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 eBay UK, Glovo, HappyFresh, and Klarna.

One in seven UK shops remain shuttered, with vacancy rates rising across all retail locations, according to research from the BRC and LDC.

The number of temporary delivery drivers available for shifts in the UK has fallen by over a quarter as thousands return to their pre-pandemic professions in hospitality and retail, according to Indeed Flex.

The Very Group, operator of online retailer Very.co.uk, has completed the migration of all clothing and footwear returns to Skygate, its 850,000 square foot automated fulfilment centre in the East Midlands.

On demand delivery venture Glovo has launched Glovo Concepts, a portfolio of delivery only food brands.

These are designed by Glovo and operated by restaurant partners.

More than 300 restaurants, in its largest markets of Spain and Italy, are already using Glovo Concepts, with plans to expand and have 1,000+ onboard by the end of 2021, across Romania, Georgia, Croatia, Portugal and Poland.

Buy now pay later big hitter Klarna has launched a new £3 million small business support package to help British SMEs recover from the pandemic.

Klarna 🤝 Small Businesses https://t.co/1Zsf0ZiuFj
— Klarna (@Klarna) July 29, 2021

HappyFresh, an on demand grocery delivery venture based in Indonesia, has raised $65 million in a Series D round.

Global contactless card transaction values will reach $2.5 trillion in 2021, from $1.7 trillion in 2020, with cards retaining the majority share of overall transaction values at 79% in 2021.

A new report from Juniper Research finds that the coronavirus pandemic has significantly accelerated an existing contactless card usage trend, and says that these value increases will be sustained beyond 2021.

Cloud-based catering management software startup FoodStorm has signed eight new US grocery customers, including DeCicco & Sons, Cardiff Seaside Market, Village Market, Fruit Center Marketplace and Caraluzzi's Markets.

They will be using its software to manage the entire catering/prepared foods ordering, production, payment and fulfilment process from one centralised system.

Shoppers in the Midlands and East Anglia can now order groceries online from 141 Central England Co-op stores and have them delivered to their homes in as little as 30 minutes, thanks to a partnership with Snappy Shopper.

In the mood for trying something new? Give this chicken tandoori flatbread recipe a go, we're sure you won't be disappointed. 😋

Download the @SnappyShopperUK app to get your ingredients within the hour. pic.twitter.com/BfUsKHKrBw
— Central England Coop (@mycoopfood) July 23, 2021

35% of online shoppers in the UK will only associate with ‘responsible’ brands, including those that treat staff fairly, source goods ethically, and do not misuse consumer data.

That’s according to research from commerce search and discovery platform Empathy.co.

For the first time in the UK, eBay has established dedicated warehouses (situated in Leicester and Birmingham) to store, pack and deliver goods for business sellers.