News Briefs

For the first time, customers outside the U.S. can order from the Walmart digital marketplace with delivery provided by Walmart.

The discount giant is making a curated assortment of hundreds of thousands of items from its online marketplace available to customers in Mexico. The assortment includes categories such as apparel, home, electronics and orders are delivered via the same network that serves customers in the U.S. Shipping and customs clearance will be handled by international carriers in what Walmart says is an effort to help ensure reliable delivery.

Estimated duties, taxes and fees are calculated and displayed at checkout, with no additional charges upon delivery. As part of the initial offering, Walmart is running a limited time promotion for orders shipping to Mexico, including free shipping on eligible orders of $35 or more. Taxes and duties will still apply to orders placed under this promotion.

"We're focused on making it easy for customers to access an expanded assortment of products," said Manish Joneja, senior VP, Walmart Marketplace, Walmart Inc. "This is a milestone in the evolution of how people access Walmart.com’s marketplace assortment around the world, and we're excited to bring it to Mexico first."

Walmart operates in Mexico and Latin America under the Walmart de México y Centroamérica (Walmex) banner. Walmex operates in six countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. It has more than 4,000 stores and clubs, as well as 32 distribution centers in the region.

[READ MORE: Walmart to make $6 billion investment in Mexico; adding 1,500 stores by 2030]

Walmart plans to expand international shipping to additional markets in the future.

The new mobile app from Rugs.com includes an augmented reality-based virtual try-out feature.

Now available on the Apple App Store and Google Play, the Rugs.com app provides shoppers more than 100,000 design options, AR-supported visualization tools, and deals sent directly to user smartphones.

[READ MORE: Survey: Nearly six-in-10 consumers have purchased an item after using AR features]

A quick-serve fried chicken chain has removed the interim tag from its chief development officer’s title.

In the full-time role as development chief, Russell Holland will lead Zaxbys’ “aggressive” growth strategy across both traditional and non-traditional venues. Holland joined the chain last December as VP of real estate and non-traditional development, and was named as the interim chief development officer in February.

Following the milestone opening of its 1,000th restaurant, Zaxbys now operates across 23 states and is accelerating expansion into key new markets, including New York, Maryland, Phoenix and Chicago.

“Russ not only has a proven track record of success improving workflows and supporting profitable growth across QSR brands, but he also has a leadership style that fits the Zaxbys brand,” said Zaxbys CEO Bernard Acoca. “I am confident in our brand’s ability to continue expanding nationally to share Zaxbys’ secret sauce with more guests under Russ’ leadership.”

Holland has more than two decades of restaurant experience. Prior to joining Zaxbys, he spent six years at Inspire Brands in multiple real estate roles. Holland previously spent more than 12 years at Waffle House Inc.

[READ MORE: Zaxbys names seasoned finance leader as new CFO]

“I’m thrilled to join Zaxbys at such an exciting time for the brand’s expansion story and continued national growth,” said Holland. “I look forward to collaborating with Zaxbys’ seasoned leadership team and franchisees to continue delivering the exceptional Zaxbys experience to communities nationally.”

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Atlanta, Zaxbys operates over 1,000 locations in 23 states. The chain is known for its chicken fingers and wings, salads and more.

The prices of key construction materials continued to increase in May.

Overall construction input prices (includes energy, materials and equipment) increased 2.6% in May compared to the previous month, and are 9.6% higher than a year ago, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. Commercial construction input prices rose 1.6% month over month and are 8% higher than a year ago.

Prices increased in two of the three energy subcategories last month. Crude petroleum prices increased 11.8% and unprocessed energy materials increased 6.9%. On the positive side, natural gas prices were down 18.2% in May.

Copper wire and cable prices increased 7.3%, while steel mill products rose 2.1%. Prepared asphalt, tar roofing and siding prices were up 1.8%.

“Construction input prices surged again in May and are now up nearly 10% year over year,” said ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “Oil prices, pushed higher by the ongoing Iran conflict, made a significant contribution to the rise in overall materials prices, yet the greater concern is the continuing price growth in tariff-affected inputs like iron, steel and copper."

Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and 24,000 members.

A discount giant has appointed two new tech-focused leaders to its C-suite.

Dollar General has promoted Tom Hutchins to senior VP and chief technology officer, where he will be responsible for driving strategic planning and business integration initiatives. The retailer says he will also expand his oversight across key technology areas to further strengthen enterprise alignment, performance and delivery.

Prior to joining Dollar General in 2024, Hutchins served in a variety of roles at Tractor Supply Company for nearly 15. Most recently, he served as VP of technology & strategy for more than eight and a half years.

[READ MORE: Dollar General kicks off summer with patriotic-themed monthlong sale]

Dollar General has also promoted Travis Nixon to senior VP, chief data and artificial intelligence (AI) officer, now leading Dollar General’s overall AI strategies and delivery functions, including all relevant data engineering and enablement functions. Announced as the company’s newly-established AI officer role in November 2025, Nixon will continue to lead enterprise-wide business process management initiatives, applying AI to identify and drive optimization opportunities across the retail value chain.

Nixon joined Dollar General with more than a decade of experience in machine learning and AI from multiple public technology companies, including Microsoft, Meta and Dropbox.

The appointments come as the discounter recently reported net sales of $10.8 billion for the quarter ended May 1, up 3.4% from $10.4 billion in the prior year period. Same-store sales growth was seen across the consumables, seasonal, apparel and home products categories.

As of May 1, 2026, the company operated 21,055 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and Popshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico.

It's never too early to start planning for Halloween — at least if you're Spirit Halloween.

The seasonal retailer is planning its largest hiring season in company history as it gears up to open more than 1,500 stores across the U.S. and Canada, and hire more than 52,000 seasonal associates to staff them. Last year, Spirit aimed to hire 50,000 workers.

The retailer is seeking seasonal sales associates, assistant managers, and regional, zone, and store managers to lead store setup, merchandising, operations and teardown. To attract talent, Spirit is touting competitive hourly wages, seasonal pay incentives and retention bonuses, and a 30% employee discount.

"Spirit Halloween provides a dynamic and fun work environment where associates can be part of something truly special each season," said CEO Steven Silverstein. "Our teams share a passion for all things Halloween, and there's nothing better than transforming our store into a destination where the community can celebrate the season together."

[READ MORE: Retail/hospitality employers most concerned about immigration policy changes]

Founded in 1983, Spirit is a “one-stop destination” for all things Halloween. Stores offer an immersive and interactive experience for shoppers, complete with a wide assortment of costumes and accessories along with exclusive décor and animatronics.

Spirit Halloween and mall retailer Spencer’s Gifts are part of Egg Harbor Township, N.J.-based Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc.