Season 7
May 3, 2025
PepsiCo Goes Natural: Is This The End of Artificial Colors in Food?
PepsiCo says it plans to replace artificial colors with natural ones across its product lines by 2026, but the move could come with major R&D and consumer acceptance challenges. The Fast Five crew debates whether regulation i...
May 3, 2025
How Scared Should Google Be Of Shopify And ChatGPT’s Potential Integration?
A bombshell code leak suggests ChatGPT is preparing to integrate directly with Shopify, allowing users to discover and buy products without ever leaving the chatbot. Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and the A&M CRG team break dow...
May 3, 2025
Schnucks Doubles Down on Caper Carts | Key Moment in Grocery History or Gimmick?
Schnucks is expanding its Caper Cart program, bringing the smart carts to more stores in Missouri and Illinois with new features like a lower tray for bulk items. Omni Talk and A&M experts discuss the promise, pain points, an...
May 3, 2025
Amazon's Tariff Pricing Drama: Smart Retail Strategy or Pure Misstep?
Amazon’s consideration of displaying tariff charges on ultra-discount items triggered political backlash and retailer debate over pricing transparency. Experts argue it would be poor merchandising and discuss the broader supp...
May 1, 2025
How Intelligent Store Management Solutions Can Surface Problems & Prioritize Actions For Store Teams | 5IM
Julian Mills, CEO of Quorso, sits down with Chris and Anne for a fast-paced 5 Insightful Minutes. Julian explains why intelligent management systems are critical in modern retail ( 0:40 ), shares a real-world example around p...
April 30, 2025
Amazon’s D.C. Blowback, Caper Carts & Why A ChatGPT/Shopify Tie-Up Should Scare Google | Fast Five
In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group , Simbe , Mirakl , Ocampo Capital , Infios , and ClearDemand , A&M’s Jeff Dwyer and Luis De Lencquesaing joined Chris and ...
April 29, 2025
Why Micro Fulfillment Centers (MFCs) Still Matter With Dematic & Tesco's Transcend Retail Solutions | Spotlight Series
Is microfulfillment still a viable strategy? In this new Omni Talk Spotlight, Chris and Anne sit down with Oliver Vogt, CEO of Tesco’s Transcend Retail Solutions and Danielle Dakin, Dematic's Market Development Director, to u...
April 28, 2025
FSMA & The Future Of Food Safety Explained With Angela Fernandez Of GS1 US | Spotlight Series
Chris and Anne sit down with Angela Fernandez, SVP Market Development at GS1 US, to dive deep into the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the massive shifts underway in food traceability. Angela explains: ( 6:27 ) The h...
April 26, 2025
AI Manners, Sperm Races, Papal Name Hypotheticals & Pasta Debates | Lightning Round Gets Wild
It’s lightning round time! Chris and Anne open with OpenAI’s surprising energy usage linked to polite prompts (00:03), then reveal whether they use manners with their own bots (00:22). Things escalate with papal name hypothet...
April 26, 2025
Walmart To Test Beauty Bars In 40 Stores
Walmart is testing a new beauty bar concept at 40 stores as part of its spring sale event, and Chris and Anne dive deep into what it means for the retailer's future (00:04). Chris highlights how this test differs from Target’...
April 26, 2025
Trove Acquires Reverse.Supply to Drive Global Resale Expansion & Circular Retail Strategy
In this episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne break down Trove’s acquisition of reverse.supply and why it’s a game-changer for global r...
April 26, 2025
Target Launches “Good Little Garden” Floral Brand | Retail Strategy Hit or Miss?
Target’s new floral brand Good Little Garden has entered the chat — and Chris and Anne are divided (00:03). While the brand offers fresh flowers and plants starting at $6 (00:28), Chris argues the category is operationally co...
April 26, 2025
Quorso and Circle K Partner to Improve Store Operations Across Europe
In this episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne dive into Quorso’s new partnership with Circle K (00:02), highlighting how this technolog...
April 26, 2025
Buy Or Sell: Gas Stations Fueling Walmart’s Growth?
In this episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne analyze Walmart’s bold move to grow its gas station footprint, aiming to add 40–45 new lo...
April 23, 2025
Walmart Gas, Circle K & Why Target’s Floral Brand May Not Come Up Smelling Like Roses | Fast Five
In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group , Simbe , Mirakl , Ocampo Capital , Infios , and ClearDemand , Chris and Anne discussed: Walmart’s gas station expansion s...
April 19, 2025
Bezos Faceplants, Festivals & Crosswalks | Omni Talk Lightning Round Gets Wild 🎤
This week’s lightning round, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, is packed with laughs and unexpected questions. Chris and Anne start by debating what the of...
April 19, 2025
Hy-Vee Shuts Down In-Store Bars | Is Experiential Retail Dying?
In this Omni Talk Retail Fast Five discussion, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne explore Hy-Vee’s decision to shutter most in-store bars and...
April 19, 2025
DoorDash Empowers Restaurants with AI Tools | Better Photos, Menus & Visibility
In this Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne dig into DoorDash’s latest AI feature rollout for restaurant p...
April 19, 2025
Is Sam’s Club Being Too Optimistic About Its Growth Potential?
In this Omni Talk Retail Fast Five episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne dive into Sam’s Club’s bold plan to open 15 clubs annually and...
April 19, 2025
Walmart’s AI Fashion Tool | Trend to Product Speeds Up Design by 18 Weeks
In this episode of Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne dive into Walmart’s latest AI-powered innovation: the Trend...
April 19, 2025
Why In The World Would Ulta Pause Its Target Expansion?
In this episode of the Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, brought to you by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand,Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga break down Ulta's surprising decisi...
April 17, 2025
Walmart’s Trend-to-Product AI, Sam’s Club’s Expansion & Ulta’s Pregnant Pause At Target | Fast Five
In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group , Simbe , Mirakl , Ocampo Capital , Infios , and ClearDemand , Chris and Anne discussed: Ulta Beauty’s decision to pause i...
April 16, 2025
What A True Omnichannel Returns Process Looks Like With TGW’s Stipe Galic | Ask An Expert
In this episode of Omni Talk’s Ask an Expert series, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga talk with Stipe Galic, VP of Business Development & Marketing at TGW, to demystify the complexities of returns in today’s omnichannel retail ...
April 12, 2025
Lightning Round | Burritos, "Best Of" White Lotus Awards, and Tariff Product Hoarding
In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Simbe, Infios, ClearDemand, and Ocampo Capital Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: A Lightning Round of Burrito...