Reviewing the retail technology space during the Covid pandemic

Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key retail systems related coronavirus developments from last week, including Scurri, Currys PC World and the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards.

E-commerce venture Scurri has announced a €9 million investment as it looks to accelerate growth in the UK market.

We’re pleased to announce that PMC will once again be Headline Sponsor of the RTIH Innovation Awards, building on our partnership in 2020.

PMC is a technology service provider with a vision to deliver better technology outcomes for retailers and B2C businesses.

With a passion for delivering outstanding value, the company offers flexible services and solutions enabling retail and hospitality customers to keep pace in an ever changing technology landscape.

The 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards includes a Best Coronavirus Innovation category.

The pandemic has had a major impact on the way that we shop and the way that retailers operate.

This award will go to the company who has best turned to technology to solve the challenges presented by the Covid-19 era, improving in-store and/or online experiences for both staff and customers.

https://t.co/ZsAYD5qnEm We are delighted to announce our headline sponsorship of the @RTIH_RetailTech Innovation Awards 2021 celebrating the agile and innovative successes of the retail industry during a challenging year. #PMCRetail #RetailInnovation pic.twitter.com/aWnNC0fN0m
— PMC (@PMCRetail) June 16, 2021

Ideal Shopping Direct , a UK multi-channel home shopping retailer and owner of the Create and Craft and Ideal World TV channels, notched up record sales in 2020 of £150.6 million.

This was an increase of 16.1% year on year, with pre-tax profits of £8 million, compared with £2.2 million during the previous year.

Electrical retailer, Currys PC World, has launched three interactive ShopLive Live Broadcast events, in partnership with Tefal Garment Care, Google Nest and Google Pixel.

Hosted on the ShopLive Live section of its website, customers will have access to on-demand product guidance and top tech tips and an exclusive discount, all from the comfort of their homes.

We're going LIVE later this week

Make sure you tune in for expert demos with some of our exciting partners 🙌🏻 https://t.co/dEj9O5umf2.

P.S. there will be exclusive discounts 👀 pic.twitter.com/bHx2a5TKiO
— Currys PC World (@curryspcworld) June 15, 2021

Global spending via e-commerce buy now pay later services will reach $995 billion in 2026, from $266 billion in 2021, according to Juniper Research.

This will be fuelled by a greater appetite from users for credit to spread costs, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.