Chris Walton surprises Jenn Hahn by revealing he has not personally eaten Taco Bell in nearly 30 years. Meanwhile, Jenn and Producer Ella passionately defend the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, the Mexican Pizza, and why Taco Bell cravings never really disappear. ⏩ Tune in for the full episode here: https://youtu.be/1YSVQokcVL8 #TacoBell…
Jenn Hahn shocks Chris Walton by admitting she has never watched a full Star Wars movie from start to finish. Meanwhile, Chris proudly admits he has watched basically every Star Wars property in 2025 and may have personally contributed to the franchise’s 33 billion streaming minutes. ⏩ Tune in for…
Chris Walton explains why he is rooting for the Oklahoma City Thunder during this year’s NBA Playoffs and why he believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still does not get enough credit nationally. He also shares why he cannot fully get behind the Timberwolves despite living in Minnesota. ⏩ Tune in for the…
Jenn Hahn reacts to McDonald’s reportedly ending free refills and explains why McDonald’s Coke just tastes different. From “one-and-a-half” refill habits to kids treating the soda fountain like an all-you-can-drink buffet, this Fast Five Lightning Round segment gets very relatable very quickly. ⏩ Tune in for the full episode here:…
Jenn Hahn explains why Walmart’s plan to train 2.1 million employees on AI is much bigger than a simple certification program. She discusses why AI is evolving too quickly for one-time training and why continuous learning will become essential for retail teams moving forward. ⏩ Tune in for the full…
Chris Walton explains why Anthropic’s integrations with Instacart and DoorDash feel different from past AI shopping experiments. He breaks down why grocery shopping may be the perfect use case for AI, especially when it comes to saving consumers time and money. ⏩ Tune in for the full episode here: https://youtu.be/1YSVQokcVL8…
Jenn Hahn explains why Walmart’s investment in in-store beauty experts is more about better customer service than competing with Sephora or Ulta. She also breaks down where human interaction still matters in beauty retail, even as more shoppers begin using AI to discover products. ⏩ Tune in for the full…
Chris Walton reacts to Estée Lauder cutting 17.5% of its workforce and explains why moves like this often happen during larger corporate restructurings. He also discusses whether the layoffs say more about Estée Lauder itself or the current state of department store retail. ⏩ Tune in for the full episode…
Jenn Hahn shares why she believes Target’s decision to bring merchandising teams back together in person could be the right move during a turnaround. She explains why creativity, collaboration, and faster decision-making are often harder to build remotely... especially in retail. ⏩ Tune in for the full episode here: https://youtu.be/1YSVQokcVL8…
Retail Technology Show 2026 made one thing clear: the pace of change in retail has never been faster. From AI-powered fulfillment and evolving ecommerce strategies to the emotional side of customer behavior and the importance of operational discipline, retailers are being pushed to rethink how they grow, serve, and stay…
This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five Lightning Round segment closes out the show with rapid-fire questions, unexpected takes, and a few laughs. Chris Walton and Jenn Hahn debate NBA playoff teams, react to McDonald’s ending free refills, discuss Star Wars fandom, and spiral into a passionate conversation about Cheesy Gordita…
This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Walmart’s ambitious plan to train all 2.1 million employees on AI tools and workflows. Chris Walton and Jenn Hahn discuss the challenges of teaching AI at scale, why leadership buy-in matters, and how quickly AI tools are changing across retail organizations. They…
This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Anthropic’s Claude integrations with Instacart, Uber Eats, and other consumer apps. Chris Walton and Jenn Hahn discuss why this approach to conversational commerce feels more natural than previous AI shopping experiments and how AI could eventually help consumers save both time and…
This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Walmart’s plan to expand trained beauty experts into more than 400 stores. Chris Walton and Jenn Hahn discuss why Walmart is investing more heavily in customer service, how TikTok trends are influencing beauty retail, and why human interaction still matters in an…
This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment breaks down Estée Lauder’s plan to cut up to 10,000 jobs as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts. Chris Walton and Jenn Hahn discuss whether the cuts are more about merger strategy or the declining relevance of department store beauty counters, and what…
This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Target’s decision to require remote merchandising employees to relocate to Minneapolis or leave the company. Chris Walton and Jenn Hahn discuss whether in-person collaboration is necessary for creativity, why retailers are rethinking remote work, and what this says about leadership during a…
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 Jenn Hahn, Founder & CEO of J Recruiting Services and host of Candid with Candidates, discussed: Coming out of a week packed with…
With the leadership change at Best Buy, we explore whether merchandising or store operations experience is a requirement for modern omni-channel retail CEOs. Chris argues that understanding the "lifeblood" of a retail organization is difficult to learn from finance or HQ operations alone.
Dairy Queen is partnering with Presto Phoenix to expand its voice AI pilot to over 25 states and provinces. We discuss how the technology handles complex orders and if it actually improves the customer experience.
This AI agent just got a $100,000 budget to run its own store. An AI named Luna just signed a lease and hired a human staff in San Francisco. See how this AI "boss" manages operations while humans provide the "warmth" of customer service.
Can Staples execute a high-margin "personalization" business? While Party City returns to its peak store count through this deal, experts warn of massive risks in training, marketing, and stagnant inventory. Find out why this move might be dilutive rather than a "second act" for the brand.
Walmart is reportedly testing a new pilot program to use its 4,600 retail stores as fulfillment hubs for third-party marketplace orders. This move aims to slash delivery times from 1-2 days down to just 3 hours. We break down whether this "inventory orchestration" can actually challenge Amazon's dominance in rapid…
