News Briefs

With tight availability, demand is growing for grocery-anchored and necessity-based retail real estate.

According to the new report “Capital Markets Stabilizing Amid Persistent Uncertainty” from Colliers, the cap rate at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 7.1% for malls and 6.5% for strip centers. While sale price movement was flat year over year for malls, strip center prices increased by 5% compared to the first quarter of 2025.

“Retail fundamentals continue to improve as limited new supply, low vacancy, and steady rent growth support asset performance,” noted Colliers. “Investor sentiment has shifted meaningfully, with transaction activity increasingly concentrated in higher-quality formats.”

[READ MORE: CBRE: Low availability increases rental rates 2.4% in Q1]

While Colliers noted that shifts in discretionary spending, consumer credit and the labor market could impact future fundamentals, retail is seen as a “stable” sector, with the Southern California, Manhattan, and South Florida markets driving activity.

“Retail is increasingly viewed as a stabilizing income play within diversified portfolios, supported by durable cash flows, limited new supply, and steady demand for necessity‐based space, particularly in an environment of economic uncertainty,” added Colliers.

A convenience store giant is disclosing a third-party data breach that occurred in April 2026.

7-Eleven has released a notification letter from chief information security officer Jim Kastle dated May 1, 2026 to franchisees who had personal information exposed in a security breach that occurred Wednesday, April 8, 2026 when an unauthorized third party gained access to some of its systems that store franchisee documents.

Through an investigation 7-Eleven said it initiated with “a leading forensics firm” as soon as it discovered the incident, the retailer determined that personal data exposed in the incident included information provided during franchise applications, such as name, address and other redacted data elements.

7-Eleven has arranged for affected franchisees to enroll in identity theft protection services and CyberScan monitoring through IDX at no cost for up to 24 months, with an enrollment deadline of Aug. 1, 2026.

[READ MORE: Verizon: Retail cyberattacks on the rise]

In comments emailed to Chain Store Age, Ensar Seker, chief information security officer at cyberintelligence firm SOCRadar, said a well-known hacker group that calls itself ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for the breach.

“ShinyHunters continues to demonstrate that attackers increasingly prioritize business ecosystems over individual endpoints,” Seker said in the commentary. “In many cases, compromising a document repository or administrative backend can provide more long-term value than deploying disruptive ransomware. These actors are targeting trust relationships, operational data, and partner infrastructures because they understand the downstream impact can be much larger.”

Paul Bischoff, consumer privacy advocate at tech research firm Comparitech, said in emailed commentary to Chain Store Age that “normal” 7-Eleven customers have little to worry about, but employees and loyalty program members may have had personal data exposed.

“Breach victims should be on the lookout for targeted phishing emails from scammers posing as 7-Eleven or a related company," advised Bischoff.

A Japan-based fast-casual restaurant is using technology to expand its U.S. footprint.

Pepper Lunch has partnered with Kalibrate to support its expansion across the United States using advanced location intelligence and analytics. The chain will utilize the Kalibrate Location Intelligence (KLI) platform and a custom model to support key development decisions, including market entry, unit density and franchise territory planning.

Founded in 1994, Pepper Lunch  offers a Japanese-inspired menu that features a variety of steak, seafood, veggie and chicken options. It operates more than 560 locations across 17 countries, including 12 sites in the U.S. It plans to open an additional 15 U.S. sites this year, with 117 fully committed to open by 2030.

“Expanding in the US requires a thoughtful, data-driven approach,” said Troy Hooper, CEO of Hot Palette America, the U.S. parent of Pepper Lunch Restaurants. “Working with Kalibrate gives us the ability to evaluate markets with greater precision – helping us determine where to enter, how many units each market can support, and how to structure franchise territories for long-term success.”

[READ MORE: Datassential report reveals top 25 emerging restaurant chains]

Kalibrate will deliver a tailored analytics solution for Pepper Lunch, including unit performance modeling and hotspot analysis, enabling the chain to identify priority trade areas and align development strategy with consumer demand and competitive dynamics.

