Episodes

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: DoorDash acquires Wonder's Grubhub Campus Dining business as part of a $125 million investment in Wonder's Series D funding round. Meta Lab plans six new AI glasses stores in the coming months, nearly doubling its retail footprint. Target names former Hilton CMO Mark Weinstein as its new chief marketing and guest experience officer...

Live from the Vusion podcast studio at NRF Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris, Ben Miller sits down with Alexis Marcombe, CEO of Unlimitail, the retail media joint venture between Carrefour and Publicis. Alexis explains how Unlimitail built an open, cross-border retail media alliance now spanning 40+ retailers and 21 countries, why in-store measurement remains the industry's biggest unsolved problem despite 70-98% of European sales still happening in physical stores, and why Unlimitail plugs int...

Live from the Vusion Podcast Studio at NRF Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris, Omni Talk's Chris Walton sits down with Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation, for a candid look at where retail stands heading into the holidays. Matt shares how NRF Europe is evolving alongside the flagship New York show and the fast-growing Asia-Pacific event in Singapore, why retail has become a truly global business, and what a resilient U.S. consumer means for the rest of 2026. He als...

Live from the Vusion podcast studio at NRF Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris, Ben Miller sits down with Eric Meulien, General Manager of Digital Retail at Al-Futtaim Group, to talk agentic commerce and what it actually takes to support it. Eric explains why AI shopping assistants demand much richer product data than color and size ever captured, walks through the internal Gen AI tool his team built to find and close those content gaps, and shares how Al-Futtaim keeps 200+ brands across 20 count...

Live from the Vusion podcast studio at NRF Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris, Ben Miller is joined by Audrey Ceuppens, Global Head of Grocery and Retail at Bolt Food, to unpack how quick commerce is evolving. Audrey walks through Bolt’s path from mobility to food delivery to grocery and retail across 50 global markets. She explains why speed has become table stakes while reliability is the new differentiator, and how Bolt balances a global playbook with local nuance, from cash payments in Afric...

Live from the Vusion Podcast Studio at NRF's Big Show Europe in Paris, Omni Talk's Chris Walton sits down with Aleksandra Olszewska, Global Commercial and Digital Director at Desigual, for a candid conversation on brand reinvention and where digital and store leadership meet. Aleksandra traces her path from studying literature to leading digital, CRM, and now commercial strategy at Desigual, explains why a digital-first background makes the move into store easier, and walks through Desigual's f...

Live from the Vusion podcast studio at NRF Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris, Ben Miller sits down with Ruth Andrade, environmental partner at Lush, for a conversation that trades the show's usual AI talk for something different. Ruth shares the origin story of Lush's Earth Care team, which she's led since becoming the company's first environmental officer in 2004, and explains how employee ownership and an ethical charter shape decisions across the business — including Lush's decision to leave...

Live from the Vusion podcast studio at NRF Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris, Ben Miller sits down with Mariusz Kwiatkowski, Head of Supply Chain Transformation at Pets at Home, for a candid conversation on modernizing retail's supply chain. Mariusz walks through the two big investments behind Pets at Home's recent transformation — a purpose-built automated distribution center in Stafford and a rebuilt planning and execution stack powered by proven "quantitative AI" — and draws a clear line bet...

Live from the Vusion Podcast Studio at NRF Retail's Big Show Europe in Paris, Omni Talk's Chris Walton sits down with Andy Laudato, EVP and COO of The Vitamin Shoppe, for a deep dive into AI, assortment, and operating discipline. Andy walks through Shop Advisor, The Vitamin Shoppe's new AI-powered discovery tool built on the company's own proprietary product data, and shares his read on where AI is really working across retail right now as co-founder and chair of the Retail AI Council. He also ...

In this episode, sponsored by Instacart Enterprise, Portager, Vusion, and Sifter Solutions, Ben Miller is joined by Chris Walton, President and CEO of Omni Talk, live from NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe in Paris, to unpack the latest grocery news and trends shaping the global grocery and CPG industry. This week, they discuss: • Kroger’s stalled performance and lowered 2026 sales outlook, examining whether the challenges facing the supermarket giant are specific to Kroger, the broader supermarket...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Kohl's expands its Babies R Us shop-in-shops to 56 more stores and adds an exclusive collection, even as Sephora at Kohl's sales decline for a second straight quarter. Walmart+ adds CITGO to its Gas Savings benefit, growing the network from 13,000 to more than 17,000 stations without raising the membership price. Harps Food Stores ...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Kroger trims its full-year same-store sales outlook as IRA pharmacy pricing and a lettuce-linked outbreak weigh on results. Amazon expands Shop the Show and Shop the Scene to more than 8,000 Prime Video titles, pushing further into shoppable streaming. Planalytics forecasts an early fall chill that could shift consumer demand towar...

