e-commerce giant is available, covering more than 5,000 US cities and towns.

Originally launched in five cities last November, the offering enables Prime members to have their Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market groceries dropped off inside their garage.

Despite increased footfall since the return of stores this past couple of weeks, the boom in online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic has been a consistent ray of hope for the retail sector.

With that in mind, Brightpearl is taking a look at the revenue data behind the UK’s online shopping space to produce a definitive list of the 50 fastest growing e-commerce brands over the past 12 months.

Amazon's profit in the first three months of 2021 weighed in at £5.8 billion - more than triple what it was in the same period last year.

https://t.co/IF9Fior6HI, Inc. today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2021. https://t.co/FKurjfKlzg
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) April 29, 2021

Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City are hosting social media brands that originated as side hustles in 2020 in a bid to support small business as non-essential retail re-opens.

Shop windows will showcase the likes of bespoke tie dye accessories, Instagram-able hand-dipped candles, and sustainable paint, with participating brands including Tingle, Three Sisters Farm and Ava May.

London’s Side Hustle Heroes will be in play across both shopping centres until June, with a QR code available to scan on each store front, leading to company social channels and websites.