DoorDash Does Waymo, Wayfair Opens A New Store & A Marketplace Of Marketplaces Emerges | Fast Five

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It is October 22, 2025.

I'm one of your hosts, Anne Mazinga.

Wow.

And I'm Chris Walton.

And I can't believe it's October 22nd already.

Ann.

I know, I know.

It's flying.

The weeks are flying by and we are here once to discuss all the top headlines from the past week making waves in the world of omnichannel retailing.

But we have Some special guests today, Chris, because we couldn't do this alone.

Back for their regularly scheduled monthly appearance are Alvarez and Marcel's managing director, Lisa Collier, and senior director Manola Solaire.

Welcome to you both.

Manola, it's been a while, I feel like since you've been on the pod, so let's.

I want to go to you first and just give our audience a reminder of you, your background, your role at A and M. Yeah, absolutely.

It has been a minute.

I was looking back and it's been way too long.

I know.

Yeah, I need to.

Need to come here more often.

These are always so much fun, but I'm a senior director with the CRG consumer and retail goods practice here at A and M, and I do most of my work in the between the apparel and beauty space.

I focus a lot on.

On growth and operating model redesign.

So, yeah, a little bit of a retail nerd and always fun to.

To have a chat here.

Excited to be here.

Yes.

Retail nerds are always welcome on this podcast.

Manila.

We're really, really excited to have you back.

Lisa, give our audience a quick background on you too.

You've been on a little more recently, but.

But we.

We're gaining new listeners every day, so please introduce yourself.

Yeah, absolutely.

Lisa Collier, managing director at Alvarez and Marsal, a consumer retail group.

Along in the same group with also a retail nerd.

I kind of like that.

Definitely.

I've had the privilege to work in this industry for the last 40 years, and I have loved every minute of it.

So began my career as an operator, and in the last 18 months have joined consulting.

My background is, I always say I'm a unicorn because I started out as a merchant, but I also ran supply chains and operation.

So I kind of crossed the gamut of all things retail, apparel, footwear, fashion, and sport.

Awesome.

We're so excited to have both of you.

Chris, this is quite the banger lineup.

And also, Chris, I'll note you.

Have you ever been on the show with three other women before?

Because I fear with two other women and.

And yourself, I feel like it's always me and a bunch of guys.

So this is like female power show.

Yeah.

I don't know.

I feel like.

I feel like we've done it before with the A M. Folks before.

I feel like we've had two, two, two females on from A M. Before.

But, you know, I'm always.

I always love it.

It's always great.

It's good to see Manola again.

Manola, how long ago was it when you were on the show.

When you look back, I'm curious.

I think it was more than a year ago.

More than a year ago.

Okay.

So yeah, got it.

Well, it's good to have you back.

And Lisa, I remember your last appearance vividly because, because I was like, man, we are cut from the same cloth.

We are thinking about these things the same way.

So I'm curious to see if that play.

But without further ado, and I think we should get to the headlines.

What do you think?

Let's do it.

All right.

In this fast.

Ooh.

In this week's Fast5, I should say, folks, we've got news on Ulta's official launch of its marketplace.

New research that suggests big changes could be coming to Britain's high streets.

Wayfair's launch of its new 30,000 square foot luxury store in Florida.

DoorDash teaming up with Waymo for a Thomas Deliveries.

And former Walmart EVP and fellow Simbi Advisory board member Mary Beth Hayes stops by for five insightful minutes on the future of merchandising.

But we begin today with big, big, big AI news from Walmart.

Ann yes, we, we.

It's been teased in the weeks past, but now it's been made official.

Headline number one.

Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to offer shopping on ChatGPT.

According to Bloomberg, users will be able to shop Walmart's assortment directly on ChatGPT by clicking a buy button with the catalog, including apparel, entertainment, packaged food and other products.

The new function will launch in the fall with customers current Walmart or Sam's Club accounts getting automatically linked to ChatGPT and goods also being available from third party sellers, notably.

However, fresh food is not included in the offering, partly because Walmart told Bloomberg consumers buy similar products weekly.

Lisa, we're gonna go to you first on this one.

Is Walmart's decision to offer shopping through ChatGPT and if you can't beat them, join them.

Signal to the rest of the industry.

Yeah, wow.

I mean, I think it is, yes, a big move for Walmart.

I mean, really big move.

As I, as I read through the article, I, it was not the first brand or the first retailer I would have expected to jump here.

I think it's amazing that they're recognizing what they need to do with AI and becoming adaptive in the new world.

And I hadn't really thought about how AI could be used in this space and I was quite impressed with the idea.

So I think it is signaling to the retailers there is a shift and adaptation that needs to happen.

Pretty Quickly across the retail platforms.

And Lisa, do you feel like this is, is particularly valuable to Walmart and would you recommend that other retailers kind of follow suit here?

Is this, is this like the dawn of, of, you know, online commerce again, where, where most retailers should be thinking about it, or do you think this is specific to a retailer like Walmart, where this might make more sense?

I, I think my instinct is it makes sense for like the big box retailers.

Okay, that's my reaction because I think, you know, as we think about all the other things in with a brand and retail at the brand level, I think the execution is going to look different.

That's just my gut reaction.

Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

Manola, where do you land on this, especially given your experience?

Like, what about beauty brands?

What about fashion brands?

Like, does this make sense here?

Is this something that they should be looking at?

I mean, listen, I think it's a really, it's a nimble move by, by Walmart and I think it's responding.

If I look at, you know, younger people, they use chat GPT as Google.

They're like, Google, I don't know.

Right.

They're just going on ChatGPT and that's their search engine.

Right.

So it's smart for a company like Walmart especially.

They have all that data, which is what a chat GPT, you know, would feed off of.

Right.

Huge assortment.

Right.

