Do you like numbers? Do you like retail technology? Then this is the article for you.

$1.9 trillion…The value of the six biggest tech firms (Facebook, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix and Amazon) has increased by $1.9 trillion during the coronavirus outbreak, according to research by the Institute for Public Policy Research.

€1 million…Retail automation startup Pixevia has bagged €1 million in funding from Iron Wolf Capital, Open Circle Capital, Practica Capital and Mantas Mikuckas (Vinted), Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas (Tesonet).  

$98…Walmart has once again delayed the launch of its Amazon Prime competitor Walmart+.

It had planned to debut the subscription service in July, at a cost of $98 a year. The offering includes the likes of same-day delivery of groceries and general merchandise, discounts on fuel at Walmart gas stations, and early access to product deals.

$75 million…SaaS-based e-commerce marketing platform provider Yotpo has raised $75 million in funding.

10…Ahold Delhaize has selected 10 finalists for its AI for Retail AIR Lab Cleaning Bot Challenge.

800…Dixons Carphone is to cut 800 jobs as it looks to “make store team management structures leaner and create new roles and ways of working to deliver its Vision – We Help Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology”.

10…Michael Langguth has stepped down from the position of COO at Poq, the mobile app specialist that he co-founded with Øyvind Henriksen almost 10 years ago.

8…Electrical retailer Comet will return to action as a pureplay this week, eight years after it folded.

45%…A new report from e.fundamentals highlights a tectonic sized shift in consumer shopping behaviour as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company surveyed 2,065 Brits and found that 45% shopped for groceries online at least once a week during lockdown. 

30…Amazon is planning to open as many as 30 Amazon Go cashierless convenience stores in the UK.

250…Online electricals retailer AO is to recruit 250 new roles at its logistics hub in Crewe.  

It is making the move to “manage the sustained demand created by customers turning to us following the Covid-19 lockdown which has led to a shift from high street retail to online”.

2,042…Brits are yearning for simpler times and technology, according to research from Currys PC World.

The retailer surveyed 2,042 people and found that one in ten top-tier earners are willing to spend more money on vintage technology than the latest gadgets.

$100 million…Apple has acquired Canadian payments startup Mobeewave for $100 million. 

670,000…Pets at Home has announced plans to open a new national storage and distribution centre in Staffordshire.

The retailer has signed a conditional agreement for a 20-year lease of a proposed 670,000 sq ft development on a 52-acre site at Redhill Business Park, Stafford, close to Jct 14 of the M6. An additional 100,000 sq ft of expansion land will also be available.

12.4%…The coronavirus outbreak is beginning to push up UK retail site vacancy rates, albeit at a modest rate, according to research from the BRC and The Local Data Company. 

In the second quarter of 2020, the overall GB vacancy rate increased to 12.4%, from 12.2% in Q1. 

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