News Briefs

Fast-growing Wawa’s growth plans include its home state.

The convenience store chain is aiming to open about 10 new stores in Central Pennsylvania's Centre County (home to the University of Pennsylvania) and the surrounding area during the next five years and as many as 50 new sites in the region by 2035, according to a report by StateCollege.com. Each new store will be a $7.5 million investment, with 140 contractors per store construction and 35 Wawa employees at each location, the report said.

According to the report, seven sites are under contract in the central Pennsylvania region, including two in State College, the home town of University of Pennsylvania. 

Wawa has been expanding into new markets. In July, the chain opened its first store in the state of Kentucky, in Louisville. The location is the first of up to eight Wawa locations slated to open in Kentucky by year’s end. 

The company is also entering Tennessee, with six locations planned to open before the end of 2026. Most recently, the chain opened its first-ever travel center, in Hope Mills, N.C.

Blain’s Farm & Fleet has selected a new supply chain partner to improve its inventory management and store execution.

The Wisconsin-based specialty retailer, which bills itself as “The Modern General Store,” is deploying the AI-based supply chain and retail planning platform from Relex Solutions. The company says the platform will eliminate supply chain silos, enabling end-to-end visibility and collaboration for Blain's, which has more than 100,000 active SKUs. It will also unify forecasting, allocation and replenishment, enabling more accurate planning, efficient product movement and smarter daily decisions. 

[READ MORE: Blain’s Farm & Fleet offers advertisers AI-based ad targeting to reach customers]

“We are excited to work with Relex Solutions to modernize our supply chain and space planning processes,” said Dennis Carrie, senior VP of supply chain at Blain’s Farm & Fleet. “Their unified platform and AI-driven capabilities will help us reduce complexity, improve inventory metrics and deliver measurable value to our business. This is a long-term investment in innovation and operational excellence.”

Headquartered in Janesville, Wis., Blain’s Farm & Fleet operates one distribution center and 45 locations throughout Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. The retailer sells products in categories including clothing, footwear, tools and hardware, paint and supplies, automotive, agriculture, electrical and plumbing, and sporting goods.

“Blain’s Farm & Fleet is a trusted leader in retail and we are proud to support their transformation,” said Jason Aubin, VP of Relex Solutions. “With the Relex unified platform, Blain’s will gain the tools to increase efficiency, reduce manual effort and elevate the customer experience through smarter planning and execution."

As the holidays approach, Etsy is increasing the support it offers sellers on its platform with two new offerings.

The online retailer is adding a new dashboard to its Shop Manager seller platform designed to provide more insight into policy violations. Etsy is also piloting a new process that makes it easier for sellers to appeal enforcement decisions from its trust & safety team on individual listings.

Live Etsy seller support is always available 24/7, and for the 2025 holiday season the company is doubling its coverage under its Etsy Purchase Protection program.

Launched in 2022, Etsy Purchase Protection provides buyers with a full refund for purchases on Etsy.com in the cases that they don't match the item description, arrive damaged, or never arrive.

[READ MORE: Etsy adds features to new seller app]

The company said at the time of the service’s rollout that it plans to invest at least $25 million per year into the purchase protection program to cover refunds on behalf of sellers for qualifying orders up to $250. 

Etsy has debuted several AI-based tools for both customers and sellers throughout 2025, including AI-enhanced curated product collections to enhance customer search. For sellers, AI-equipped solutions Etsy has introduced this year include photo editing, as well as writing and editing listing copy.

"The holidays may be the busiest time of year, but they can also be the most rewarding,” Kruti Patel Goyal, president & chief growth officer, Etsy, said in a corporate blog post. “We’re here to help sellers navigate the season with confidence, and to remind shoppers everywhere that there’s no place like Etsy for truly special gifts.”

Caution will drive consumers’ holiday choices. 

With nearly eight in 10 consumers feeling cautious in today’s economy, holiday budgets are shrinking, and shopping habits are shifting, according to Experian’s "2025 Holiday Spending Trends and Insights" report. Inflation has left most shoppers cost-conscious, with only 22% expecting to spend more this holiday season.

Experian noted that growth will come from value-driven behavior as consumers trade down to big-box and discount retailers that offer convenience. But while online leads for convenience, in-store closes the deal. Most (80%) consumers still prefer physical stores.

The study noted that holiday shoppers aren’t following a single calendar. Forty-five percent plan to start early, but 62% will continue to shop into December. (Last year’s busiest foot traffic day was Saturday, Dec. 7.)

“Brands that pace campaigns across the season will stay relevant and better align with shopper behavior,” advised Experian.

Other highlights from the Experian report are below.

• Nearly 40% of shoppers plan to split purchases between in-store and online. Only 8% expect to stick to one channel.
• AI is transforming how marketers plan, target, and measure campaigns, yet only 12% of consumers expect to use it for holiday shopping.
• Consumers are cautious: holding off on big-ticket items, prioritizing deals over brand loyalty, and spending more selectively in discretionary categories like apparel and restaurants.
• Most visits to big-box stores and off-price retailers happen between two to five miles.

Despite higher prices, the overwhelming majority of consumers are planning to make Halloween purchases this year — and many have already started.

Most (82%) of consumers plan to make Halloween-related purchases, according to a survey from RetailMeNot. Almost two-thirds (62%) of shoppers have already started Halloween shopping by September, with some beginning earlier than that. Meanwhile, 38% will wait until October for last-minute Halloween buys.

A recent estimate from the National Retail Federation predicted that Halloween spending will reach a record $13.1 billion this year. On average, Americans are planning to spend $92 on Halloween-related purchases.

When it comes to what consumers will buy, Halloween candy and treats still lead the way, as 70% of shoppers plan to stock up. A large percentage (40%) of consumers plan to buy home decor, and 39% are investing in exterior setups for their homes. 

Thirty-six percent of adults and 35% of children expected to dress up for Halloween this year, and 24% plan to buy tickets for Halloween events like parties and haunted houses. For those buying costumes, 47% are leaning into pop culture inspirations like viral TikTok moments, movie characters and trending TV series. The remainder (53%) are sticking with traditional Halloween themes like witches, vampires, ghosts and pumpkins.

[READ MORE: Spirit Halloween to highlight animatronics at 1,500-plus stores this year]

RetailMeNot’s survey was conducted by Ziff Davis in August 2025, and featured responses from 1,136 American adults.

A Neiman Marcus store in the company's home state of Texas is going dark.

Saks Global, parent company of the luxury department store retailer, is closing the Neiman Marcus store at The Shops at Willow Bend, in Plano, Texas. Saks has sold the store's property to the developer of the mall, Dallas-based Centennial, reported CBS News. (Neiman Marcus was acquired by Saks Global at the end of 2024 in a deal valued at $2.4 billion.)

"The sale was a mutual decision that allows the developer to bring its vision for the area to life, building on the retail foundation with the introduction of new residential, dining and entertainment uses," a Saks Global spokesperson said in a statement. 

Neiman Marcus's flagship in Downtown Dallas is slated to go dark after the upcoming holiday season. Currently, the retailer operates 36 stores.  

[READ MORE: Neiman Marcus downtown Dallas flagship to remain open — through holiday season]

Although there have been rumors or more Neiman Marcus closings, a Saks Global spokesperson told WWD in a statement that “store closures are not a meaningful part of our strategy."

"Through the regular course of business, we continually evaluate our store footprint and, as in this case, may determine it necessary to reformat or close a store," the spokesperson stated. "There are currently no plans to reduce our store portfolio on a broader scale.”