So I think it's a good move that kind of brings together where consumers are searching for a new product and it's a good tool to parse through that gigantic assortment they have going they have going on.

Right.

But yeah, for beauty would definitely makes sense.

You know, sometimes it's hard to select one product versus another, especially in a digital environment.

So I can help, you know, go through recommendations and find a product that's best suited for you.

I think that's something that has legs from a consumer perspective.

Right?

Yeah, I think I think you're right.

Like all these searches, especially in some of those categories like beauty, like fashion, like home furnishings, like, it's good to have some of this insight, you know, and then taking you to a buy button without leaving that app, I think it makes a lot of sense.

Chris, I'm curious too.

From your perspective, what about the fresh food component?

Like that to me seemed strange because I think another reason that you're on Chatbots is for recipe creation and that kind of thing.

So to not have fresh food as a part of it, to me it was like, is that the right move?

But I mean, you have Lots of background in this space.

Like what, what do you think here about this move from Walmart?

Yeah, well, the fresh food part is really interesting to me because I think that shows me that Walmart's being very thoughtful and strategic about how they're doing this because they know that grocery is their differentiation point.

It's their big competitive advantage.

They're not saying they may not do it in the long run, but they're not doing it to start.

And what I really like about, what I really like about this move is it's a, it's a, basically a direct attack on Amazon because when you think about who can win in this new.

The way I describe it is like marketplace of marketplaces.

That's what.

Oh, that's what ChatGPT.

That's what Open AI is creating here.

And who can win in the marketplace of marketplaces when basically all the items Walmart carries are exactly the same as Amazon?

Well, it's going to be Walmart because Walmart has the ability to offer you so many more omnichannel options and conveniences.

You want to pick it up in the store, do you want to have it shipped to your house?

Amazon doesn't have that ability at all.

So I think this is a direct assault on Amazon's marketplace, which we know is also important because the bigger and faster you grow your marketplace, the more retail media dollars you get and the more you just continue to, to fuel the flywheel that Walmart has been fueling so successfully now for the past, you know, five or six years.

And what do you guys think about, you know, the, the, the information being passed here?

Like, I think that's another thing is like Amazon's keeping their walled gardens.

They don't want people to be going through ChatGPT to search for products that they're keeping it to, going to Amazon to search for products.

And Walmart's opening this up now.

They're sharing this data.

But do you think that no data or that shared data is better than no data, like the Amazon approach here?

Does anybody have an opinion on that?

I mean, I think I do.

You know, look, I, I think I, I am gonna probably follow the lead up, agreeing with Chris here.

He and I are on the same page again on this one like before.

But I thought the first thing I thought of is watch out Amazon.

And I think Amazon wants to be the largest search engine and I think this is going to give them a kick, that there's other ways to go about it and the data is out there, so why not Use it to your advantage.

I think Walmart's being strategic to say let's take the data we have and really utilize it in a way that's going to drive traffic in consumers through benefit.

Yeah.

Chris, what are your thoughts there?

Last word.

The other important point here to put this in context and the news is changing is happening so quickly.

Like just Yesterday, you know, OpenAI announced their new browser to their Atlas browser.

Right.

And we saw something similar from Perplexity too.

Anthropic hasn't come out with that yet.

And, and who's the biggest investor in Anthropic?

I believe it's Amazon.

If they're not the biggest, they're one of the biggest.

So Amazon could be making a play here in a similar way.

We just don't know.

So that's how I'd answer your data sharing question, Ann, is, I think, you know, is Amazon taking that approach?

I don't know that they're creating the closed garden that they may be just because they haven't actively been talking about anything that could still be coming down the road as this space continues to evolve and the ultimate user interface gets designed in this Betamax via va, you know, versus VHS battle across all these different, you know, GPT plot like platforms.

So yeah, man.

Wow.

It's just such a crazy space.

All right.

The next one is also about Marketplaces and is perfect for Manolas.

Headline number two Ulta Beauty has launched its marketplace according to a retail dive dubbed the Ulta Beauty Marketplace and created with Miracle, a longtime sponsor of this podcast.

I should note the platform launched a couple of weeks ago, according to an email that Ulta sent customers on September 29.

In a press release from the beauty retailer on Tuesday, Ulta said it plans to quickly scale its Ulta Beauty Marketplace assortment over the next 12 to 18 months.

The seller listings are integrated into Ulta's other online offerings with unified search results, shopping carts, returns and checkout processes.

While shoppers can earn Ulta Beauty Rewards points on Marketplace purchases, they cannot, however, redeem those points on Marketplace listed items per the same September email.

Notably different than some other online retail marketplaces like on Best Buy and Walmart, the platform is also not available to just any third party seller and is only open by invitation directly to brands.

Manola, what is your consultative point of view on what Ulta needs to get right in order to make its marketplace successful?

I mean, listen, I think it's a, it's a balance between offering a breadth of assortment, right?

But still something that feels curated, right?

You don't want to feel like you're kind of out in the world without a lens on beauty and just kind of shopping random things.

I think people are more open to shopping other categories in an open, open, more open marketplace apparel, but things that you put directly on your body that are, you know, kind of near your eyes and things like that.

I think consumers are a bit more, more cautious.

But it's striking that balance between the, the breath and the curation, which I think they, they've taken a good first step in having only it's by invitation, right.

And they're doing some level of betting of the quality and the, the types of, of products that are, that are being sold.

So I think that's the.

Going to be different than other marketplaces, but they do have, I think, to maintain that, that standard.

The other thing that comes to mind is, you know, the points integration, that feels a little bit clunky, right?

Maybe they'll, that's something that down the road they'll figure out how to, how to integrate.

But if I'm an alta consumer, you know, I like racking up those points and I don't want to be limited in what I'm going to use them where I can, can go in that.

Right.

Spend them.

