Breakfast Briefing: Retail news on wearable tech, retail sales and Amazon

Netatmo June wristband goes on sale at SpaceNK

UK beauty retailer SpaceNK has begun selling Netatmo’s June wristband that measures sun exposure to help prevent causes of premature skin aging, the Telegraph reported. The first high-tech ‘beauty wearable’ from the French ‘internet of things’ start-up contains hundreds of tiny UVA and UVB sensors that measure the wearer’s sun exposure in real time.

This data is then transmitted via Bluetooth to a smartphone app, which offers personalised sun protection recommendations, based on the UV index, weather forecast and the wearer’s skin type.

June is available in all 63 SpaceNK stores and is priced at £118.

Surprise fall in March retail sales

British retail sales dropped 0.5% last month over February, driven by a decline in petrol sales, fuelling concerns that economic growth slowed at the start of the year. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales excluding fuel rose 0.2%, still behind expectations.

Sales by value fell 0.3% month on month and but edged up 0.7% year on year

Amazon reports quarterly loss of $57m

Etailer Amazon has posted a loss of $57m in the first three months of the year. However it reported a better-than-expected increase in revenue, which was up 15% to $22.7bn, buoyed by strong sales in North America, the company’s biggest market. Revenue from sales of Amazon web services totalled $1.57bn.