News Briefs

An East Coast frozen dessert chain reached a new store count milestone at the end of 2025 – with plans to continue expanding into the new year.

Pennsylvania-based Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard surpassed 600 locations at the end of the year. The chain opened 35 new shops in 2025 across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, along with its debut location in Louisiana. Rita’s says openings increased 10% year over year and new unit signings grew by nearly 10% year over year.

Looking ahead, the chain is targeting 25 new drive-thru openings in 2026, representing a five-fold increase from prior years.

“Our focus in 2025 was building smarter, not just bigger,” said Linda Chadwick, CEO of Rita’s. “We leaned into formats, incentives and markets that help franchisees open faster, operate more efficiently and perform stronger over time. That strategy is paying off as we head into 2026.”

To fuel expansion, the brand is rolling out new incentives for franchisees. For 2026 new drive-thru builds, qualified franchisees may receive $50,000–$60,000 in total contributions. Rita’s also announced 2027 new-build incentives, offering up to $35,000 in total contributions for drive-thru locations opening by May 31, 2027.

[READ MORE: Q&A: Rita's development chief talks expansion plans, new store formats]

“These incentives reflect our confidence in the model and our commitment to sharing that upside with franchisees,” said Lawrence Brown, chief development officer at Rita’s. “Drive-thrus are performing better, and we want to help operators capture that opportunity.”

Tractor Supply Company has already kicked off its 2026 expansion plans.

The nation’s largest rural lifestyle retailer opened its 2,400th location with a new store in Aiken, S.C., which marks one of our stores set to open in the first two weeks of the year. Tractor Supply said it plans to open 100 new locations by the end of the year.

The new Aiken store features a 3,000-sq.-ft. Garden Center, and is situated near an existing Tractor Supply location that has served the community since 2004. The company says Aiken, located near Augusta, Ga., is recognized as a community steeped in “equestrian heritage,” with the new store offering horse enthusiasts the ability to shop for all necessary equipment.

Last fall, Tractor Supply said most of its 2026 expansion would take place in the Western U.S., with the growth supported by a new distribution center in Idaho.

[READ MORE: Tractor Supply Co. hits record Q3 sales; meets Street with profit]

“At Tractor Supply, everything starts with the communities we serve and the customers who rely on us every day,” said John Ordus, Tractor Supply’s chief stores officer. “With its deep-rooted horse culture, enduring sense of community and passion for ‘Life Out Here,’ we are honored to mark our 2,400th store right here in Aiken and are excited to welcome in our neighbors."

Walmart continues to expand its partnership with Wing, an on-demand drone delivery provider powered by Google parent company Alphabet. 

The retail giant will expand Wing’s “ultra-fast” service to an additional 150 Walmart stores over the next year, giving it a network of more than 270 drone delivery locations in 2027. The network will stretch from Los Angeles to Miami, and service about 40 million Americans. The expansion builds on the success of operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and metro Atlanta, according to a Wing release.

Wing and Walmart’s new service areas will include major metropolitan hubs such as Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Miami, with others to be announced later. The new markets expand Walmart’s previously announced expansion markets of Houston; Orlando and Tampa, Fla.; and Charlotte, N.C. (The service will start operating in the Houston market on Jan. 15.)

“Drone delivery plays an important role in our ability to deliver what customers want, exactly when they want it,” said Greg Cathey, senior VP of digital fulfillment transformation at Walmart. “Whether it’s a last-minute ingredient for dinner, a must-have charger for a phone, or a late-night essential for a busy family, the strong adoption we’ve seen confirms that this is the future of convenience. By expanding drone delivery to new major metro areas, we are helping more customers solve for their last-minute needs faster than ever before.”

Walmart initially launched drone-based deliveries from three stores in Northwest Arkansas in late 2021, then expanded a partnership it launched with Wing for drone delivery in the Dallas-Fort Worth market in August 2023. 

American Eagle Outfitters is bullish on its fourth quarter after experiencing a strong holiday season. 

The apparel retailer reported that its fourth quarter-to-date (through Jan. 3) comparable sales are up in the high single digits. Sales trends are positive across brands and channels with American Eagle comp growth in the low-single digits and Aerie comps in the low twenties, the company said. 

“Momentum continued in the fourth quarter with record December sales fueled by the power of our brands, with particularly strong growth at Aerie and offline and sequential growth at American Eagle,” stated Jay Schottenstein, executive chairman and CEO. “Our customers embraced new product collections and responded to our latest marketing initiatives, with strength continuing in the post-holiday period.”

Following a record holiday season, the company said it is raising its fourth quarter operating income to a range of $167 to $170 million, up from the previous guidance of $155 to $160 million. The increase largely reflects solid margin performance and anticipates consolidated comparable sales up in the range of 8% to 9%. Fourth quarter operating income guidance also includes approximately $50 million of pressure from tariffs, as previously disclosed.

[READ MORE: American Eagle launches holiday campaign with Martha Stewart]

The cost of goods was up notably in December compared to the previous year.

Prices for everyday household purchases increased 0.29% in December, following a 0.36% increase in November and a 0.04% increase in October, according to Numerator’s December 2025 Numerator Consumer Price Index (CPI). 

In December, prices for everyday goods are up 2.4% versus a year ago. This is a slight increase from the 2.2% year over year inflation during November, ending a trend of three consecutive months of slowing annual price increases.

“Everyday goods inflation remains elevated at roughly 2% to 2.5% annually,” said Paul Stanley, senior economist at Numerator. “Because these categories represent frequent, essential purchases, consumers continue to feel the impact of persistently high prices even as monthly changes are moderate.”

[READ MORE: Adobe: Holiday e-commerce beats expectations with record $257.8B]

Similar to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Numerator CPI tracks prices and changes in consumer purchases over time. The data cover approximately 20% of the consumption basket captured in the overall PCE price index, and closely tracks the PCE Food & Beverage index, offering a reliable signal of retail price changes experienced by U.S. consumers.

Consumers started the new year feeling a bit more optimistic about the economy.

Consumer sentiment rose 2.1% to 54.0 in early January, its highest level this month since September 2025, although it remains at historically low levels, according to the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index’s preliminary findings for January. The January reading marked the second straight month the index improved. 

“All told, while consumers perceived some modest improvement in the economy over the past two months, their sentiment remains nearly 25% below last January’s reading,” said Joanne Hsu, director, surveys of consumers, University of Michigan. “They continue to be focused primarily on kitchen table issues, like high prices and softening labor markets.”

Consumers’ views of current economic conditions rose 4% to 52.4. The index of consumer expectations edged up 0.7% to 55.0 from 54.6.

Although consumers’ worries about tariffs appear to be gradually receding, they remain guarded about the overall strength of business conditions and labor markets, added Hsu.

Year-ahead inflation expectations held steady in January at 4.2%, the lowest reading since January 2025. Long-run inflation expectations ticked up to 3.4% in January from 3.2% in the prior month.

More than 90% of interviews for the reading were collected prior to the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.