Right.

Especially when the website, I think there's no way to kind of filter out for the marketplace offering.

So it all kind of comes together.

It becomes hard to parse through like, okay, where can I use my points?

Where can I not use the points so that, you know, probably some opportunity for, for streamlining there.

So.

No, I'm curious.

Like, one question I have, like, so I, I love the move overall.

You know, I'm big on marketplaces in general.

I love the curation approach for now as well.

But, you know, in a lot of ways, you know, as.

Lisa, you'll probably joke at this one too, and when I go to you for the next commentary.

But, you know, it's kind of a predictable approach.

Like every retailer says, we want a curated marketplace.

We want to be conscious of the brand.

But to really be in the marketplace game, you have to, you have to at some point move quicker and open, you know, open the doors a little bit wider than you're probably comfortable with.

So I'm curious, Manola, you know, based on, based on your work in transformation and organizational structuring, how would you recommend people go faster in terms of the curation of their marketplace to bring more vendors on more quickly?

I mean, there's, there's ways to kind of standardize and in beauty there's, you know, for example, if we're concerned about quality, there's external third parties that certify on, you know, different quality levels.

So you're able to know where these, you know, products are manufactured and have kind of a, kind of a ring fence that's not quite as tight.

Right.

And you're, it's a supply chain that's fairly transparent.

Right.

So you're able to maybe come at it from, from that angle.

I think the curation piece is, yes, you need to get scale in order to have a marketplace that works, but you also need to serve people the right product within that marketplace.

Right.

So it's kind of also an internal kind of personalization and processes that you need to set up so that within this enormous assortment, people can come in and see things that are relevant to them.

Right.

So, you know, I don't know, maybe it links back to the AI question, right.

Of like, how do you then navigate the marketpl?

So I think it's, it's curation from those two senses of like, who do you let in, but also who do you serve to people when they show up?

And is that right for, for each individual person?

Yeah, I like what you're saying there too.

Cause that's what I always think about.

Like there should be a defined rubric for who you're going to let come in so that it, you know, quickens the process versus you're just finding them and deciding if they're right for you, you know.

Lisa, what do you think though?

Look, I think the, the first two things that came to my mind is, is in order for it to be successful, it has to be an Ulta experience.

And how do they think about that experience?

That's true to Ulta.

And then I think speed of delivery is going to be another thing, you know, as we think about the other competitors, if they are not fast enough, why would I go to their marketplace?

I think the risk could be that they're having the brand ship direct.

Right.

So I think the risk could be, is the service level, you know, stack up to people like Walmart and Amazon in the end, because that's going to be critical to the consumer.

And then when I think about it, I do think in order for it to be meaningful, they are going to have to broaden the assortment.

But it needs to be true to who ULTA is and how they've made that selection.

Yeah, and that's a good point on the curation too.

Like you want to, if you're Going to build your marketplace.

You want to make sure that the vendors you're leaning into are as differentiated as possible against Walmart and Amazon as well.

And what is your take here?

I, I agree with Lisa and Manola.

I think this is different than other marketplaces and if I were Ulta, I would be very slow in building this marketplace up for all the reasons they talked about.

Beauty is different than a mass retailer, than, you know, a Walmart or an Amazon.

This is an area where people spend time and they invest, you know, lots of money in these products and they're putting them on their body.

So I think that this is a, is a category where curation makes sense.

I also really like this move from the Ulta perspective for their customers, as Lisa was alluding to, because if this product doesn't work, they're also able to bring this back to an Alta store and then they have that interaction point.

So I think this is actually going to help drive some traffic to Ulta stores.

If they don't find the right product or if that product isn't good, good for them.

That gives another sales opportunity post purchase for Ulta customers and for Ulta staff to kind of get them into the right product, maybe that is in store so they're not leaving without anything in hand.

They, they see.

Okay, you liked, what were the attributes of this product that you chose online and how do we find you something next to either test or to walk home with in store?

So, so I like this move in general for Ulta as, you know, one, providing their consumers with a curated assortment both online and offline and then two, as a potential post purchase traffic driver.

So I, I'm, I'm all in on it.

I love it.

Manola, that brings up another question for me that I want to go to you for.

The last point here is, you know, part of a marketplace idea is also the category expansion, you know, and so like I could think of, you know, categories that might be very relevant to a beauty purchase, like a vanity, let's say, you know, how do you think about that and how would you advise Ulta to handle the category expansion question, if at all.

That's an interesting lens.

And I think, you know, beauty has been expanding into kind of adjacent categories and kind of blurring with, you know, wellness comes to mind.

Right.

So it's, you know, are you taking vitamins to feel good or to look good or a little bit of both.

And then that's a quick step into, you know, yoga or you know, other wellness related spheres.

So I Do think there's kind of, there is probably a lifestyle angle that you can anchor on beauty and it does need, you know, there's a limit to how much you can stretch but I think as long as it is.

No pun intended.

Yes.

I think as long as consumers, you know, you're not cluttering them and they can, it can be a pull versus a push.

Right.

I think it's a good point and it's an opportunity to expand into other categories without dragging vanities for example into the Ulta stores.

Right.

You can play into these higher ticket maybe difficult inventory to manage without cluttering the brick and mortar channel for example.

All right, let's go on to headline number three.

New research suggests that Gen Z will redefine Britain's high streets into social tech driven hubs by 2050 according to the Retail Gazette and to New Retail 2050 research from American Express conducted in partnership with Futures consultancy Trajectory success on the high street will depend not just on what businesses sell but on quote, how they make consumers feel.

Blending technology, experience and community into every visit.

And quote for Gen Z, the high street visit is about far more than shopping, says the study.

Two thirds or 65% say each trip should deliver something they can't get online.

Well, nearly 4 and 5, 79% want future retail destinations to blend shopping with dining, drinking and leisure.

