Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key Covid-19 developments from last week. 

John Lewis has announced new shopping options for when its stores reopen on 2nd December, following a second coronavirus lockdown in England. 

Nectar360, part of Sainsbury’s, is working with CitrusAd on a platform that enables brands and ad agencies to launch targeted sponsored product, banner advertising and reporting and analytics across Sainsburys.co.uk. 

37% of Brits signed up to at least one new subscription service during the first coronavirus lockdown. And three out of intend to continue their subscriptions post-lockdown, according to research by YouGov on behalf of The Kite Factory.

Nikki Baird (VP of Retail Innovation at Aptos) says these four retail trends were already on the rise pre-Covid-19, and now the pandemic will accelerate their adoption in 2021.

Ted Baker, Phase Eight, Mint Velvet, Jigsaw and Hobbs are among 16 brands participating in a #SaveShops campaign led by OneStock. 

The aim is to increase awareness of in-store services that support a safer shopping experience for customers during the coronavirus outbreak, while helping to safeguard millions of retail jobs throughout the Christmas period. 

E-commerce deals personalisation platform RevLifter has closed a £3.3 million Series A round.

This was led by Gresham House Ventures and Maven Capital Partners. It builds on a a seed round of £2.3 million in July 2019. 

Just one in five small businesses in the UK are planning to do business overseas in the next year, according to research by Alibaba Group.

The Chinese e-commerce giant says that companies risk missing out on the potential of export to support their growth and recovery through the Covid-19 pandemic, due to common misconceptions related to cost, complexity, and even cultural barriers

The Very Group has been speaking to Very.co.uk customers ahead of a festive period that will be dominated by the coronavirus outbreak.

58% plan to do most of their Christmas shopping online. But while 53% will spend the same amount this year, a third will tighten their belts following a year of disruption.

39.7% of UK consumers intend to spend during the 2020 Black Friday period, according to research by GlobalData.

The company surveyed 2,000 Brits and found that Black Friday is an important occasion to purchase Christmas gifts for those who have been hardest hit by the economic impacts of Covid-19.

Black Friday saw UK retail footfall down 77% year-on-year, as most non-essential stores remained closed during a second coronavirus lockdown, according to ShopperTrak data from Sensormatic Solutions.

UK-based online marketplace OnBuy has launched an advertising campaign with ITV to increase awareness with consumers ahead of its Black Friday sale and the Christmas period.

The venture has invested £1 million into the campaign that aired for the first time on ITV last week.

36% of Americans will shop less in physical stores this holiday season than in 2019, according to research from autonomous checkout venture Standard Cognition.

Amazon is offering new ways to track, receive and pick up holiday orders so its US customers can keep their gifts spoiler free.

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