New year, new store. IRL retail is off to a solid start with Costco and Big Lots announcing new locations for 2022 this week: The bigger-is-better bulk retailer is planning on as many as 28 stores, while the discount home-furnishings chain will add ~50 new stores—and up to 500 over the next few years.

Foxtrot, the trendy convenience startup, also expects to boost its store count by 50 in 2022. Maybe not a total surprise to those who joined Retail Brew’s final virtual event of last year.

• “Of course e-comm and delivery are exciting channels that are growing, but there is a real place for warm, hospitality-driven retail experiences,” Mike LaVitola, Foxtrot’s co-founder and CEO, told us during The Checkout.

Beyond ramping up sales, physical stores also play a key role in building “brand value,” Mark Mathews, VP of research development and industry analysis with retail trade group NRF, told NBC. “It’s about creating experiences and connecting with the brand and about people being able to go to Best Buy and learn about the product they’re trying to buy,” he added.

Us too: They’re not alone. US retailers have already announced 1,768 store openings for 2022, per Coresight, and we’re only in the second week of January. (Granted, not all of those announcements were made in the new year.)

• At this point in 2021, the research firm counted 1,742 openings set for the year. That number ended up totaling 5,049, while closures hit 5,110.

The projections for 2022 are looking good for discount retailers in particular: Dollar General is planning to open 1,110 new stores this year (and 1,000 new Popshelf concept shops by the end of FY 2025), while off-price retailer Burlington Stores will add 120 new locations. And TJX Companies (parent of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods) expects to expand its retail footprint by 170 stores.

But, but, but: Where there are openings, there are closings—a number Coresight puts at 732 for 2022 so far. January has already seen Bed Bath & Beyond announce the permanent shuttering of 37 stores across 19 states, while Macy’s confirmed which locations are going, going, gone as part of its three-year plan to close about 125 stores.

Seems tame, though, compared to CVS: The chain said in November that it plans to shut 900 stores (about 9% of its total count) over the next three years; 300 of those are expected to close in 2022.—JS

Inflation rose at its highest level in nearly 40 years last month after a 7% YoY bump.

How we got here: Prices for cars, gas, food, and furniture increased in 2021, while government stimulus, low interest rates, and vaccine distribution propped up demand for goods and services, per the AP.

Americans continued to shop at a furious pace in 2021, despite supply-chain restrictions that slowed down the distribution of goods.

• While shoppers spent a record $204.5 billion online during the holiday season, price increases cost consumers $6.2 billion in that same period.
• Supply-chain backups led to a nearly 14% bump in furniture prices over the past year.

The Biden administration and the Federal Reserve claim that inflationary pressures will be temporary, but some economists disagree.

“US inflation pressures show no sign of easing,” James Knightley, chief international economist at the financial services company ING, told the AP. “It hasn’t been this high since the days of Thatcher and Reagan. We could be close to the peak, but the risk is that inflation stays higher for longer.”

The big picture: Last April, CNBC reported that not only was inflation coming (ha ha, it did!) but that companies—like Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola—were going to “raise prices to offset commodity costs.” So now, it’s not illogical to think that some retailers may continue passing on price hikes to consumers. For example, Larry Johns, owner of McJak Candy in Medina, Ohio, told Fortune that he’s bumped the average price of his products by 12%, and now gives customers a disclaimer on his pricing.

“For the first time this year, we’re saying, ‘This is our current pricing effective this date, subject to change,’ because I can’t lock things in for a whole year. I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Johns said.—KM

Starbucks will refocus its diversity and inclusion efforts among lead roles in manufacturing operations this year after slipping in 2021.

In September 2020, the coffee chain promised that at least 30% of corporate roles and 40% of retail and manufacturing jobs would be held by BIPOC by 2025. Starbucks met roughly a third of those goals through October 2021, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

• POCs made up 48% of the total workforce in 2021, up only one percentage point from the year prior.
• In manufacturing, POCs fell to 12.5% of director-level employees from 14.3% in 2020.
• The percentage of women in its workforce rose to 71% from 69% last year.

“We’ve been very intentional in holding ourselves accountable and being transparent with the work that we have to do,” Dennis Brockman, senior vice president and chief global inclusion and diversity officer, told Fortune.

Looking ahead…By 2030, Starbucks plans to nearly double its spending with minority suppliers to $1.5 billion, up from $800 million last year. The chain will also create a program in partnership with Arizona State University to help business operations for minority suppliers, Brockman said.—KM

Today’s top retail reads.

Land grab: Virtual realtors are spending millions on metaverse plots, but will retailers and brands buy them? (Business of Fashion)

Mayo Nays: A top shareholder reportedly lambasted Unilever for claiming Hellmann’s mayonnaise is a purpose-driven brand “at the expense of focusing on the fundamentals of the business.”  (Financial Times)

Bride’s gown revisited: One wedding-dress brand is promising gowns a “second life” with free alterations that transform them for everyday wear. (WWD)

Deal? Deal. That’s how quickly OpenStore can make an offer on your e-commerce business—so find out how much your biz is worth now, after you blew the holiday season out of the water. OpenStore will make an offer in just 24 hours—check your OpenStore value right here.^*

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The big number that you need to know.

Time is money, and people are spending it on shopping apps.

According to App Annie’s 2022 State of Mobile Report, consumers hit 100 billion hours on shopping apps last year, up 18% YoY. (Cue the screen-time control settings.) Fast fashion, social commerce, and big-box retailers were the most popular sources. Meanwhile, apps in the food and drink category hit a new record at 194 billion sessions in 2021, an increase of 50% from 2020.

• In the US, domestic brands lead the overall mobile shopping market with a 66% share.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Consumers spent a record $204.5 billion online during the 2021 holiday season: Adobe
• Thousands of unionized workers at Kroger subsidiaries in Colorado just went on strike
• Why this makeup company ditched stores for online only this year