News Briefs

Retail rents are on the rise to start the year.

According to CBRE’s Q1 2026 data, average asking rents increased 2.4% year over year to $24.59, fueled by ongoing low construction rates. This figure is just slightly above the 10-year year over year average percentage.

The real estate services giant noted that the overall retail availability rate increased by 10 bps to 4.9% in the first quarter, while new construction completions fell to a record-low 4.7 million square feet.

“Rent growth has been driven by low availability as a result of historically low construction completions, combined with positive net absorption for three consecutive quarters,” noted CBRE in the report. “Q1’s rent growth rate is in line with historical averages due to the amount of obsolete available supply, which therefore cannot command premium rents.”

[READ MORE: CoStar: Retail space construction down year over year in Q1]

In line with long-term trends, Sun Belt markets had the lowest availability rates in the first quarter of the year. Raleigh, N.C., Nashville, Tenn., Miami, and Charlotte, N.C. topped the list, while markets with large downtown areas like Manhattan and Los Angeles had higher availability rates due to increased demand for suburban retail, according to CBRE.

Texas accounted for five of the top 10 markets for completions, and over 30% of overall construction activity in Q1.

The report noted that excluding freestanding retail, the neighborhood community and strip center segment continued to lead absorption in the first quarter, accounting for 641,000 square feet in the first quarter. Power centers were the only segment that saw negative absorption to start the year, which CBRE credited to big-box store closures.

The full report can be found here.

Kohls is releasing a new artificial intelligence gift finder agent in time for Mother’s Day and also providing AI analytical capabilities to employees.

The department store retailer’s new gift finder is a conversational AI agent built on the Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience platform. The agent is designed to act as a dedicated shopping companion, offering personalized gift ideas based on the intended recipient’s interests, hobbies and style. 

Shoppers can also upload an image to find similar items or ask for targeted suggestions, then seamlessly browse recommendations, view product details, and add items to their cart, all without leaving the chat. Kohl’s says it will analyze app interactions to better understand customer needs and adjust how the user experience evolves over time.

The Kohl’s gift finder follows the retailer’s December 2023 release of an AI-based holiday shopping tool called Kohl’s Storybook Magic that enabled customers to input details about themselves or their gift recipient into the platform and receive a customized story catered to their personality.

[READ MORE: Kohl’s offers AI holiday shopping tool, last-minute deals]

Kohl’s is also piloting a new AI analytics tool running on Google Cloud conversational analytics in the Google Looker reporting/dashboard tool for visualizing and reporting on that data. 

With the tool, associates will be able to ask straightforward questions to compare product trends by category or brand or better understand what may be driving sales, without needing to pull multiple reports or manually compile data. Over time, Kohl’s hopes the associate AI solution will streamline access to information and enable deeper data-gathering to better support a seamless, customer-first experience.

A consumer electronics giant is adding a new perk for some members of its loyalty offering.

Best Buy is introducing reward points for its My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total membership tiers of its My Best Buy Memberships loyalty program, which it initially launched in 2023 as a revamp of its previous Totaltech annual membership program. 

[READ MORE: Best Buy revamps, renames membership program; offers three different options]

Plus and Total members will earn 1% back in rewards on every eligible purchase and 6% back in rewards if they use their My Best Buy credit card. They will also be able to track reward points in a new digital membership hub on the Best Buy e-commerce site and app, as well as see available reward points in their cart and at checkout.

Plus membership costs $29.99/year and Total membership costs $199.99/year. In addition to Plus and Total, the free MyBestBuy tier offers free standard shipping.

"For today’s shoppers, rewards play a meaningful role in deciding where to shop," said Jennie Weber, chief marketing officer at Best Buy. "Our customers have been clear about what they want from us: reward points, convenience and exclusive benefits. We’re bringing all of that together across our Plus and Total memberships to deliver even more value for them — in a way only Best Buy can."

 Headquartered in Minneapolis, Best Buy operates more than 1,000 retail stores in North America.

Supermarket cooperative Allegiance Retail Services has debuted its newest grocery banner.

Developed to meet the expectations of today’s busy shopper, the new small-format Pathmark Daily offers a curated assortment of high-quality fresh foods and essential grocery items to support a healthy lifestyle, all anchored in affordability and everyday value, the company said. Allegiance acquired the Pathmark name and all intellectual property in 2016 after parent company A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015. 

The inaugural Pathmark Daily is located in East Meadow, N.Y. The location spans 28,000 square feet across two floors, with a 15,000-sq.-ft. main shopping level 

“Pathmark Daily answers the need of consumers who want a fast, hassle-free shopping experience emphasizing strong value and quality,” said Joseph Fantozzi, COO, president, Allegiance Retail Services. “Our customers rely on Pathmark for savings and Pathmark Daily will continue that promise by offering Best Yet products, weekly promotions, and a meaningful rewards program, with neighborhoods in mind.”

Allegiance supports independent supermarkets (including Foodtown, Freshtown, D’Agostino, Gristedes, Pathmark, LaBella Marketplace, Brooklyn Harvest, Market Fresh, Big Deal Food Market, Green Way Markets and Shop n Bag) by providing them with marketing, advertising, technological and merchandising support.

Consumers are starting to ramp up their online gift buying for the upcoming Mother’s Day holiday.

In an email to Chain Store Age, an Adobe spokesperson said during the week of April 26-29, online sales were up 35% in fragrances (compared to average daily sales in 2026). Sales were up 25% during the same period in 2025. Adobe expects fragrance sales the weekend of May 2-3 to be up 65%.

[READ MORE: NRF: Mother’s Day spending expected to hit new record]

In purses & handbags, online sales were up 37%, compared to 30% in the same period in 2025, and are expected to be up 55% over the May 2-3 weekend. And in jewelry, online sales were up 21% compared to 29% the prior year and are expected to be up 50% during the May 2-3 weekend. 

In jewelry, watches have been trending, up 80% so far the week of April 26-29, followed by necklaces (up 51%) and earrings (up 44%). 

Looking ahead, Adobe expects a major uptick coming up for flower sales online, spiking May 9-10 (Mother’s Day occurs Sunday, May 10) in the range of a 550 to 600% increase. 

While Adobe expects deals to be more modest leading up to Mother’s Day (in the range of 3% to 4% off listed price), it predicts consumers will see the best last-minute discounts in the electronics and home & garden categories on Friday, May 8 and in the appliance and personal care products categories on Saturday, May 9.

Mother’s Day budgets are expected to shrink this year as high prices pinch consumers.

According to new data from coupon platform RetailMeNot, 72% of U.S. consumers plan to shop for the May 10 holiday this year, up from 65% last year. Average planned spend has dropped to $93 per person, down from $360 last year.

To cope with higher prices, 24% of those surveyed are shopping sales for Mother’s Day, while 18% are setting lower budgets and 11% are using promo codes or cash back. Ten percent are splitting costs with family, while another 10% are choosing experiences instead of physical gifts. More than a quarter (27%) say they’re not changing their spending at all.

According to a recent estimate from the National Retail Federation, consumer spending on Mother’s Day is expected to reach a record $38 billion this year. The amount tops last year’s total spending of $34.1 billion.

Shoppers are most likely to spend on flowers (45%, up from 38% last year), food and treats (38%), gift cards (32%) and jewelry (21%) for Mother’s Day gifts this year. When asked what the most underrated Mother’s Day gift is, consumers’ answers weren’t products. These included quality time with family over a nice meal (21%), a day to relax with no responsibilities (19%), household help like cleaning, chores, or errands taken care of (12%), and restaurant meals she didn’t have to cook or plan (11%).

[READ MORE: Study: The top drivers of Mother’s Day purchases are…]

“From Easter to Mother’s Day, the same consumer keeps showing up,” noted Stephanie Carls, retail insights expert at RetailMeNot. “High intent to celebrate. More selective about spending. Clear preference for meaning over price tag.”

RetailMeNot’s Mother’s Day survey included 1,023 consumers, and was fielded on March 24, 2026.