“Helping global brands successfully enter and scale in the U.S. is exactly where Kalibrate delivers the most value,” said Stephen Polanski, global business development director at Kalibrate. “With Pepper Lunch, we’re combining deep analytics with real-world market insight to support confident, high-quality growth decisions.”

The Uber One paid subscription membership program is offering a new social media perk and hosting a targeted cross-promotional campaign.

Uber One membership perks include $0 delivery fees on food and other orders over the minimum subtotal, up to 10% off eligible Uber Eats deliveries and pickups, and 6% back on eligible Uber rides. Now, Uber One is also launching a special secondary Instagram account, or “finsta,” focused on its members.

The account, @uber1, provides Uber One members with exclusive access to features such as specialized promotions and niche content and will feature content centered around Member Days, its annual deals event exclusively for participants in Uber One.

Member Days is returning with hundreds of thousands of offers across rides, restaurants, groceries, retail, beauty, and other product categories for 10 days in 37 countries, including in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K. and Australia. New members can participate in the Member Days promotion. See a list of sample offers across rides, travel, retail, and food service here.

Uber One integrates with Albertsons loyalty offerings

In another recent effort to extend awareness and availability of Uber One, in November 2025 Uber partnered with grocery giant Albertsons to offer Uber One perks to all 48.7 million members of its free for U loyalty offering and paid FreshPass loyalty program free trial memberships to Uber One.

[READ MORE: Albertsons offers Uber One subscription perks to loyalty members]

Members of the for U loyalty program can get a three-month extended free trial of Uber One, while paid FreshPass annual members will receive six months free.

Despite rising food and gasoline prices, a majority of consumers are planning to celebrate over Memorial Day weekend.

More than half (52%) of U.S. consumers plan to celebrate, according to new data released by Numerator, with baby boomers and older being more likely to celebrate Memorial Day than younger generations (60%). Gen Z is the least likely (41%) to celebrate.

The top celebration plans include grilling/barbecuing (65% of celebrators), celebrating with spouse/partner or immediate family (40%), celebrating with a wider group of friends or family (30%), cooking or baking (25%), and decorating the house (15%).

Nearly all (94%) of Memorial Day celebrators plan to purchase something for the holiday weekend. Food tops the shopping list (81% plan to purchase), followed by alcoholic beverages (43%), non-alcoholic beverages (34%), decorations (19%) and party supplies (18%). Nearly six-in-10 (57%) Memorial Day shoppers plan to shop at Walmart, followed by Amazon (22%) and Aldi (22%).

[READ MORE: Survey: Memorial Day spending expected to see sharp decline from last year]

Nearly half (45%) of Memorial Day shoppers say they believe rising prices will have a moderate to significant impact on their shopping. To counteract rising prices, shoppers told Numerator they will seek promotions, sales and coupons (49%), and switch to lower-priced brands/products (35%).

Less than a third (29%) of Memorial Day celebrators plan on traveling for the holiday weekend. Gen Z (43%) and millennials (35%) are more likely to travel than other generations.

A group of activist investors have issued a letter to Target shareholders  urging them to vote against the reelection of executive chair — and former company CEO — Brian Cornell at the company’s annual meeting on June 10. 

The group — composed of Mercy Investment Services, SOC Investment Group and Trillium Asset Management — also want shareholders to vote against the reelection of Christine Leahy, who is lead independent director.

Cornell stepped down as Target CEO in February, succeeded by 20-year company veteran Michael Fiddelke, who formerly served as COO. In its letter, the investors voiced their displeasure with the selection of Fiddelke. They also asserted that Target has "clearly underperformed" under Cornell’s leadership as CEO and Leahy’s tenure on the board. 

 “In our view, Target has endured years of strategic and operational missteps that have led to significant underperformance compromising long-term shareholder value,” the letter reads. “The recent CEO succession does not signal that the Board is focused on the genuine reset we believe is critical to turn the Company around. Instead, the Board’s decision, under Ms. Leahy’s leadership, to promote longtime executive Micheal Fiddelke to CEO while also retaining former CEO Brian Cornell as Executive Chair and Special Advisor suggests continuity."

 To read the letter, click here.