News Briefs

Bain & Company expects retail sales growth between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday to almost double that of overall holiday sales.

Retail sales during the five-day Thanksgiving Day – Cyber Monday period will top $85 billion, according to analysis from Bain & Company. This is expected to account for 8.5% of more than $1 trillion in total U.S. retail sales Bain previously forecast will take place during the upcoming November-December holiday season.

[READ MORE: Bain & Co.: U.S. holiday sales to exceed $1 trillion for first time]

Retail sales during the five-day shopping window will likely grow 8.75% year over year, outpacing Bain’s overall holiday season growth forecast of 4.5%.

Bain also surveyed more than 1,100 U.S. consumers about their holiday shopping plans, with findings including:

• More than 90% of respondents plan to shop Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or another major holiday sales event. 
• Seven-in-10 respondents plan to shop Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday, up from 64% in 2025.
• More than half of respondents plan to change their holiday spending this year, citing higher prices as one of the top factors. 
• Thirteen percent of respondents who are online shoppers plan to use a retailer’s own AI shopping agent, such as Walmart’s Sparky or Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping.

"Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming increasingly important battlegrounds for retailers, especially as US consumers prioritize value and deal-heavy shopping days," said Aaron Cheris, global head of retail at Bain & Company. "Retailers that capitalize on these crucial sales days with personalized promotions, can’t-miss events, and targeted campaigns will set themselves up well for the rest of the holiday shopping season."   

BJ’s Wholesale Club is showing appreciation to its employees across its footprint.

The membership warehouse club retailer gave more than 30,000 hourly team members awards totaling more than  $25 million. The awards, handed out based on team member tenure, represent BJ’s investment in its workforce and appreciation for 42 years of “unbeatable customer service,” the retailer said.

BJ’s held surprise celebrations at clubs and distribution centers nationwide on Oct. 13, where team members received BJ’s gift cards ranging from $250 to $2,000. 

“BJ’s Wholesale Club is driven by a powerful purpose: we take care of the families who depend on us,” said Bob Eddy, chairman and CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club. “We’re living that purpose by taking care of our team members across our clubs and distribution centers. Our team members are essential to delivering unbeatable value and service every day. They are the foundation of our success, and these awards are a way to thank them for their commitment to our company and our members.”

[READ MORE: BJ’s beats Wall Street on Q2 profit, revenue; new Texas store to open]

Headquartered in Marlborough, Mass., BJ’s operates 268 clubs and 209 BJ's Gas locations in 22 states. 

Walmart Inc. is expanding existing healthcare benefits — and adding new ones — for its U.S. employees, with the new features including a zero dollar prescription plan.

Under the new plan, starting Jan. 1, 2027, Walmart will cover the cost of more than 250 generic, brand-name and specialty medications, including some insulin and inhalers. The expended benefits come as health care costs are rising and putting new pressure on already budget-constrained consumers. (Walmart is the nation's largest private employer, with approximately 1.6 million U.S. associates.)

The retailer is also expanding its Walmart Centers of Excellence (COE) program, which provides benefit support and coverage for certain conditions and family planning and fertility needs in partnership with health care providers and facilities around the country. It's adding a new Rare Conditions COE, providing employees with no-cost access to specialists for multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in collaboration with facilities like Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

[READ MORE: Walmart provides employees access to fertility care

Employees and dependents enrolled in most Walmart medical plans who are either being evaluated or have been diagnosed will be able to connect in-person with a specialist for an evaluation and treatment review at no cost. As with all COEs, travel is also covered for the patient and an adult caregiver, the company noted.

In addition, Walmart will offer the following associate benefit beginning Nov. 17:

Paid Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) leave

In addition, as of Nov. 12, Walmart offer a new benefit that provides a maximum of 12 weeks of dedicated paid NICU leave. The new NICU leave can be combined with other paid time off and leave benefits, such as maternity leave and parental leave.