It’s lightning round time, and Chris Walton and Shelley Huff are making some very important decisions, from their Super Bowl picks to choosing between Genie and Samantha and naming the Adam Sandler movie they’d keep forever. Plus, one very specific wish involving a dog that may or may not be possible. ▶️ Watch the full Fast Five episode here: https://youtu.be/x4hGqvRTilY This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Sprouts has named Nick Konat as its next CEO, with the leadership transition set to take effect in January 2027. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss what Konat should focus on as he takes the reins, from staying disciplined on the retailer’s existing strategy to executing the roadmap already in motion. The big question: Does Sprouts need a new strategy, or simply a new leader to execute the one it already has? ▶️ Watch the full Fast Five episode here: https://youtu.be/x4hGqvRTilY This podc...

Sephora is testing monthly exclusive product drops on TikTok Shop, giving the beauty retailer another way to create demand and build community around new products. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss how TikTok Shop differs from Amazon, and why the platform may be more valuable for creating demand than simply capturing it. The big question: Can TikTok Shop turn product drops into a repeatable retail habit? ▶️ Watch the full Fast Five episode here: https://youtu.be/x4hGqvRTilY This podcast ...

Costco has quietly shut down Costco Next, its member-only online marketplace that connected shoppers with products from outside brands. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss why Costco’s club model may not translate neatly to a marketplace business, and what the move says about where Costco wants to focus its digital strategy. The big question: Does Costco really need a marketplace when its core model is already working? ▶️ Watch the full Fast Five episode here: https://youtu.be/x4hGqvRTilY ...

Ulta is facing backlash over its use of Flock Safety’s automated license plate reader technology, raising bigger questions about transparency, communication, and how retailers handle technology that can impact their customers. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss whether the bigger problem is the technology itself or the way Ulta communicated its use of it. The big question: When retailers use controversial technology, how much transparency do customers deserve? ▶️ Watch the full Fast Five e...

Amazon is bringing back its digital grocery pop-up for Labor Day, but the bigger question is what these short-term grocery pushes actually accomplish for the retailer. Chris Walton and Shelley Huff discuss whether Amazon’s grocery pop-ups are a smart way to build share and stay top of mind, or just another temporary promotion in an increasingly crowded grocery market. The big question: Is Amazon building a grocery business, or just building grocery moments? ▶️ Watch the full Fast Five episode...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Petco's relaunched loyalty program backfires as redemption volumes blow past projections, costing the company millions in net sales. Neighborhood Intelligence, the parent of Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock, cancels its planned acquisition of F9 Brands, owner of Lumber Liquidators. Francesca's Chapter 11 liquidation plan is con...

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Quorso, Veloq, and R&S Logistics, Shelley Huff is back again, joining Chris Walton for another round of Fast Five fun. The former Serta Simmons CEO and Walmart executive, now CEO and Co-Founder of the Interval, joins Chris to discuss: • Amazon’s latest limited-time grocery storefront for Labor Day and whether these smaller, occasion-based sales events are smart incremental share-bu...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: SKIMS partners with DoorDash for its first on-demand delivery integration, bringing its full U.S. store footprint onto the platform. Walgreens rolls out in-store advertising screens from Looma to 1,200 locations by early 2027, expanding its retail media network. Target adds four new AI-powered features to its shopping app, inc...

In this episode, sponsored by Instacart Enterprise, Portager, Vusion, and Sifter Solutions, Ben Miller is joined by Sarah Engel, President of digital marketing agency and consultancy January Digital and one of Adweek’s 50 most influential marketing executives, to take stock of the latest developments in Agentic Commerce and unpack the global grocery news stories from this week that we believe are worth paying attention to. This week, they discuss: • Anthropic’s new blueprints for Shopping and ...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, Duvo and Mirakl. In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Ulta Beauty faces a social media backlash over its use of Flock's license plate reader technology, with the retailer and vendor both staying quiet even as Flock's own chatbot confirms the partnership. Costco quietly shuts down its Costco Next marketplace without any public announcement, leaving members to piece it together on R...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight series, Chris Walton sits down with Julian Sellan, Senior Supply Chain Engineer at Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, and Nick Cianfarani, Senior Account Manager at Dematic, to explore one of the biggest questions facing supply chain leaders today: How do you decide when it's time to upgrade your logistics network and when is it smarter to start over? Through the lens of Southern Glazer's ongoing network transformation, Julian and Nick break down what goes into...