Three quarters or 76% of Gen Z believe retailers should use AI to create more immersive in store experiences while 60% say they would be more likely to visit shops offering digital try ons or AI generated styling advice.

Lisa, you were just in London so we're going to go to you on this one.

Are you buying or selling?

The evolution of Britain's high streets into social tech driven hubs by 2050.

I have to say when I first read the headline my first immediate reaction was no way.

Like that was my immediate like quick reaction.

And then as I thought about it and I stepped back, I was just in London.

I moved my, my youngest daughter over there to do a master's program for a year and geez, I thought New York was the city that didn't sleep.

But London, I don't know, it may have something on New York.

It's, it's pretty, pretty heavy traffic over there and crazy at all times.

But as I stepped back and thought about it and really loved all the statistics in the article because it's true, I do think the Gen Z is demanding experiential, they're demanding connection points where they want to meet up and Go together.

It's kind of gonna have to, I think, replace what the mall was to the boomers.

Right.

If you think about it now, Gen Z wants to be on the high stripe street.

They want to be social.

I think that they're gonna want to have, they're gonna have to want people, make people want to go there.

Because it is a trip.

Right.

And I think it is gonna happen.

I do.

I mean, and as I stepped back and thought about it, I go, okay, a while from now.

So I'm pretty sure they can figure out how to make it happen.

But I think they're going to have to do it to keep the real estate prices in check.

Yeah.

Well, at least how would you be advising brands, especially having your background working for some large, large brands, especially in the fashion and apparel space, how would you be advising them to start thinking about this?

Where would you be telling them to invest as they're trying to like build this strategy for 2050?

I do think it is about the consumer touch points.

I'll go back to my, one of my old alma maters who is doing quite well today.

So a shout out to Levi Strauss and company.

Levi's is having a moment and it's amazing to see.

And I think I remember when we started putting tailor shops on Regent street and Oxford street and that allowed for that connection, that gathering also allowed for that creativity.

So I think you have to take a step back and think about how does my brand connect with consumers and then what experience could I give them that is so relevant to my brand?

Sure.

And how maybe like, what are you driving them there to do too?

Like the tailoring, for example.

Like maybe you're not buying something that time, but you're bringing them in because you're offering a special kind of tailoring or enhancement to their current product.

And then you're, you're building on that experience while they're there.

That makes sense.

And you're building on kind of the passion for the brand.

Because everybody loves a story about their old Levi's or their first Levi.

So imagine you're bringing it in and maybe blending it with new product and old product.

Yeah.

You know, I think, you know, another way we've seen the sports brands show up and be interactive.

I think, you know, the big guys, Nike and Adidas have been testing this for some time.

I don't know that they've exactly got it it right.

The one thing I will say, and I think I said this in a question the last time.

Yeah.

They got to make sure the Tech works.

They gotta make sure the tech works, right?

Yes, yes.

Lots of digital screens, right, Lisa?

That's what they do.

Exactly, exactly.

And they have to make sure it's interactive.

Yes, absolutely.

Chris, are you in agreement with Lisa this time around?

What do you think of high streets and their Gen Z approach?

Yeah, I mean, I agree with everything she said, but I, I'm, when I step back and I put my, you know, God, how long is it now?

I don't even want to age myself.

Almost 30 years of being in retail.

I just kind of look at this headline and think it's a nothing headline.

It's, it's not saying anything really.

All that, you know, evocative like, okay, younger generations want tech, they want more social experiences, they want a reason to go to a store.

Yeah.

It's our job as retailers to figure that out and how to do that.

It's been that same way forever.

It's not anything new, so it's not an earth shattering to me.

It's just good retailing.

It.

The, the way like the words that came to my, the word that came to my mind as I was listening to Lisa talk is like, yeah, you're on high street, you got to have a good flagship strategy to hook people and get them to come in and the tech's got to work.

So like, yeah, I don't know, I, I thought this was more of a clickbait headline than an actual like, transformative indication of how things are going to change.

Sure, that makes sense.

Manoah, close us out here.

What do you think?

Where, where do you land on this clickbait or is there strategy here that people should be thinking about?

I mean, I think it's a little bit of both.

Right.

Because I, yeah, yes.

Young consumers, they are, for them, you know, buying is not the, the experience.

Buying is just, you know, you can do that online.

You have so many options.

It's not this, you know, we went and walked the mall and that was the experience.

Right.

Kind of like shopping and maybe thinking about shopping or transacting.

So, yeah, I think it's, you know, that's just that their lives are, are more tech infused and that's just how they're going to live their lives in retail and in everything.

Right.

So I do think it's going to be a natural evolution and it's, it's underway, so it'll happen.

But is it super shocking that it'll happen?

I, you know, maybe not.

What do you, what do you think about like one of the things that I thought was missing from this article is worrying about product availability.

Like there's nothing in here talking about like how do you make sure that you have inventory?

Like if, if they are going to be coming physically to the high streets.

Like what is your investment in your product strategy and what the right products are that you're going to be carrying on shelves.

Manola especially I think is this is important in the beauty category.

Like I want to be able to try that, you know, moisturizer that I saw on TikTok if I'm going to the high street.

Do you think that that's a component that retailers are thinking about or you know, is this something that AI is able to do as they insinuate in the article?

Well, AI can't do it yet.

I don't.

And there's things where like I don't know that AI can tell you what a moisturizer is going to feel like on your face ever.

But you know, so yeah, I, I think it's that balancing of the.

And as you have add more experience.

Right.

You shrink the space to hold actual goods that you convert people into.

So yeah, I do think it's a point.

And they're going to have to be smart about, you know, maybe which categories.

Absolutely.

It's non negotiable.

You have to have it in the store and which places.

It's like, okay, maybe you're buying this jacket and you can use a magic mirror, see it in the navy versus the gray that we have in the store and we'll ship it to you next day.

Right.

So I think there's places where you can have that compromise.

But, but yeah, there's going to be things that you need to touch and you need to, you know, swatch in the inside of your wrist to see if it looks good or not.

So something that comes to my mind is an area that I think we under emphasize in, in the retail and fashion space is the importance of planning.

Because what you're talking about is, is the inventory at the right place at the right time and really how the planning organizations are really going to think about end to end and be able to hit on multiple experiences.

So I think it's a watch out for retailers because I don't think we put enough emphasis into that either from a people priority or tools.

And that's the one thing as soon as you asked Manola the question that came to my mind because I'm super passionate about it because you know, I used to think the merchant was the most important role and Now, I, I sometimes say planning.

I do say it's a central nervous system of the company and everything has to run off of that engine.

And I think it's going to need to be prioritized when we think about all the things we talked about today, where AI is going to play a role, because it really is right product, right place, right time, and how do you get it there?

All right.

Well, let's bring on Mary Beth Hayes to talk about what retailers can do now, today to evolve their merchandising.

Joining us now for five insightful minutes is Mary Beth Hayes.

Mary Beth is a former Walmart merchant executive, a trusted board member, and now a colleague of Ann's and mine at Simbi.

And she is here to discuss the ongoing evolution of merchandising, a subject you all know is near and dear to our hearts here at OmniTalk.

Mary Beth, welcome to OmniTalk.

Let's get, get started with this.

What is different about merchandising now relative to even five years ago?

My favorite topic, merchandising.

One major change that I've seen is that merchants now have responsibility for both in store and for the online assortment instead of having two organizations.

This is such a relief for suppliers I work with a lot now who are often caught between two merchants.

It's better for the customer because the, the product assortment itself hangs together better.

Right.

And it's certainly better for the merchants because they can gain an even deeper understanding of customers and purchase behavior.

Not to mean that it's easier because Zeni merchant will tell you a hit online may not transfer in store and vice versa.

Well, Mary Beth, as merchandising teams are trying to kind of stay on the cutting edge, how would you recommend that they kind of try to capitalize on this new way of working?

The new way of working with having responsibility for online and in store typically comes when that change is made with a narrower product responsibility.

So this should allow the merchants to truly become experts in the product, everything about that product category from the brands, the need for a private label, what most matters to customers.

And they can really become technical experts in the category and partners to suppliers and bringing new products to market.

And Mary Beth, I imagine this comes with even more data now than, than ever before.

They were already getting inundated.

But how do you recommend that now with a narrower product focus that they, they use the data that they're getting to be successful?

There's always been in my mind two issues with data.

And one is can you trust it?

And two is that for so long, I mean, hundreds of years of organized retail, it's always been backwards looking.

Right, Right.

So now that there are technologies rather that are being deployed, such as digital shelf labels, RFID and certainly SIMBIS tally that we get to collaborate on, we're finally entering an era where the data can be trusted.

Right.

So we can eliminate that pain point.

And since it can be trusted, we can now turn to AI to mine that data for trends that no human's going to see.

And, and like here's, here's my favorite story.

If we had had this technology way back when, this would be different.

Story of Blue Moon Beer, which we always enjoy with an orange slice.

Yeah, well, when that beer came out like that, what the orange slice wasn't a thing yet.

And the retailer that I was with, like some really, really smart store manager observed that in his or her community, came back to the store, did a, you know, pallets of the product together and it was a hit that went up through the district.

And then finally, you know, nationally, we were asking the stores, please do that.

Right.

Where your liquor laws, you know, make that, allow that.

But think about that.

That's oranges are in produce.

And then of course you've got the adult beverage buyer.

They're never going to see that connection.

So it feels to me like AI and shelf intelligence is just bringing us out of like the merchandising equivalent of smoke signals, you know, from, from each retail store.

Yeah, the vodka buyer might be talking to the olive buyer, but the beer buyer is definitely not talking to the orange buyer.

That's for sure.

Right.

Yeah.

But the other point that raises too, which I think is also important to think about, you know, as you take that up a level, take it up to say the chief merchant level, which is what you were in your previous, you know, and previously in your career, like there starts to become some territorial overlap between the opera people that own the operation.

So let's, let's say, say for sake of argument, the CEO side of the organization and the chief merchant side of the organization.

What advice do you have for navigating that blurring of lines, so to speak?

You know, the relationship between operators and merchants, I think it's like cats and dogs, like since the beginning of time, like, it's, it's full of friction.

But a lot of that friction is really productive.

You know, operator Ally is going to be the first one to tell you when like this set isn't working or you're missing something.

The packaging is just, it's horrible.

It's not good for the stores.

Right.

And then the merchants are always just, they just want to see their set executed and you know, and the sales happen and they want their inventories like always corrected and adjusted.

But then the poor operator takes that adjustment.

It can look like shrink, right?

It looks like their shrinks out of control.

So the endless quibbling over good faith receiving execution and inventory levels is just, just, it's just unproductive.

Right.

So just like you know I mentioned earlier, we're over the debate about online business killing the stores shelf intelligence like, like Simbi and, and, and our friend Tally is going to move the industry past that squabbling and providing helping the operators and the merchants and supply chain provide what the customer needs and when they need it.

So my advice to retail executives in this day that when you deploy technology like Simbi and Tally, please do that but cross functionally.

It's an enterprise level project that will maximize the investment when it has executive sponsorship from the chief merchant, the chief operator and the head of supply chain to maximize the investment and utilize the data and take advantage of the whole suite of products that are available now.

So welcome to the future.

Well, thanks Mary Beth, that was great.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

Headline number four.

Wayfair's luxury brand Paragould is going big in Florida with its new store debut.

