News Briefs

Costco Wholesale Corp. has entered into a program that helps its members reduce the cost of fertility medications.

The membership warehouse giant is partnering with Sesame and IVI RMA North America to address the biggest barriers to care for the one in six Americans who suffer from infertility and want to build their family. (IVI RMA is made up of Reproductive Medicine Associates, Boston IVF and Toronto-based TRIO, and spans 25 IVF laboratories;  Sesame is a cash-pay healthcare platform connecting patients directly with doctors at transparent, up-front prices.)

The collaboration is designed to deliver widespread access to high quality fertility care and advanced reproductive medicine specialists, affordable and competitive pricing and coordinated care throughout the fertility journey.

"Our partnership with Sesame and IVI RMA reflects our commitment to transparent and affordable solutions that reduce barriers, are more accessible, and more affordable for our members," said Richard Stephens, senior VP of pharmacy at Costco. "By combining transparent pricing with coordinated care, we're removing the barriers that have historically kept quality fertility treatment out of reach for too many families."

Fertility medications are fulfilled by Costco, with member pricing that includes savings of up to 80% on medications such as Follistim through pharmacy programs. This dramatically reduces one of the biggest out-of-pocket expenses in fertility care, saving patients thousands of dollars on each cycle, according to the release announcing the program.

If specialty care is advised, patients are directly connected to IVI RMA, where additional discounts have been negotiated for Costco members. 

"Our partnership with Sesame and IVI RMA reflects our commitment to transparent and affordable solutions that reduce barriers, are more accessible, and more affordable for our members," said Richard Stephens, senior VP of pharmacy at Costco. "By combining transparent pricing with coordinated care, we're removing the barriers that have historically kept quality fertility treatment out of reach for too many families."

Vera Bradley has ended its search for a new chief executive.

The women's handbags and accessories company named Ian Bickley as chairman and CEO. For the past eight months, he has served as executive chairman of Vera Bradley, a role that was created following the departure of CEO Jacqueline Ardrey in July. In the role, Bickley has been “deeply” involved in accelerating Vera Bradley’s transformation efforts, including the development of its “Project Sunshine” initiative, the company said.

Prior to Vera Bradley, Bickley was at Tapestry, where his roles included serving as president of the international group of Coach He also served as interim CEO of the Body Shop, where he helped complete a successful sale of the company.  

“After an extensive search, the board is delighted that Ian has accepted this important role,” said Andrew Meslow, lead independent director of Vera Bradley. “He brings deep and relevant strategic and operational experience in building and transforming global brands, including executive roles at Coach and on the Boards of Crocs, Brilliant Earth and Natura. He has already made a significant impact on the business, the talent and the organization.”

The board also appointed Martin Layding as COO and CFO. Layding joined Vera Bradley as CFO in June 2025.

“The board’s decision to name me permanent CEO and expand Marty’s role to COO and CFO reflects our shared confidence in the path forward,” Bickley said. “The positive response to the return of beloved styles like the original 100 Bag, along with strong double-digit positive comp growth in our brand channels for the second consecutive quarter, suggests we’re making progress with our product assortment.”

Vera Bradley reported fourth-quarter net revenues of $84.9 million compared to $86.4 million in the year-ago period. The company returned to profitability with net income from continuing operations of $2.7 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $20.0 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.

While coffee chains are expanding their store counts, consumers’ tastes for the caffeinated beverage are evolving.

According to restaurant technology company Toast’s latest Restaurant Trends Report, sales for barista-crafted drinks increased in 2025 compared to 2024, including lattes (4.0%), espresso shots (3.3%), Americanos (+1.4%) and macchiatos (0.6%). 

Traditional beverages saw slight decreases, with regular hot drip coffee sales down 3.3% and cold brew down 2.2% year over year. Green experienced the sharpest drop at 4.9%, while black tea declined by 3.4%.

Toast noted that consumers’ changing coffee orders may be a result of increased prices.

