Sprouts Farmers Market to open in March The Sprouts Farmers Market store planned for Ellicott City, the first in Maryland, will open March 14, the Phoenixbased organic grocer said Thursday. Construction is nearly complete on the Sprouts building in St. John’s Plaza at 9150 Baltimore National Pike. It will be one of nine new Sprouts locations opening in the first three months of 2018 and part of a 30-store U.S. expansion planned for next year, the grocer said. The chain, which touts itself as a seller of fresh, natural and organic products at affordable prices, runs more than 280 stores in 15 states.

—Lorraine Mirabella Holiday spending is up 6percent so far this year A payment technology company says shoppers spent strongly to start the holiday season and then cooled off, but the overall pace is still stronger than a year ago. First Data says overall spending, excluding gas, rose 6 percent from Nov. 1 through Monday, outpacing the 3.7 percent pace for the year-ago period.