Wayfair has opened its second Paragould Banner Store, a nearly 30,000 square foot two level location at City Place in West Palm Beach, Florida.

I know.

Oh, that's Ann's favorite vacation spot in Florida.

The opening follows the luxury brand's brick and mortar debut earlier this year in Houston.

And it also comes as Wayfair is expanding its namesake brand with a large format concept.

The store houses More than 150 luxury home brands across furniture, decor and lighting, with many products available to take home or ship within a week.

Also unique to the West Palm beach store is a dedicated sleep center where customers can explore premier bedding in a boutique like setting Setting.

The store also offers an expanded assortment of kitchen appliances, offering shoppers the chance to experience luxury kitchen Design solutions firsthand.

Manola 3,000sq ft for a new Wayfair Paragould store is pretty darn big.

Would you have greenlit this idea?

I mean, you know my, my first reaction when I saw that, I was like, ooh, I want to go there.

And then my kind of business hat came on.

I was like, there's no way that that's profitable on like a four.

Really?

That was my gut reaction right yeah, you know, I think there's a couple interesting things, right?

It's kind of, we've seen other players in kind of that luxury space, you know, Restoration Hardware build these kind of mega flagships, you know, very high end finishes, very expensive real estate.

Big, big moments.

I, I think it's a brand building exercise in some sense.

But the other thing that caught my attention is when they get to talking a little bit about the, you know, there's product that you can take home.

That day I was like, oh, maybe it's like a lux IKEA situation, right, where they're monetizing the, the experience a bit more.

And I think another thing that was interesting is, you know, they're saying a lot of the inventory being available, you know, a week out, that's remarkable.

Honestly, if you try to buy furniture anywhere else, you know, high end, lower end, and it can be months, right?

And then you're sitting, you don't have a sofa, you know, you're sitting on the, on the ground for a long time.

So I.

First, I want to go check it out.

Second, maybe they are, you know, able to make it profitable with this mix of, you know, in stock product that you can take home or product that is quick turn and you know, people are shopping and needing these pieces of furniture and, and you know, sometimes it's like, if I can get it, you'll change your mind and buy it there.

Also thought the sleep was interesting because we had seen a lot of kind of going digital for the sleep category, right.

With all these kind of memory foam mattresses and, and whatnot.

But the more traditional sleep category is pretty neglected, right.

It's hard to.

There's not that many places to go find a mattress and it's a big ticket item.

So I, I think, think, you know, it.

Maybe I would have greenlit it.

Yeah, it's.

I was, yeah.

Okay, sold on it.

Coming back around.

Coming back around.

Came back around.

Yeah, you're bringing up some interesting points on the scale side of things too.

But so I'm curious because you mentioned it.

When you first looked at the pictures in the article, did you immediately think, wow, this is kind of like R.H. s Restoration Hardware.

Ask in terms of what they're going for.

It did give me that, that sense they have a different aesthetic, but it has that kind of very grand, very.

You know, I took my kids to the RH Store here in the, in the meat packing district, and they were like, mommy, what is this museum?

You know, they're like, oh, this is like so you know, grand and it has that like very upscale feel.

I think this has, you know, nods to that.

Right?

It feels, it feels grand.

Right, right, right.

Okay, got it.

And did you feel that way too?

And what was your take?

I, I keep going back and forth on this one.

I mean I feel like, like on one hand I like that there it.

This is really bringing a marketplace of brands together in one store.

It's, you know, it's independent retailers like Blue Dot, one of my favorite furniture designers.

Like, it's giving me the opportunity to see a vignette in a furniture store that's pulling from a lot of smaller, like sometimes D2C brands in one spot.

So I liked that component of it.

But I think if I was Wayfair, I think, think that especially in West Palm beach, like you're sitting on rows and rows and rows of high end luxury furniture stores like rh, like Manola's talking about.

I almost wonder if I wouldn't have gone with a more cohesive Wayfair brand strategy.

So not just Paragould, but also like giving people the opportunity to like cross categories a little bit more.

So like maybe you don't need a $7,000 lamp, lamp next to your $15,000 couch.

Like could you have a lamp from another?

Like could you use this as a real opportunity for the designers at Wayfair to like create a room that's a good mix of high and low?

Because I think that's how real people shop.

I don't think that most people are going into RH and are like, buy the whole room.

I'll, you know, here's, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So I, I think if I was Wayfair, I think the more differentiating point here would be how do I showcase my product, product in a luxury street environment in West Palm beach, but show that there's like, you can have the best of both worlds.

You can have a low end and a high end in the same room and, and have an affordable, very beautiful looking room.

So I, I think I would have, I would have gone beyond just the one brand.

Interesting.

See, See, I think from a merchandising perspective, what you're talking about is really hard to do.

It's really hard to show luxury alongside value.

Value.

And so I think that that's a tough concept to me and I'm curious because I want to go to Lisa too and see if we continue to share the same brain here on this podcast and a numerous podcast.

Now at this point, like, to me, it to Me, this is a signal that.

And I think it's a good signal that Wayfair doesn't know what its identity is in the physical world.

They've got the big play against ikea, where they're seemingly going after that, they're continuing to expand it, and now they've got this play in the territory where they're like, look, it's funny that to me, it's funny that all of our minds went to Restoration Hardware, because Restoration Hardware, there's a lot of margin in Restoration Hardware that they could go after.

It's very similar to any of, like, the mom and pop furniture stores that you see everywhere else that play in the luxury space.

So it's not really that differentiating.

Feels like they're trying to take a little bit of a piece of the williamsonoma angle here, too, with the appliance side of things.

And so, like, okay, yep.

Could it work?

Could you grab some of that share in the luxury market?