“Americans are willing to pay for these handcrafted drinks,” said the company. “They may be pulling back on orders that they can easily make at home or buy at the grocery store, like a regular drip coffee or a cold brew. It could also signal that while people may be drinking coffee at home, others value curling up in a cozy cafe with a specialty-crafted drink.”

[READ MORE: Black Sheep Coffee plans slate of new Dallas-Forth Worth stores]

Toast’s report also found that Americans are opting for canned beverages for their caffeine boost. Energy drink sales grew 8.7% in 2025, while diet sodas increased 7.4%. Herbal teas also experienced a big bump at 8.6%, suggesting some are looking for a caffeine-free fix.

Some of coffee’s largest players are among the restaurant chains targeting big expansion in 2026. Starbucks expects to open approximately 600 to 650 net new cafes this year, including 150 to 175 U.S. company-operated locations. Dutch Bros plans to open “at least” 180 new sites this year.

For its report, Toast analyzed transactions at its client restaurants in 2025 and compared them to 2024.

Agentic artificial intelligence is poised to transform how consumers shop online.

More than 90% of enterprise e-commerce executives expect AI agents to influence at least 20% of online orders by 2027, and more than one in three believe agentic AI could shape more than half of all transactions.

"The State of Agentic Commerce Adoption" from Logicbroker also reveals that 95% of surveyed executives have already deployed at least one AI-driven commerce capability, while nearly half (47%) plan to invest $1 million or more in AI-driven commerce initiatives during the next 12 months. 

Within that respondent group, 21% expect to spend more than $5 million. Three out of four respondents anticipate ROI from AI-driven commerce initiatives within 24 months, and nearly half expect returns within the first year.

In parallel, the survey also shows that deployment timelines are accelerating. More than half of organizations say they plan to roll out AI shopping agents within the next six months.

[READ MORE: Survey: Retail, e-commerce execs remain bullish on AI]

Other findings

• Four-in-10 respondents report that better integration tools would accelerate AI adoption.
• Only 18% of respondents position themselves as industry leaders pioneering new territory.
• Slightly more than one-in-10 (12%) respondents cited 12% leadership buy-in as a barrier, suggesting convincing the C-suite is no longer a major barrier to implementing AI.
• Fewer than 15% of respondents report building proprietary large language models (LLMs).

The report surveyed more than 600 enterprise e-commerce leaders.

Image courtesy of Nichcha.

Amazon is internationally expanding its network of next-generation fulfillment centers.

Amazon Australia has unveiled plans to invest roughly $535.7 million into building a new robotics fulfillment center in Brisbane, Queensland capable of processing more than 125 million packages per year. Targeted for completion in 2028, the site in will cover approximately 1.6 billion-sq.-ft. across four levels — with a floor size equivalent to 120 Olympic swimming pools.

Set to become what Amazon says will be one of the largest warehouses ever built in Queensland, the new fulfillment center will have the capacity to house up to 15 million of the smaller items sold on Amazon’s Australian e-commerce site, such as pantry staples, beauty products, electronics and toys, including items from Queensland-based small and medium businesses.

The online giant estimates the facility will create more than 1,000 local jobs once fully operational, while its construction and fit-out will create an additional 2,000 jobs.

Amazon’s robotics fulfillment center model features automated technology solutions in all key production areas at the site, with human employees working alongside its robotic systems seamlessly in a way that wasn’t previously possible.

[READ MORE: Amazon opens next-gen fulfillment center featuring robotics, AI]

Within these sites, the company says it has reduced fulfillment processing times by up to 25%, enhanced shipping accuracy, and increased the number of items available for same-day and next-day delivery.

"People are at the heart of our operations, and by combining innovative robotics technology with skilled local talent in this state-of-the-art site, we’re building a workplace where people and technology work hand in hand to deliver for our customers," said Wayne Angus, Amazon Australia’s director of operations. "This investment demonstrates Amazon’s commitment to Queensland customers and our confidence in the state’s growing economy."

[READ MORE: Sprouts opens SoCal distribution center]

Headquartered in Phoenix, Sprouts operates more than 480 stores in 25 states.