Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key retail systems related Covid-19 developments from last week, including Zippin, Deliverect and Critizr.

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.

US startup Zippin has raised $30 million in Series B funding from new and existing investors including OurCrowd, Maven Ventures, Evolv Ventures and SAP. 

This brings the checkout free store venture’s total funding to more than $45 million. 

Zippin says that the latest funding round will enable it to scale its platform and power tens of thousands of stores by 2025. 

Customers include food service providers Aramark Corporation and Compass Group, Japan’s third largest convenience store chain Lawson, and Brazilian retailer Americanas.

Helped along by staycationer shopper traffic and a back to school boost, August saw UK footfall recovering to its highest point compared to pre-pandemic levels so far this year.

Research from the BRC and Sensormatic Solutions shows that total footfall decreased by 18% in August (Yo2Y), with a 10 percentage point increase from July. This is above the three month average decline of 24.6%.

Deliverect, a startup that connects the likes of Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Doordash, and Just Eat Takeaway.com to restaurants’ PoS systems, is launching the first ever International Food Delivery Day on 8th September.

The aim is to celebrate the work done by restaurateurs, wait staff, kitchen chefs, delivery drivers, particularly through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over 8,700 chain stores disappeared from Great Britain’s retail locations in the first six months of 2021, according to PwC research compiled by the Local Data Company.

In total, 3,488 shops opened, compared to 8,739 closures, creating a net decline of 5,251.

Research from Liftoff, App Annie and Poq reveals a surge in mobile shopping apps use in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as Android’s outperformance of iOS in key marketing metrics. 

Consumers flocked to mobile retail amid coronavirus restrictions, boosting a year long trend of increased adoption in the sector. Globally, mobile users spent 49% more time on these apps since January 2020, reaching nearly 18 million hours spent weekly in April 2021. 

arive, a new player in the booming rapid delivery space, has raised €6 million in seed funding from Balderton Capital, 468 Capital and La Famiglia VC.

The German startup delivers high end consumer products within 30 minutes.