2021 is marching fast forward and slowly revealing what it has in store for us. As much as we were looking forward to leaving 2020 behind us, this year is proving us that we are in for an interesting ride, to say the least. 

The global pandemic is still the “talk of the town”, a situation that remains unchanged in the last 12 months. However, negative headlines we browse through on a daily basis, there are still positive changes happening across different industries as the pandemic shifted changes into a higher gear and continues to disrupt the new reality we wake up to every day.

Let’s go through the state of the retail industry in the second week of the second month.  

What’s new in the digital retail world

The new deal: Popular fashion brand Boohoo is looking to acquire three major fascias Burton, Wallis, and Dorothy Perkins from Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group. In previous years Boohoo already bought brands such as Warehouse, Coast, Karen Millen, and others. (Retail Gazette)

Automated fulfillment: Walmart announced it will be adding an automated micro-fulfillment center to dozen store locations. Walmart will be testing a variety of configurations across multiple tech providers, among which Dematic, Fabric, and Alert Innovation will be included as well. Further development will also include automated drive-thru pickup points that will allow customers to collect their orders. (RetailDive)

Delayed effects: Tesla Roadster production has been hit with a red light, metaphorically speaking. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the Tesla Roadster production will be delayed to 2022, as they are working on an advanced battery and drive system. (Verge)

Challenging times: Many retail industry giants are reporting profit decreases amid the continuation of the global pandemic. The largest Swedish retailer H&M Group is no exception in this case, as their profit results continue to drop due to the 80 % of the stores being closed worldwide. H&M group reported an 18 % drop in sales. Since that they have placed a greater emphasis on digital campaigns, which can be seen on social media platforms. (Retail Gazette)

Rolling the dice: It was recently announced that gambling apps will be joining Google Play Store as the Android-based app store will be updating its policies about the use of real money in Android apps. The change will be applied in the US and other 15 countries. Gambling apps are currently allowed in only four countries: Ireland, the UK, France, and Brazil. (Verge)

For a more comprehensive view of the changing face of retail and the way, technology powers its transformation, visit our Retail Reloaded series!