Season 7
Nov. 15, 2025
Dollar General's AI Leadership Move | Fast Five Shorts
Dollar General has appointed Travis Nixon as SVP of Artificial Intelligence, tasking him with using AI to optimize supply chain, store operations, and merchandising. But how long before every retailer has a Chief AI Officer—a...
Nov. 15, 2025
Target's "10-4" Service Controversy | Fast Five Shorts
Target's new "10-4" policy requires employees to smile and wave at customers within 10 feet, and personally greet them within 4 feet. Is this explicit instruction necessary for today's workforce, or a forced, performative app...
Nov. 15, 2025
Bath & Body Works Scents the Holidays | Fast Five Shorts
Bath & Body Works is bringing Fresh Balsam to Grand Central Terminal, movie theaters, and interactive mall kiosks in what beauty expert Kelly Carey calls "my favorite marketing campaign of the year." But is piping fragrance i...
Nov. 15, 2025
Amazon vs. Perplexity Legal Showdown | Fast Five Shorts
Amazon is suing Perplexity AI over its Comet shopping agent, claiming it "covertly accesses Amazon customer accounts" and interferes with the curated shopping experience Amazon built over decades. But is this defensive move f...
Nov. 15, 2025
AI Shopping Hits Critical Mass | Fast Five Shorts
Adobe's October data reveals a game-changing milestone: generative AI traffic is now converting 16% BETTER than traditional sources—a complete 180 from three months ago when AI traffic converted 9% WORSE. This episode breaks ...
Nov. 13, 2025
The Way Too Early 2025 Retail Year-in-Review With Ethan Chernofsky | Ask An Expert
Placer.ai’s CMO Ethan Chernofsky is back... revealing why the “convenience above all” mindset is costing retailers millions and what’s actually driving traffic in 2025. Omni Talk and Placer.ai reunite for their annual traditi...
Nov. 12, 2025
AI Commerce Surges, Amazon Sues Perplexity & We Are Over And Out On Target 10-4 | Fast Five
In this Retail Fast Five episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group , Mirakl , Ocampo Capital , Infios , and Quorso , Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton are joined by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group's Managing Dire...
Nov. 10, 2025
How Wiliot's Nationwide Walmart Rollout Could Prevent Millions In Food Waste | Spotlight Series
In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Nick Matthews, VP of Solutions and Architecture at Wiliot, joins Omni Talk to reveal how Walmart is deploying Bluetooth-enabled IoT technology across all 4,600 U.S. stores and 40 d...
Nov. 8, 2025
Lightning Round: Chat GPT Coaching, Sexiest Man Alive & Hand Massages | Fast Five Shorts
The Lightning Round gets wild this week! From a soccer coach using Chat GPT to devise winning defensive strategies, to Jonathan Bailey's Sexiest Man Alive title, to John Lewis offering hand massages for loyalty members, and C...
Nov. 8, 2025
GrubHub Partners with Instacart | Fast Five Shorts
In a surprising move, GrubHub (owned by Mark Lore's Wonder super app) is partnering with Instacart to enable grocery delivery directly through the GrubHub platform. But this partnership raises major strategic questions: Why w...
Nov. 8, 2025
Kroger & Uber Eats Restaurant Integration | Fast Five Shorts
Kroger is making history as the first retailer to integrate restaurant delivery directly into their grocery app through an expanded partnership with Uber Eats. Now customers can order their weekly groceries AND dinner from lo...
Nov. 8, 2025
Mondelēz's $40M AI Advertising Bet | Fast Five Shorts
Mondelēz (maker of Oreo and Chips Ahoy) is investing over $40 million in a custom generative AI tool to slash marketing costs by 30-50% and create TV-ready ads for the 2027 Super Bowl. But is building proprietary AI technolog...
Nov. 8, 2025
Starbucks' Billion-Dollar Delivery Business | Fast Five Shorts
Starbucks just revealed that delivery has become a $1 billion annual business, growing 30% year-over-year—and it's changing everything about how we think about coffee shops. With 40% of delivery orders including food, this ma...
Nov. 8, 2025
The Amazonification of Whole Foods | Fast Five Shorts
Amazon is shaking up Whole Foods with a controversial transformation that has retail experts divided. From robot-powered "ShopBots" in the back room fetching Tide Pods and Pepsi, to a massive 3,800 square foot Amazon Grocery ...
Nov. 6, 2025
Computer Vision Deployment Disasters: Your Playbook On How To Avoid Them | Ask An Expert
Computer vision is transforming retail stores, but most pilots fail to scale beyond proof of concept. In this Omni Talk Ask An Expert episode, hosts Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Joe Serrano (Global Managing Pa...
Nov. 5, 2025
Starbucks $1B Delivery Secret, Oreos In AI & Amazon's Whole Foods Doritos Gamble | Fast Five
In this week's Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group , Mirakl , Ocampo Capital , Infios , and Quorso , Chris and Anne discussed: Amazon's push to add mainstream brands like Pepsi and Dorit...
Nov. 4, 2025
Inside Amazon's Social Commerce Strategy With Julie Haleluk & Wayne Purboo | Spotlight Series
In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode, Julie Haleluk, Global Head of Growth at Amazon Shopping Video, and Wayne Purboo, VP of Amazon Advertising and Amazon Shoppable Video, join Omni Talk to reveal the future of ...
Nov. 1, 2025
Lightning Round: Netflix In Theaters, Hot Santa, NFL Yoga Pants & Red Bull Advent | Fast Five Shorts
Chris and Anne tackle the week's quirkiest retail stories: Netflix bringing Stranger Things' finale to theaters, Target's Weirdly Hot Santa returns for year two, Lululemon's NFL licensing sparks more debate, and Red Bull drop...
Nov. 1, 2025
Amazon's Vision Quest - AI Glasses for Drivers | Fast Five Shorts
Amazon unveils AI-powered smart glasses designed to help delivery drivers scan packages, navigate, and capture proof of delivery hands-free. Anne sees potential to reduce device overload for field workers, while Chris worries...
Nov. 1, 2025
Will Lululemon’s NFL Partnership Hurt Its Brand In The Long-run? | Fast Five Shorts
Lululemon announces its first-ever licensing deal, partnering with all 32 NFL teams to release officially branded apparel. Anne sees opportunity in solving the women's fan gear problem, while Chris warns it cheapens the brand...
Nov. 1, 2025
Walmart Cracks The Code - RFID Fresh Food Revolution | Fast Five Shorts
Walmart and Avery Dennison achieve what was long considered impossible: RFID sensors that work in high-moisture, cold environments for meat, deli, and bakery departments. Chris and Anne explain why this breakthrough represent...
Nov. 1, 2025
DoorDash Launches Emergency Food Response Program | Fast Five Shorts
DoorDash launches a game-changing emergency food response program, offering free delivery for food banks and waiving fees for 300,000 SNAP recipient orders amid the government shutdown crisis. Anne and Chris break down why th...
Nov. 1, 2025
Retail's Darkest Day - Amazon & Target Layoffs | Fast Five Shorts
Amazon eliminates 14,000 corporate roles while Target cuts 1,800 positions in what marks one of the darkest days in recent retail history. Chris and Anne share personal insights from their own experiences, discuss the cultura...
Oct. 30, 2025
Writer | 🏆 October’s Retail Tech Startup of the Month
AWS's Daniele Stroppa, Worldwide Technical Lead for AWS Partners in Retail, joins Omni Talk to announce October's Retail Tech Startup of the Month: Writer. Daniele breaks down why Writer's full-stack generative AI platform is...