News Briefs

A North American convenience giant has tapped a new partner for its digital offers.

Ibotta Inc. will serve as the exclusive third-party provider of CPG digital offers (excluding age-restricted items) to the 7-Eleven, 7NOW and Speedway apps, reaching shoppers across more than 11,500 U.S. store locations.

7-Eleven shoppers will be able to clip Ibotta-powered offers directly in the apps before purchasing in-store, at the pump, or via delivery, with rewards deposited directly into their 7Rewards or Speedy Rewards loyalty accounts. The partnership marks Ibotta’s entrance into the convenience channel.

"At 7-Eleven, we are investing in the digital and physical infrastructure that makes every visit more valuable for our shoppers while driving volume for brands," said Yaqub Baiani, chief product officer at 7-Eleven. "Joining with Ibotta gives CPG brands a leading performance-based solution inside one of the most powerful loyalty programs in convenience retail."

[READ MORE: Former Dr. Pepper exec named CEO of 7-Eleven]

Based in Irving, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to 7-Eleven stores, 7-Eleven, Inc. operates and franchises Speedway, Stripes, Laredo Taco Company and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits locations.

Ibotta is headquartered in Denver and reaches over 200 million consumers through the Ibotta Performance Network.

"7-Eleven and Speedway stores represent a significant opportunity for CPG brands with enormous purchase volume,” said Bryan Leach, founder and CEO of Ibotta. “We are excited to bring our leading digital offer content and best-in-class measurement capabilities to 7-Eleven Inc.”

A Kroger banner is letting customers order prescriptions and groceries together when utilizing a specific online delivery service.

Harris Teeter is enabling customers to have prescriptions delivered combined with  grocery orders placed for delivery by Instacart. Customers can place their orders online or through the Harris Teeter app.

"Combining pharmacy services into the everyday shopping experience makes it possible for more families to manage their health in a convenient and efficient way," said Lindsay Cappoziello, senior director of health and wellness for Harris Teeter. "This launch offers more delivery options for certain prescriptions filled by the same Harris Teeter pharmacy teams that customers know and trust." 

Harris Teeter also provides third-party delivery of online orders (not including prescriptions) through a partnership between parent The Kroger Co.  and Uber Technologies Inc. Kroger also offers third-party delivery in partnership with DoorDash.

In addition, Kroger offers proprietary delivery of grocery orders in partnership with U.K.-based online grocer Ocado Group, using automated customer fulfillment center (CFC) facilities which combine vertical integration, machine learning, and robotics with fast-delivery service for fresh food. Recently, Kroger has been scaling back its use of the centers and its partnership with Ocado, including closing some CFCs and canceling the planned openings of others.

[READ MORE: Kroger seeks e-commerce profit boost by closing distribution hubs]

Headquartered in Matthews, N.C., Harris Teeter operates more than 250 stores and 85 fuel centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. is making it worth its customers’ while to let them know what they think of the pizza giant’s new digital consumer experience.

Domino's redesigned its website and mobile app earlier in 2026 in an effort to make them work better for customers. Now, the world’s largest pizza retailer is paying customers to try its new digital ordering experience by giving them $5 off their next order.

Any customer who places a qualifying online order between Aug. 3-30, 2026, is eligible for a $5 off coupon to be used the following week on a digital order. At the end of every online order, customers will also have the chance to provide feedback on their ordering experience. Offering commentary is not required to receive the $5 coupon.

Domino's Rewards loyalty program members will receive their coupon under the "My Deals" tab, while all other customers will receive theirs via email. 

"We streamlined our website and app to make them bolder, brighter, more modern, and engaging for customers, but we want to hear from them," said Mark Messing, Domino's VP of global digital marketing. "At the end of every online order, customers will have the chance to provide feedback on their ordering experience. While it's not required to receive the coupon, we'd still love to hear what worked for them and what we could improve because we know customer feedback is what matters most. Earning a discount on pizza for sharing your opinion may be the easiest side gig ever."

[READ MORE: Domino’s franchisees AI-enable delivery vehicles for safety, efficiency]

Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the largest pizza company in the world and ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 22,500 stores in over 90 markets.

Consumers are warming up to working and shopping around robots – but only in certain roles.

A new survey from communications firm Breakwater Strategy reveals that Americans are most comfortable when robots operate in the background. Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents are comfortable with robots performing stockroom work, while 59% say the same for cleaning floors and aisles, even with shoppers present. 

Comfort drops to the mid-to-high 40s as robots stock shelves or assist customers directly, and falls to 39% at self-checkout.

[READ MORE: HomeBase USA rolls out inventory scanning robots following pilot]

When asked to consider whether they would accept robots doing various roles at the grocery store if it lowered their grocery bill, acceptance among those surveyed was higher for back-of-house robots (58%) than those engaging with customers directly by helping them in the aisles (46%).

The survey also found that about three-quarters (74%) of respondents are worried robots will take other people’s jobs in the next five years, while just less than a third of workers (31%) worry about a robot taking their own job.

“For a company weighing a robotics deployment, these are stakeholder concerns to take seriously,” noted Breakwater. “People are saying plainly that they grow more wary the closer a robot gets to engaging with them directly. Addressing these concerns is essential work – in how robots are designed and deployed and, as important, in how companies communicate the choices they make about robots to the public and policymakers around them.”

Breakwater Strategy’s survey was conducted with YouGov between July 13-14, 2026, on 1,306 U.S. adults.

GameStop is reducing its long-term debt without spending any cash.

The video game retailer has agreed to a private, cash-less exchange of approximately $1.14 billion in outstanding convertible senior notes for shares of its Class A common stock. The agreement involves about $400 million of its 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2030 and $1.0 billion of its 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2032, 

 Under the terms of the deal, GameStop will givr Class A common stock to participating noteholders in lieu of the outstanding notes, with no cash changing hands in the process. After the exchange closes, approximately $1.1 billion in 2030 Notes and $1.7 billion in 2032 Notes will remain outstanding.

Following the closing of the deal, the exchange notes will be cancelled and no longer outstanding, and GameStop’s outstanding long-term debt will be reduced by approximately $1.4 billion (with approximately $1.1 billion aggregate principal amount of 2030 notes and $1.7 billion aggregate principal amount of 2032 notes remaining outstanding). 

The agreement comes as GameStop is still pursuing its acquisition of eBay. In July, an SEC filing revealed that the company lifted its stake in the marketplace giant to nearly 10% from about 5% earlier in the year.