Supermarket chain Publix said the pandemic gave its total sales for the first quarter of 2021 a jolt: $0.9 billion, or 7.8 percent. That’s on top of the 10.3 percent year-over-year bump the coronavirus spurred for the first quarter of 2020. Publix, which operates 1,269 stores in the Southeast, said same-store sales increased 2.4 percent year over year for the first quarter of 2021.

Outdoors gear retailer L.L.Bean is getting active after revenue climbed 5 percent in 2020. The company will open seven new stores this year, including one in Salem, New Hampshire. It also will resume 24-hour service at its Freeport, Maine, flagship. The company had limited the store’s hours due to the pandemic.

Government stimulus aimed at families with small children helped kids’ apparel conglomerate Carter’s ring up sales during the pandemic. Demand for the company’s brands, including traffic to its 750 Carter’s and OshKosh B’gosh stores, improved meaningfully following the March 11, passage of the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief legislation, according to the retailer. Net sales surged 20 percent during the first quarter, aided by a 38 percent year-over-year jump in online sales. Carter’s boosted its 2021 outlook based on the quarter’s performance. The company expects total sales to grow by 10 percent for the year thanks in part to children being vaccinated and returning to school.

Airport retail centers are prepping for a rebound in traffic this summer as consumers get vaccinated. Philadelphia International Airport, for one, came up with a plan to save its small business tenants by letting them reopen before national chains as traffic increases. Around 85 of the airport’s 180 retail tenants have reopened so far. The airport has “not lost a single operator since the pandemic started,” according to management, which also states that travelers are embracing airport shopping more than ever.

CVS is expanding the number of stores where it offers mental health services. The pharmacy chain launched a pilot in January in 12 stores in Houston, Philadelphia and Tampa and plans to add another 22 this year in communities underserved by mental health care. The program is part of CVS’s strategy to create health clinics within its stores so consumers can get screenings, vaccinations and other health services while filling their prescriptions.

Accel Robotics, a startup for artificial intelligence-powered, checkout-free retail technology, will open an automated store called Valet Market this month. Valet Market, rendered at top, is a 1,500-square-foot, autonomous market on the ground floor of Brookfield Properties’ luxury high-rise residential tower Vantage Pointe Apartments in San Diego’s East Village. The market is designed as a shared pantry for the neighborhood. Shoppers will find locally sourced items like produce, baked goods and dairy alongside everyday convenience items on the store’s smart shelves. The market also integrates with on-demand delivery services so people can order through the store’s app. It operates much like the cashierless Amazon Go stores, using technology to track consumers in the store and an app to charge them for items they leave with. Accel Robotics plans partnerships with U.S. universities, sports venues, military bases, convenience stores, pharmacies and fuel stations.

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Dick’s Sporting Goods continues to experiment with new concepts. The company will open two locations of an off-price concept called Going, Going, Gone in May: one at Gable Crossing in Avon, Indiana and another at Monroeville Mall in Pennsylvania. Also this month, it plans to open a traditional Dick’s Sporting Goods store at Northridge Fashion Center northwest of Los Angeles and a Dick’s Warehouse Sale store in Metairie, Louisiana.

Two-and-half years after its launch, much ballyhooed retail concept Neighborhood Goods has opened only three stores, and expansion plans remain on hold due to COVID-19. But the startup has raised $27 million from investors to stay afloat. It had focused on showcasing digitally native apparel, household goods and electronic gadgets but is adding more food brands in a bid for growth. The company says direct-to-consumer food brands need to expand their distribution channels and will need stores like Neighborhood Goods to reach new consumers.

Gap Inc. sold its upscale, multibrand women’s apparel concept Intermix to Altamont Capital Partners. Intermix, which Gap purchased in 2019, has 31 locations. Gap chose to sell off Intermix and focus on its larger brands like Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta.