Episodes

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Best Buy is rolling out immersive 900-sq.-ft. "Meta Lab @ Best Buy" spaces in 50 stores this summer, giving customers hands-on access to Meta's full lineup of AI glasses and VR headsets through interactive demos, smart mirrors, and personalized fittings. New York legislators passed the One Fair Price Act on June 4th, making it the third state to curb su...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Walmart announces 30-minute delivery from 1,400 in-store Subway locations by midsummer, the opening move in a direct push into restaurant delivery that puts it on a collision course with DoorDash and Uber. Lululemon cuts its full-year revenue guidance to flat or declining, citing a wave of negative media coverage and underwhelming product launches, rais...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five Lightning Round segment closes out the show with Arizona travel recommendations, European retail innovations, retail leadership discussions, and a hilarious attempt to predict what The Rock's new cologne actually smells like. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss must-see destinations in Arizona, why European grocery stores may have the best scan-and-go experiences in the world, the retail executives they'd most like to sit down with today, and how Walmart's deli...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Amazon Web Services' new Agentic Shopping Assistant and the growing battle for control of customer relationships in retail. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss whether retailers should trust Amazon to power their AI shopping experiences, why customer data remains one of retail's most valuable assets, and what brands must protect as commerce becomes increasingly AI-driven. The conversation also dives into agentic commerce, generative search, an...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Walmart's growing delivery network, expanding drone operations, and rapid rise in store-fulfilled orders. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss why speed is becoming one of retail's strongest competitive advantages, how Walmart is increasing customer loyalty through convenience, and why repeat usage may be the most important metric to watch. The conversation also examines how Walmart's delivery infrastructure could help it compete with convenien...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores SPAR Austria's decision to expand its shelf-scanning robot program and what it means for the future of retail operations. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss how robotics can improve inventory visibility, reduce labor-intensive tasks, and help employees focus more on serving customers. The discussion also highlights why successful adoption among European retailers could signal broader industry momentum. ⏩ Tune in for the full episode here: ht...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment examines Walmart's new prepaid consolidation program and why it could simplify logistics for thousands of suppliers. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss how Walmart is helping vendors reduce operational complexity while improving inventory flow, replenishment speed, and distribution efficiency across its network. They also debate whether the initiative strengthens Walmart's ecosystem or creates long-term dependency for smaller brands. ⏩ Tune in for th...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Google's new Universal Cart, which allows shoppers to add products from Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail into a single AI-powered shopping experience. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss why Google has pursued this vision for years, how AI-powered shopping could reshape customer behavior, and whether Google's latest move represents the biggest challenge Amazon has faced in e-commerce. The conversation also examines the risks for retailers if...

In this 5 Insightful Minutes episode, Spencer Hewett, CEO and Founder of Radar, joins Omni Talk to discuss the company's recent funding milestone, rapid retail expansion, and how real-time inventory intelligence is transforming store operations. Spencer shares how Radar has grown from 500 to 1,500 stores in just one year, helping retailers achieve greater inventory accuracy, reduce shrink, improve fulfillment rates, and empower store associates with real-time product visibility. The conversati...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Macy's reports Q1 net sales of $4.7B, up 1.8% YoY, with comps rising 3% overall and 2.4% at its 200 reimagined stores. Ulta Beauty beats top and bottom line estimates with EPS of $7.74 vs. $6.86 expected and revenue of $3.16B, raises full-year EPS guidance, and credits its TikTok Shop launch, Rare Beauty addition, and fragrance strength for a standout f...

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Quorso and Veloq, Chris Walton and special guest Shelley Huff, former CEO of Serta Simmons Bedding and co-founder of The Interval, discussed: • Google unveiling its new Universal Cart that allows shoppers to add products across retailers and channels into a single AI-powered shopping experience, and whether it represents the biggest long-term threat yet to Amazon’s commerce dominanc...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Dollar General reports Q1 net sales up 3.4% to $10.8 billion as CEO Todd Vasos says trade-down activity is accelerating, with rural customers cutting back on household expenses amid rising gas prices. Walmart has capped employee usage of its in-house AI tool Code Puppy after high demand depleted its token budget, highlighting the real and often underest...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: J.C. Penney's turnaround stalls as Q4 net sales fall 8% and net losses widen 77%, raising fresh questions about whether the department store can regain relevance under the Catalyst Brands structure. Whole Foods Market launches a three-city Supper Club event series with media partner Cherry Bombe, turning its annual food trends platform into a premium, c...

In this episode of Investor Perspectives on Retail & the Consumer, Chris Walton sits down with Furhaan Khan, Managing Director and Head of Internet & Digital Commerce Investment Banking at UBS, to explore one of the biggest questions facing retail and technology today: Who actually wins in an AI-driven future? As AI rapidly transforms how consumers discover, shop for, and purchase products online, thousands of retail technology companies are racing to establish their place in the ecosystem. But...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Costco posts an 11.6% sales increase to $69.15 billion in Q3, driven by "unprecedented" gas demand that drew first-time fuel station users and deepened member loyalty. Walmart reports more than 36% of store-fulfilled deliveries now arrive in three hours or less, with fast-delivery category sales up over 50% year over year and drone deliveries hitting th...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five Lightning Round segment closes out the show with Midwest road trip recommendations, Indy 500 energy, Spielberg nostalgia, Star Wars fandom, and a surprisingly passionate debate about whether Jurassic Park is secretly terrifying. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy discuss underrated summer destinations, hiking avoidance strategies, Red River Gorge, southwest Michigan beaches, X-Wing comparisons at the Indy 500, and the upcoming Spielberg alien film Disclosure Day. Th...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Ross Stores’ historic 17% comp sales growth and why off-price retail continues to dominate during uncertain economic conditions. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy discuss why treasure hunt shopping experiences still resonate with consumers, why Ross may be gaining share even within the off-price category itself, and how retailers are adapting to shifting consumer spending behavior. The conversation also expands into resale retail, with Chris predic...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Klarna launching shopping directly inside ChatGPT and what it signals about the future of agentic commerce. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy discuss whether consumers truly want AI-powered shopping assistants, why payments and trust may matter more than AI itself, and which companies actually “have the right to win” in the next generation of digital commerce. They also unpack how conversational shopping could reshape search, checkout, and customer...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Google’s largest search overhaul in 25 years and what it could mean for retailers, ecommerce, and consumer shopping behavior. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy discuss how AI-generated answers may fundamentally change product discovery online, why retailers could lose visibility inside traditional search funnels, and how consumer trust will shape the next era of digital commerce. They also debate whether shoppers actually want fully AI-driven shopp...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Radar reaching unicorn status and why RFID-powered inventory intelligence may finally be having its breakthrough moment in retail. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy discuss why inventory visibility remains one of retail’s biggest unsolved operational challenges, why RFID adoption has historically moved slowly, and how physical AI may reshape store operations over the next decade. They also debate what separates practical retail AI solutions from fl...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores why Starbucks shut down its AI-powered inventory counting tool after major counting inaccuracies inside stores. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy discuss why predictability matters so much in retail AI deployment, why store-level execution is still incredibly difficult, and how even small operational inconsistencies can completely break trust in automation systems. They also unpack why AI in retail may move slower than many expect, especially when ...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: AWS launches the Agentic Shopping Assistant (aka ASA), packaging the technology and learnings behind Amazon's Alexa for Shopping so third-party retailers can deploy their own conversational AI shopping experiences in roughly 60 days. Dick's Sporting Goods beats Q1 estimates with 4.1% same-store comp growth and $5.17B in sales, as Foot Locker posts its f...

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Quorso and Veloq, Chris Walton and special guest Laura Kennedy, retail strategist formerly of CB Insights and Kantar, discussed: • Starbucks shutting down its AI-powered inventory counting tool after widespread accuracy issues and what the failure reveals about the challenges of deploying AI inside real-world retail operations (Source) • Radar reaching unicorn status after raising ...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Google launches its Universal Cart, a cross-retailer shopping tool that lets consumers add items from Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail into a single cart. Lidl US names Alan Barry as its next CEO, effective July. SPAR Austria expands its Simbe Tally inventory robot trial to six EUROSPAR and INTERSPAR stores. The Retail Daily Minute has been rocketin...