News Briefs

Macy’s Inc. continues to optimize its portfolio.

The department store giant is closing 16 stores across the U.S., with several marked as already closed and the others as “closing soon” on its website. (Locations listed at end of article.)

The closings are part of Macy’s plan to shutter 150 “underproductive” namesake locations by the end of 2026 as part of its “Bold New Chapter” turnaround strategy. The company shuttered 66 stores in 2025.

In March, Macy’s better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and sales, and comparable gains across its three banners as the turnaround at its namesake brand continues to shows progress.

Here are the 14 Macy’s stores closing soon (or already closed.)

Northlake Mall, Atlanta 

A Midwestern fast-casual steakburger chain has expanded its footprint with a new non-traditional location.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has opened a new restaurant within the Fort Lee Army installation commissary in Prince George County, Va. Opened on April 15, the location marks the first military base location for Freddy’s, whose founder, Freddy Simon, was a World War II veteran.

“This is a really exciting milestone for us,” said Chris Dull, president & CEO of Freddy's. “It’s meaningful because of Freddy’s military roots, and it also demonstrates our ability to strategically adapt to different environments. We see this as a strong first step toward bringing Freddy’s to more military bases in the future.”

The Fort Lee restaurant marks Freddy’s 25th non-traditional location, including airports, student centers, stadiums and arenas. The company noted that it sees the potential for expanding onto more military installations in the future.

[READ MORE: Freddy's makes Canadian debut with Winnipeg store]

“This really started as a partnership opportunity with the base, and from day one it’s been a collaborative effort,” said Cam Blakely, president at JRI Hospitality, operator of the Fort Lee Freddy’s location. “We’ve built a great relationship with the base team and are excited to officially open our doors.”

Founded in 2002, Freddy’s operates more than 580 locations across 36 states nationwide. The chain is known for its cooked-to-order steakburgers, all-beef hot dogs, shoestring fries, frozen custard treats and more. 

Last September, Freddy’s was acquired by investment funds affiliated with global private equity firm Rhône.

Users of artificial intelligence assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini are becoming increasingly less likely to use the world’s most popular search engine.

Roughly seven-in-10 (79%) AI chatbot users now use Google less than before, with 32% turning to AI first for information, according to a new report from B2B service provider platform Clutch. More than a quarter (28%) of AI assistant users still go to Google first.

According to data from Similarweb, Google.com was the world’s most visited website as of February 2026.

The top AI use cases include searching for information (55%), getting recommendations (42%) and comparing options (39%), according to the report. Nearly three-in-four (72%) users engage with AI tools daily.

Despite their popularity, more than half (56%) of users regularly encounter incorrect AI responses, yet 42% trust AI information at face value. Clutch noted that outdated or inconsistent information across the web can “quietly shape” how a potential customer perceives a brand before they ever visit its website.

[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Capgemini – the future of retail AI is here]

"If your business isn't showing up accurately in AI-generated answers, you may be invisible at exactly the moment a potential customer is forming an opinion," said Clutch analyst Jeanette Godreau.

Allbirds is reinventing itself as an AI company.

Allbirds is pivoting to become an artificial-intelligence infrastructure provider, the company said in a release posted to its investor relations web site. Allbirds, which launched online in 2015 as a sustainable footwear brand, is making the move after selling all its intellectual property and other assets in March to the American Exchange Group for an estimated $39 million. (The Allbirds brand will continue under its new owners.)

Allbirds, which plans to change its name to NewBird AI, also announced a $50 million investment from an undisclosed institutional investor in the form of a convertible financing facility.

“The facility, which is expected to close during the second quarter of 2026, will enable the company to pivot its business to AI compute infrastructure, with a long-term vision to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions provider,” Allbirds said in the release.

The company said it will initially seek to acquire “high-performance, low-latency AI compute hardware and provide access under long-term lease arrangements, meeting customer demand that spot markets and hyperscalers are unable to reliably service.”

Earlier this year and amid mounting financial struggles, Allbirds announced the closure of its full-price stores in the United States to instead use its resources for e-commerce and partnerships. At the time, the brand said it would continue to operate two outlet stores in the U.S. and two full-price stores in London.

Starbucks Coffee Company is using ChatGPT to help customers find a beverage that fits their mood and/or tastes. 

The coffee giant is latest retailer to link its consumer app to the ChatGPT next-gen artificial intelligence platform as it runs a beta test of its app in the OpenAI generative AI model ChatGPT in the U.S. The integration allows customers to begin an order without knowing the name of a drink by using prompts such as “I want something bright to start my morning” or “I need an afternoon boost that isn’t too sweet.”

Customers can also upload a photo that matches their mood, such as the weather outside or their outfit, and the Starbucks app in ChatGPT will offer complementary beverage ideas. App users can then customize their order, select a store to order from, start their order within ChatGPT and finish checkout on the Starbucks app or website.

In 2024, Starbucks enabled direct orders for delivery via DoorDash in its app. The retailer has also enhanced discovery in its app with a trending beverage category and a secret menu.

An increasing number of retailers are extending their digital shopping environments directly into ChatGPT and other next-generation AI models. Walmart and Sam’s Club began enabling shoppers to complete purchases directly within ChatGPT in October 2025. 

[READ MORE: Walmart introduces tailored ChatGPT environment]

Beauty retailer Sephora, discount giant Target, wedding planning tech platform The Knot, e-commerce platform Shopify and online retailer Etsy have also all rolled out Chat GPT shopping features. 

“The beta Starbucks app in ChatGPT is part of our ongoing effort to make drink discovery at Starbucks a personal experience,” Starbucks said in a corporate blog post. “And now, in ChatGPT, we are using AI to support something very human: helping you discover a drink you’ll love."