Because the other important thing here that they can do better than anyone is they have the national scale of their logistics behind them to get the product to them quickly, to get the service that you need around, like, knowing when your delivery comes, because that's a big pain in the butt when it comes to furniture.

So.

So I like this as an experiment.

And who's to say, in the long run, you know, does the large store IKEA play out as the way to go?

Does the luxury play play out as the way to go?

Is there something else that they can concept or come up with?

But for that reason, I'm with Manola.

I think ultimately I greenlight this, but.

But, Lisa, what do you think?

My first reaction was, yes, I'd greenlight it only as a test and learn, which I think a little bit, Chris, is what you're saying is, what do I get from this?

Exactly.

Right.

So that I can figure out what the next expansion play is.

My mind, like the three of you went to.

RH is struggling with those museums financially.

Right.

So they better take a chapter in learning from that, thinking about the locations they went to.

Right.

As.

As another thought, I love to test and learn.

But.

And what I will say what I did jive with.

With what you said, even though Chris said it would be hard to do.

I think the best retailers, from a merchandising perspective, if they could figure out how to show the high low, could be a huge unlock.

Because if you.

There's no one else doing it.

Yeah.

And not even in apparel.

Right.

In a.

In a way that shows up.

And that is what the consumer does us.

And I think, you know, we go back to our conversation about the high street is how do you blend that?

Because the kids, the Gen Z's are figuring out how to mix, you know, kind of bargains with their best pieces, especially going and hitting up the vintage stores and things.

So I think if someone can figure it out in any category, I think it could be quite an interesting play to be a competitive advantage for Wayfair in the, in the furniture space because while they're competing with Ikea, but now they're trying the luxury high end, how do they blend it?

Right?

And no one else can do that besides Wayfair.

I mean, no one else has that assortment that can, that can offer up, you know, RH won't.

IKEA can't go up market like that.

Like it's, they're the ones, the only ones who can do it.

Right now it's like the house of brands, right?

I love that idea too.

Yes.

Well, and then the question is, do you invested it in physical stores or did you just play up that angle online too?

Right.

That's the other $64,000 question here, which I don't know the answer to.

All right, let's go on to headline number five.

DoorDash is teaming up with Waymo in its latest autonomous delivery pilot.

The global on demand delivery platform is piloting an autonomous delivery service in the Metro Phoenix area with Waymo, the Google self driving vehicle subsidiary.

Testing of the service in Metro Phoenix is now underway with plans to launch broader commercial applications later in 2025.

DoorDash customers in the area may be matched with a fully autonomous Waymo vehicle for deliveries from particip retailers.

The service will begin with deliveries from dashmar, Door Dash's owned and operated convenience grocery and retail store with plans to expand over time.

Lisa, back to you here.

Do you think autonomous deliveries from DoorDash via Waymo or other autonomous modes of transportation will eventually catch on?

My first reaction is no, because if I'm paying to have it delivered, I want it handed to me.

Okay, interesting.

You know, like if I'm going that mile to say I'm going to pay for a delivery, I want you to hand it to me reliably.

I don't want to get outside and go down to the, to the vehicle and pick it up.

That was, that was my first reaction.

That's right.

It doesn't work in New York.

No, that was my first reaction.

I'm going to stick with that guy.

What if it was Slightly less expensive.

What if Instead of a $10 delivery fee, it was $5 because you had to go down to do it?

Would that motive motivate you, Lisa?

Might motivate me.

Okay, okay.

Okay.

I mean, that couch is comfy, and you're all like.

Like, it's very nice to not have to leave the confines of your apartment 100%.

I mean, the other thing is, I think about this because sometimes I could just.

My children that are now young adults, I'm like, can.

My daughter had a rude awakening when she looked at her bills because of how much she had delivered.

Like, you gotta wake up and get.

If you're gonna get off the couch, you might as well go to the location.

When you get off the couch, it's better walk down the front door and still pay for delivery.

Right.

Manolo, how do you feel about this?

Do you think that.

That deliveries via autonomous vehicles will take off?

You know, I. I think there's a lot of ifs and buts, right.

There's a lot of exceptions where it just doesn't.

You live in an apartment building and you have to get in the elevator.

It's a mess.

I think it has to be opt in.

Right?

You can't be just like.

Like, oh, now you're assigned.

You know, I had an experience in.

I live in Jersey City, and we don't have.

It's not wayu.

But it's these little.

I don't know, the brand of them.

They're.

They look like coolers and they're rolling around, and they do Uber.

Uber eats delivery.

And I had one delivered to me for the first time, and it can't get up the steps.

Right.

So then it just sat in the sidewalk kind of.

Of sadly waiting for me.

And then I went and got everything out.

And then even after I took stuff out, it was still on the sidewalk, kind of like.

I guess there's a lag.

And it was blocking the sidewalk for a really long time.

And I was like, well, you know, a person would have been in and out, you know?

Yeah.

I don't know.

It feels.

It's a place where.

I don't.

I don't know that we need the technology put in that particular use.

But, yeah, I don't know.

Some of the robots are cute.

I'll give them that, you know?

Yes, for sure.

Cute.

I know.

That was my question too.

Like, the doordash element makes sense because it's like.

It's not hot and ready food, but, like, if you start to introduce hot and ready food, like are there 15 Waymos in the parking lot?

Like just waiting?

Like how do you as a food service provider know like which Waymo is this going to and you know like that, that part seems like that's logistically going to be hard to tackle from just you know, being at doordash, pulling up to their, their warehouse and you know, filling the cars and going.

But Chris, I know you're a big fan of Waymo, you've tried it in Phoenix from a like bringing you place to place.

But where do you land on the delivery side of things here?

Yeah, Lisa brought up a point I hadn't thought about before which is like the urban versus suburban dynamics.