Krispy Kreme is planning to expand its store count in America’s largest metropolitan area.

The donut giant has entered into a franchise development agreement with Original Entrepreneurs LLC to open 33 Krispy Kreme locations across the New York metro area over the next five years. The new stores will be developed in New York City and the surrounding region, including Long Island and New Jersey.

“We're pleased to continue growing with Original Entrepreneurs,” said Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth. “This development agreement reflects our focus on capital-light franchise growth and enables us to expand with an operator that has deep expertise building and operating Krispy Kreme shops in a competitive market.”

Original Entrepreneurs is a long-time Krispy Kreme franchisee and currently operates 12 shops.

[READ MORE: Krispy Kreme names new commercial, people chiefs]

“We're proud of our long-standing relationship with Krispy Kreme and confident in the strength of the brand,” said Original Entrepreneurs. “We look forward to building on that relationship and continuing to expand Krispy Kreme’s presence across the New York metro area.”

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Krispy Kreme operates more than 1,600 locations worldwide, with approximately 360 stores in the United States.

Krispy Kreme is continuing to grow its footprint both at home and abroad. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to open at least 100 shops globally and enter three to four new international markets this year. Last year, Krispy Kreme made its debut in Spain, Brazil and Uzbekistan.

Target Corp. said it is not working with federal immigration authorities in response to criticism following the shooting of a man by an ICE agent down the street from one of its stores in New York City.

U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and local immigration rights activists accused Target of letting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement use the store's two-level parking lot as a staging area for operations in the area. The store is located in the Shops at Marble Hill shopping center on West 225th Street, near the border of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. The other tenants include Foot Locker, Marshalls, Starbucks and CVS Pharmacy.

"Target has no cooperative agreements with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agency,” a Target spokesperson said in emailed comments to Chain Store Age.

Kingsbridge Associates, an affiliate of Washington Square Partners, owns and operates The Shops at Marble Hill center. The week before the shooting occurred, city officials sent a letter to Kingsbridge asking that it terminate any agreements with ICE to use the center’s parking lot, reported The New York Times. Kingsbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the report said.

The shooting occurred as ICE officers tried to arrest Dominican immigrant Oscar Belgal while he was in a car with his 5-year-old son. At least one agent shot seven rounds at the car, Belgal was hit in the neck.

“We call on Kingsbridge Associates LLC and other private landlords to stop collaborating with ICE by allowing their parking lots to be used as staging grounds,” the Interfaith Center of New York said in a statement following the shooting.

A network security incident has caused Ahold Delhaize USA to take all five of its U.S. grocery banner e-commerce sites offline.

In a brief announcement on its main website, Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Dutch supermarket conglomerate Ahold Delhaize, said that it is “experiencing a security issue” within its network and is taking steps to assess and mitigate the issue, including taking some systems offline. At this time, the company’s brick-and-mortar stores are open and serving customers.

“Protecting our infrastructure in the best interest of our customers, associates and partners is a top priority,” Ahold Delhaize USA said in the statement. “We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused customers and partners.”

As of Monday, Oct. 12, the company’s individual e-commerce sites for its Food Lion, The Giant Company, Giant Food, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop banners all had a notice on the homepage stating they were temporarily down due to a technical issue. Since fall 2025, all five sites have been running on the same proprietary e-commerce platform.

[READ MORE: Ahold Delhaize USA rolls out digital platform across banners]

Developed and managed by in-house technology teams, the platform serves as the foundation of Ahold Delhaize USA’s ecosystem, supporting e-commerce, digital engagement and personalized customer experiences for each brand. Stop & Shop was the first banner to launch the platform, in 2020.

In November 2024, a ransomware attack on Ahold Delhaize USA exposed the personal data of more than 2 million employees, including names, Social Security numbers, financial account information, health information, government-issued ID numbers such as passports and driver’s licenses, postal addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth.

This is a developing story and Chain Store Age will continue to provide updates.