The retail technology space during the Covid pandemic

Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key retail systems related Covid-19 developments from last week, including the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards, OLIO and Amazon.

RTIH has announced Critizr as sponsor of the Best Coronavirus Innovation category at the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards.

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.

Last year, Ocucon emerged triumphant, impressing our judging panel with Occupi by Ocucon, an intelligent occupancy management system that allows retailers to remotely monitor and manage the flow of shoppers in and out of their stores – coordinated via signage, CCTV and door entry and closing systems.

To be in with a chance of joining them in our hall of fame, click here.

UK online retail sales fell by -9.3% YoY last month, which was only a small improvement on July’s -9.6%, according to research from IMRG and Capgemini.

August’s performance was well below the six (+2.25%) and 12 month (+21.37%) averages, but above the three month average of -10.53%.

Harley Finkelstein, President at Canadian e-commerce platform giant Shopify, has been giving his predictions for how the 2021 holiday season in retail will pan out.

Taking to Twitter, he said: “QR codes will continue to play a big role - the pandemic reinvigorated the use of QR codes as a form of communication. This will continue as retailers seek out contactless interactions.”

Here are my predictions for how the 2021 holiday season in retail will look (part 1) a thread🧵:
— Harley Finkelstein (@harleyf) September 7, 2021

New research from emerchantpay reveals stark differences in UK attitudes to payments between generations, and also sheds light on the potential economic contribution of trends such as cryptocurrencies and BNPL.

In terms of the latter, of those who were more likely to return to the high street following the pandemic, 50% said that BNPL would encourage them to buy.

OLIO, a UK-based mobile app for the sharing of food and other items, has closed a $43 million Series B funding round.

The venture will use the cash for product development, international expansion and its Food Waste Hero programme.

“The pandemic coupled with the accelerating climate crisis has made it clearer than ever, that it’s no longer acceptable for businesses to throw away perfectly good food,” says Tessa Clarke, Co-founder, OLIO

“Clients such as Tesco, Pret a Manger, and Compass Catering recognise that working with us is inevitable if they are to achieve zero food waste locations.”

“That’s because internal initiatives and working with discounting apps and charities alone just won’t get them there. We have an incredibly strong pipeline and now need to staff up fast to unlock this.”

The GMB union has accused Amazon UK of being “pandemic profiteers” whose latest tax bill is “frankly insulting”.

This is @Amazon in the UK...

📈 £32bn investment since 2010
💥 Creating 10,000 new jobs in 2021
📦 Supporting 65,000 small & medium businesses selling on Amazon
💸 Contributing £100m in support for charities, healthcare organisations & local communitieshttps://t.co/7EMgnllcDT pic.twitter.com/lidjLinSCJ
— AmazonNewsUK (@AmazonNewsUK) September 8, 2021

The company paid £18.3 million in corporation tax in 2020, a rise of £3.8 million on 2019, as coronavirus crisis demand meant total group revenues passed £20 billion in the country.

Much like the good old British summer weather, UK retail performance in August was mixed.

According to research from the BRC and KPMG, sales growth on the high street continued to slow, with footfall still below pre-pandemic levels and online sales took a retreat from the highs of last year, whilst some discretionary non-food categories continued their recovery.

On a total basis, sales increased by 3% in August, against a growth of 3.9% in the same month last year. This is below the three month average growth of 6.9% and the 12 month average growth of 10.3%.

A group of trade bodies representing the UK retail and hospitality sectors are appealing for parliament to intervene to protect British businesses and consumers from “the mounting cost of anti-competitive practices in card payments”.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA), Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and UKHospitality say immediate action must be taken to tackle soaring card fees which add to the price of goods and services.

The call came as the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) consultation on its five-year strategy closed.

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