So I think one of my big takeaways from this is if it happens anywhere, it's going to happen in suburban America before urban America, which also makes sense economically because deliveries, delivery is actually more cost efficient in large, dense urban centers.

So where do you actually need this?

You actually need this in suburban America more so to lay the, to defray the last mile delivery costs.

So but with that said, I think what we're seeing here is the evolution of the experiment.

Right.

So like it's not surprising me they're starting with dashmarts number one because a dashmart is a fence, is effectively a warehouse.

So I think if you're doing this from a warehouse or even a cloud kitchen, that makes sense right now.

Now.

But if you start doing it for like restaurant delivery, full on restaurant delivery that becomes problematic because then you have to actually staff or give payroll to like a new job for the restaurant.

Like whose job is it to run the orders out to the Waymo, you know, which is similar to what Lisa said, like whose job is it to come and get the order from the Waymo?

And so that's, that's going to be expensive and that's going to be a big hurdle for the restaurants particularly to get over as well as the retailers too because the retailers have to assign that job as well.

Well, it's also why I just, it's funny that we're talking about this because I was at Chick Fil A yesterday and I ordered on their app and I usually do curbside and they were trying to incent me through the mobile drive through lane because that.

And it may.

And I was like why are they doing that?

And it makes sense because they don't have to send the runner out to my car.

I go to them and so that those are some of the elements that are at play here.

But I think ultimately we could see this, because, like you said, if you want to opt into it, which I think I kind of would.

I kind of would rather have my delivery brought to me than some just random dude who's just possibly working at doordash for, you know, a couple days, you know, for the first time, like, and then it could evolve to the point where, like, you know, maybe they.

It can do more than one delivery at a time.

Like, can the car equipped.

Be equipped to pick up from various different points and then scale the delivery that way?

So.

So there's a lot of things I like about it.

So I do think it'll eventually come, but, yeah, there's still a lot of things we have to figure out.

Out.

Yes.

All right, well, let's move on to the lightning round and close this up.

Lisa, you get the first question here.

Apple stock soared to an all time high this week, which is being attributed to the success of the iPhone 17.

I have to know, do you need an immediate upgrade every time the October Apple announcement comes out, or are you still happily carrying around an aged out version?

I used to need to be the first one in, but I would say over the last couple of years, I've sat back and waited to see what's new in the tech, how's it working, work out the kinks and the upgrades that need to happen in the beginning.

You know, I think they're talking about one of the reasons it actually is being super successful is people aren't upgrading as much as before.

And, you know, quite frankly, I'm very happy to say that I did upgrade last year and they, like, the 16 and 17 are not that different, but I used to be.

Everything new that came out, I had to have it in the beginning, but I have definitely changed my ways.

All right, Lisa, back to you.

Rowan Atkinson's 1963 Jaguar E type is for sale.

Are you thumbs up or thumbs down on Mr. Bean's brand of comedy?

I have to say I'm thumbs down.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

I do love his taste in cars.

I love his taste in cars.

Yes.

Okay.

All right.

Thank God.

Thank God.

All right, Manola, the next one is for you.

Sora OpenAI's video social app launched and reached over 1 million users in just 5 days.

Unbelievable.

What would the subject of the first video you'd want to see created?

What would that subject be?

You know, I. I hope they use this to make a lot of fun cat videos and that line of content.

Right, yeah, we can help Hope.

Yeah, it's really good idea.

I don't want to see it go to, like, you know, the AI models.

We already have a generation traumatized by excess Photoshop.

I don't want to see what, you know, AI human content does.

I know.

So hopefully it goes the cat route.

That's fine.

Yes.

Yes.

More bunnies jumping on trampolines.

As far as just.

That's what I'm here for.

That's what I get on the Internet for.

All right, last one.

The Orionid.

I think I'm saying that right.

The Orionid meteor shower is set to peak between October 21 and October 23.

So tomorrow, will you be staying up late to catch a glimpse of this astronomical event?

You know, I. I'm going to try.

I don't have high hopes.

I don't have high hopes because light pollution and it's supposed to be cloudy.

But I've made a plan.

I'll go out to the roof and we'll see if there's anything, you know, up there flickering.

I. Yeah, I like those kind of things.

It's.

It's fun.

Ah, good for you.

That's why I asked the question as a shot in the dark, to see, like, what kind of things are you into?

What are our guests?

That's awesome.

A literal.

A literal shot in the dark.

Yeah.

Literal shot in the dark.

Yes.

That's right.

That's right.

Well, what a great show.

What a lot.

A ton of fun.

Ton of fun.

Happy birthday today to Christopher Lloyd, Bob Odenkirk, and possibly the most eccentric, and I will dare say, oddly sexy actor to ever live the Fly himself, Jeff Goldblum.

Today's podcast was produced with the help and support of Ella Siryork.

And remember, if you can only read or listen to one retail blog in the business, Make It Omnitok, the only retail media outlet run by two former executives from a current top 10 US retailer.

Our Fast Five podcast is the quickest, fastest rundown of all the week's top news and our daily newsletter, the Retail Daily Minute, tells you all you need to know each day to stay on top of your game as a retail executive and also regularly features special content that is exclusive to us with nit.

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Thanks as always for listening in.

Please remember to like and leave us a review wherever you happen to listen to your podcast or on YouTube.

You can follow us today by simply going to YouTube.com omnitalkretail Manola if people enjoyed this conversation, they want to pick either yours or Lisa's brains.

What's the best way for them to do that?

Absolutely.

The easiest way to find Lisa and I would be on LinkedIn.

And if you want to know more about the broader consumer and retail goods practice, you can visit us at Alvarez and marsal-crg.com well, it's great having both.

Of you on the show, as always, on behalf of all of us at OmniAlks Retail, on behalf of our friends at the Alvarez and Marcel consumer and retail group, as always, be careful out there.