News Briefs

Amazon is expanding the price history capabilities of its "Alexa for Shopping" solution.

Released in May 2026, Alexa for Shopping” combines the personalization capabilities of the next-gen Alexa+ voice model with the functionality of its Rufus agentic AI shopping assistant (which was discontinued as part of the launch) to deliver a targeted shopping experience where customers can browse and shop the full Amazon store using voice, touch, or both.

[READ MORE: Amazon enables conversational shopping via Alexa voice assistant]

Now Alexa for Shopping shows 30, 90, and 365 days of price history, There are two ways to access the feature:

1. Customers can click the price history link directly on any product detail page (right next to the price).
2. Shoppers cam tap the Alexa for Shopping icon on any product detail page (bottom right corner in the Amazon shopping app and top navigation bar on desktop), and ask: "Has this item been on sale in the past 30 days?" or "What's the price history?" or "Is this the lowest price recently?"

Alexa for Shopping also has all the other Amazon agentic shopping capabilities, such as snapping a photo to use visual search, finding deals based on browsing history and shopping lists, searching for items by price range, setting price alerts, and auto buying items at a set price. Shoppers can also track packages and check order status through conversation. 

Price history is currently available to all customers in the U.S., UK, Canada, and India. 365-day price insights are now rolling out to customers in the U.S., UK, and India, with full availability in the coming weeks.

Crumbl is setting up shop south of the border.

The fast-growing cookie store retailer will open its first location in Mexico later this summer. The store will be located in the heart of Mexico City’s Roma Norte neighborhood.

The opening marks the first step in Crumbl’s expansion plans for Mexico, with additional stores expected to open later this year and into 2027 across Mexico City and Monterrey. Future locations will include traditional Crumbl stores as well as locations in shopping centers and kiosk formats.

“The response across Crumbl Mexico’s social channels has shown how much excitement already exists for the brand, and we’re grateful to open our first store in the country,” said co-founder Sawyer Hemsley. “We look forward to building meaningful local connections and sharing the Crumbl experience with guests in Mexico City.”

[READ MORE: Study: Coffee, beverage chains seeing most success in QSR sector]

Crumbl was founded in 2017. The company operates nearly 1,200 locations across all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.

JLL Capital Markets and GA Group Real Estate today announced that they secured a $75 million sale-leaseback for a 46-property Family Dollar retail portfolio across 19 states. 

The two companies represented the seller, FD Retail Properties LLC, a property and leasing subsidiary formed by Dollar Tree following its acquisition of the Family Dollar brand.

The assets were acquired by an institutional real estate investor. 

“The transaction marks a significant milestone in Family Dollar's continued growth and momentum,” said a statement released by JLL and GA Group. “Through disciplined operational improvements and strategic investments, the retailer has meaningfully strengthened its national platform, attracting a marquee institutional buyer and validating the progress made across the portfolio.”

[READ MORE: Study: Family Dollar closed ‘at least’ 350 stores in past 10 months — here’s where]

A sale-leaseback is a financial transaction in which a company sells an owned asset to an investor and immediately leases it back. This allows the business to unlock locked-up capital for new expansion or growth or debt repayment.

Einstein Bros. Bagels is leveraging its new store prototype — and the nation’s growing appetite for bagels — to drive big growth in the coming years.

The country’s largest retail bagel chain plans to open more than 300 new locations across the United States by 2030. The expansion is being driven by Einstein’s “Elevate the Morning” refreshed store design, which prioritizes freshness, speed and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. 

The format is engineered to scale quickly without compromising the quality guests expect from Einstein Bros., according to the company. The design blends premium finishes, warm neighborhood character and layouts that make every visit “easy and enjoyable,” with the fresh-baked bagel case placed front and center.

"We've spent years perfecting a highly scalable store model that delivers fresh, high-quality breakfast with the convenience today's guests expect, and now we're accelerating that model across the country," said Jessica DePetro, CEO of Einstein Bros. Bagels. "We are at an inflection point for both our brand and the broader bagel category.”

Einstein said its growth comes as the U.S. bagel category has reached $5.8 billion, increasing approximately  5% per year. Over half (52%) of Americans eat bagels at any time of day.  

Among the chain’s rewards members, those under 35 drove a 22% year-over-year increase in store visits, indicating that “a new generation is claiming their morning routine at Einstein Bros.,” the company said.

Einstein Bros. Bagels operates more than 700 locations throughout the United States. The company is part of Panera Brands, whose other brands include Panera Bread and Caribou Coffee.

A Midwest retailer is slashing prices on select food essentials with the Independence Day weekend around the corner.

Through July 7, Meijer is discounting more than 100 private label brand items up to 50%, including Meijer brand food, drinks and picnic supply favorites for the summer months such as hot dog and burger buns, potato chips, lemonade, freezer pops, s'mores supplies, paper plates, napkins and charcoal. Customers can view all discounted items here.

In addition, Meijer is offering new ways for customers to earn more mPerks rewards program points on their purchases, which can be used for fuel discounts at Meijer Express stations. On select weekends beginning June 26-28, customers can earn four-times the mPerks points on the purchase of certain brands through the retailer's "Pump up the Points" promotion.

"Sharing food with family and friends is important here in the Midwest, and we are proud to provide our customers outstanding value and quality," said Don Sanderson, chief merchandising & marketing officer at Meijer. "These promotions ensure our customers can save money while sharing a great meal together." 

[READ MORE: Meijer expands in three states — here are the locations]

Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., Meijer operates more than 500 supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets and express locations throughout six Midwest states.