News Briefs

Jasper Stone Partners and Poag Shopping Centers went fishing for a key destination tenant at its under-construction development in Nebraska and landed a big one.

L.L.Bean has signed a lease for a 15,000-sq.-ft. space at Avenue One, a 200-acre mixed-use destination under construction along the Dodge Expressway in West Omaha.

Other brands that have signed leases at the property include Arhaus, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, West Elm, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grill and Barnes & Noble.

“The addition of L.L.Bean further strengthens Avenue One’s growing lineup of nationally recognized retailers and reinforces the project’s positioning as a premier lifestyle destination for the region,” said Jeffrey Hofer, Jasper Stone’s asset and development manager. 

Avenue One has broken ground and vertical construction is underway. Structural beams are now in place for Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm. Development activity continues to accelerate as the project moves toward its planned opening in 2027.

According to Jasper Stone, the master developer of the project, Avenue One aims to be the residence of best-in-class retail, dining, residential, office, and hospitality uses in a setting that emphasizes walkability, convenience, and vibrant community spaces.

Poag Shopping Centers is serving as the retail developer and JLL is overseeing leasing. 

The prices of key construction materials have increased 6.2% since January amid soaring oil prices and tariffs.

Overall construction input (includes energy, materials and equipment) prices rose 1.7% month over month in April and are 7.0% higher than one 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 1.4% month over month in April, and are 6.6% higher than one year ago.

Prices increased in all three energy subcategories last month. Crude petroleum prices increased 11.3%, while unprocessed energy materials and natural gas prices were up 9.2% and 4.9%, respectively, in April.

Construction input prices have now risen more during the first four months of 2026 (6.2%) than over the prior three years (4.8%), noted ABC chief economist Anirban Basu.

“Construction input prices surged again in April,” Basu said. "While much of the recent rise can be traced to soaring oil prices, escalation was widespread in April, with tariff-affected materials like iron and steel posting particularly large price increases.”

“In addition to the direct impact of this reemerging materials price escalation, too-hot inflation data coupled with upbeat labor market indicators suggest that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut rates this year,” added Basu. 

[READ MORE: Numerator: Consumer good prices stay volatile with April increase]

Consumers are not yet starting product searches via artificial intelligence in large numbers.

More than half (56.68%) of U.S. consumers prefer to start their buying journeys by performing searches on Google. This is roughly double the percentage who begin product discovery efforts on Amazon (28.96%). Only 7.26% of 1,295 U.S. consumers surveyed by Smarty Marketing selected third-place generative AI platform ChatGPT, with social network Reddit coming in fourth at 4.56%.

However, ChatGPT is the dominant AI platform for product discovery, as almost half (48.36%) of the 60.46% of respondents who do use AI for product discovery indicated they utilize it. Distantly following were AI platforms including Google Gemini (27.92%) and Microsoft Copilot (9.92%).

A recent survey from CouponFollow supports this finding, showing a leading 72% of surveyed consumers who have used AI to research a purchase have leveraged ChatGPT. That survey also indicates that Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot are the second- and third-most popular AI platforms for product research.

[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: The most popular AI tool for shopping research is…]

Other findings

• Google is the most popular product discovery platform across most U.S. states, with the exceptions of Arizona, Delaware, Nebraska, Nevada, and Vermont, where more respondents turn to Amazon first.
• More than four in 10 (43.94%) respondents feel they generally use search less because they can ask an AI platform.
• Google is used by about half of consumers across generations, with Amazon being the second-most-popular choice. Millennial and Gen Z respondents are adopting ChatGPT (7% and 11% respectively) and Reddit (6% and 10%) more quickly than baby boomer (4% and 0%) and Gen X (7% and 2%) respondents.

Dollar Tree has strengthened its supply chain in the Southwest and West with the opening of a new distribution center.

The discounter is celebrating the grand opening of its 1 million-sq.-ft. distribution center in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Dollar Tree purchased the turnkey facility last October. Outbound deliveries begin next month, shipping to approximately 700 stores across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

Dollar Tree said the new facility is part of its broader effort to enhance its distribution network, increase capacity, improve speed to stores and support continued growth across its store footprint.

"This facility will help us move product closer to our stores and serve customers more quickly,” said Roxanne Weng, chief supply chain officer, Dollar Tree. “We are proud to be part of the local community and bring nearly 400 jobs to the area.”

The retailer plans to open its next distribution center, in Marietta, Okla., in spring 2027, with a return to the community after the prior facility was destroyed by a tornado in April 2024.

[READ MORE: Dollar Tree Q4 sales up 9%, traffic falls; to open 400 stores]

Dollar Tree operates more than 9,200 stores and 19 distribution centers across 48 contiguous states and seven Canadian provinces under the brands Dollar Tree and Dollar Tree Canada.

Dutch Bros is growing its footprint in the Midwest.

The drive-thru coffee chain has opened its first-ever location in the greater Chicago market, in the suburb of Melrose Park. The opening is part of Dutch Bros greater expansion in Illinois. To date, it has opened in Urbana, Fairview Heights, Mt Vernon and Edwardsville, with additional openings planned for Rockford, New Lenox and Buffalo Grove this summer.

"Opening in the Chicago area has always been a dream for us at Dutch Bros, and Melrose Park is just the beginning," said Allie Lahti, local market lead at Dutch Bros Coffee. "We've already felt so much love from this community, and we're so grateful to be here.”

Dutch Bros recently reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and earnings. Total revenues grew 30.8% to $464.4 million. Systemwide same-shop sales increased 8.3%, with a 5.1% rise in transactions, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of transaction growth.

It also raised its full-year guidance and reaffirmed its commitment to long-term growth store growth. It’s on track to open “at least’ 185 locations this year.

“Our path to 2,029 shops in 2029 remains very clear,” Dutch Bros CEO Christine Barone said on the company’s earnings call. “This reflects the positive impact of our real estate pipeline work."

As of March 31, Dutch Bros had 1,177 locations across 25 states.

The world’s largest hardware cooperative is teaming up with a third major online delivery platform.

Ace Hardware is making delivery of online orders via Instacart in as fast as one hour, without markups, available from thousands of stores nationwide. Customers can visit the Ace Hardware storefront on the Instacart site or app and shop the retailer’s full assortment.

"Joining the Instacart Marketplace is a natural extension of our commitment to deliver unmatched convenience for Ace customers, no matter how they choose to shop," said Bill Kiss, head of digital and retail strategy and innovation at Ace Hardware. "Whether tackling a home improvement project or picking up essentials for the backyard, our customers can seamlessly find everything they need in one easy order, delivered right to their doorstep."

In September 2025, Ace launched a new delivery partnership with DoorDash, becoming the first and largest hardware co-op on the on-demand delivery platform. DoorDash replaced a proprietary online delivery service called “Buy Online, Deliver from Store” Ace had been offering since 2019 as a feature of its e-commerce site at participating locations around the country.

[READ MORE: Ace Hardware delivers on online ordering]

Ace followed this up in April 2026 by initiating a delivery partnership with Uber Eats. Home Depot has delivered via Instacart in the U.S. since 2024, while Lowe’s began piloting Instacart delivery in 2022. 

“We're focused on making sure that every partnership we bring to Instacart delivers real value to our customers, which is why we’re thrilled to bring fast, same-day delivery and member-level pricing to Instacart customers,” said Blake Wallace, VP of retail partnerships at Instacart. 

To celebrate the launch, new qualifying Ace Hardware customers can take $15 off a $50 purchase through June 30, 2026, on Instacart.com.