The weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the biggest stories from the past few days, including Alibaba Group, Tesco Whoosh, and the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards.

1. Tesco Whoosh grocery delivery service hits London and Bristol

Tesco has expanded its Whoosh one-hour delivery service to London and Bristol.

The grocery giant launched a pilot last month from a single store in Wolverhampton.

It is now adding a further 11 Express locations in the aforementioned cities. Chief Executive Ken Murphy said the trial had provided Tesco with “some very interesting data”.

2. Albertsons and DoorDash announce on-demand grocery delivery tie up

Albertsons Companies has teamed with DoorDash to offer on-demand grocery delivery from nearly 2,000 Albertsons banner stores across the US, including Safeway, Vons and Jewel-Osco, via the DoorDash marketplace app.

Albertsons x DoorDash = $5000 worth of fresh groceries! 🥩🍎🍞🥦

Play IN THE BAG to see how much savings you can pack into 1-hour. 1 grand prize: $5000 DoorDash gift card.
— DoorDash (@DoorDash) June 21, 2021

3. Alibaba Group reports big numbers for 6.18 shopping event

Alibaba Group’s 6.18 mid-year shopping festival officially came to a close this week.

The event, which stretched from 24th May to 20th June, is pitched as an important bellwether for Alibaba’s 11.11 festival as brands pilot and fine tune their strategies ahead of November.

2021 highlights include a record 250,000 merchants and brands participating, bringing more than 13 million products in front of Chinese consumers.

Alibaba Group’s 6.18 Mid-Year Shopping Festival officially came to a close this week, in what may have been the buzziest, most competitive yet in the event’s history. Click to read some highlights from this year's 6.18. https://t.co/qX6FOP75xx
— Alibaba Group (@AlibabaGroup) June 23, 2021

4. 2021 RTIH retail technology awards open for nominations

The third edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards opened for entries this week.

The awards, sponsored by leading technology service provider PMC, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

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

5. GOAT Group valued at $3.7 billion after mega Series F round

GOAT Group, a US-based marketplace for sneakers, apparel, and accessories, has closed a Series F funding round of $195 million, and notched up a valuation of $3.7 billion.

The venture, which was founded in 2015, will use the proceeds from the round to further invest in growth in its sneaker business as well as its apparel and accessories verticals.

It also plans to increase its global footprint of 13 facilities with the addition of Chicago, China, Japan and Singapore, and make significant investments in its technology and brand.