This Week in Retail: Tax Day relief and consumer products symposium

The deadline for income taxes is this Wednesday, and retailers and brands are offering a little relief to shoppers. Some Papa John’s locations are giving free slices to post offices. The Container Store is running a “tax time sale,” and a number of restaurant chains are throwing in some free extras.

Some consumers plan to return the favor once they get their refunds. An annual survey from the National Retail Federation found that 12% plan to spend that money on a major purchase, while 10% plan to “splurge,” which is slightly down from last year.

Here’s what else is going on in retail this week:

In conferences: The eighth annual Consumer Products and Retail Symposium is coming to Los Angeles on Thursday. The event brings together CEOs and CFOs in the consumer products and retail sector to network and discuss developments in the industry. Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor for Circana, is delivering the keynote speech.

In webinars: Shop Eat Surf Outdoor, an outlet covering the active outdoor industry, is hosting a webinar today called “Unlocking AI Tools for Independent Retailers.” The event will bring together a panel of independent retailers to discuss “their personal journeys, their learning curves, and the specific ways they are integrating AI to make their businesses more efficient.”

In shipping: Starting Friday, Amazon will add a temporary 3.5% surcharge on fulfillment services for third-party sellers. The company said the charge is a response to elevated “fuel and logistics” costs, which Amazon had absorbed until now. The e-commerce giant joins shipping companies such as UPS and FedEx in adding a charge to help recoup energy and transport costs.