Episodes

74
June 4, 2025

Walmart Presses Its ‘Advantage,’ ALDI Recruits Teens & E.L.F. Goes Down A New Rhode

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group , Simbe , Mirakl , Ocampo Capital , Infios , and ClearDemand , Chris and Anne discussed: Walmart helping Medicare Advantage members identify items to buy with their OTC benefits ( Source ) E.l.f.’s acquisition of Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand for $1 Billion ( Source ) Victoria’s Secret’s website shutdown last week ( Source ) Aldi’s new digital work experience program for teens in the UK...
73
May 30, 2025

Target’s Woes, Lowe’s Marketplace & Why Sam’s Club Pizza Delivery Will Change Our Lives

In this week's episode, brought to you in partnership with the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, former Target executives Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga analyze this week's biggest retail stories, including Target's questionable "acceleration office" strategy amid declining sales, Sam's Club's game-changing $8.98 pizza delivery service, Lowe's strategic marketplace expansion with Mirakl, Google's AI-powered shopping checkout revolution, and Ni...
73
May 28, 2025

Target’s Woes, Lowe’s Marketplace & Why Sam’s Club Pizza Delivery Will Change Our Lives

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: The utter absurdity of Target’s Acceleration Office ( Source ) Sam’s Club’s new pizza delivery play ( Source ) Lowe’s third-party marketplace initiative with Mirakl ( Source ) Google’s advances in agentic AI checkout ( Source ) And closed with at look at why they both think Nike sel...
72
May 21, 2025

Walmart Signals Price Increases, Dicks Buys Foot Locker & Target Bets On Rural Growth?

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 Michael Prendergast and Christopher Disa join Chris and Anne to discuss: Walmart signaling that price hikes could begin later this month ( Source ) Target Circle 360 members receiving free same-day delivery from 100+ other retailers via Shipt ( Source ) Dick’s Sporting Goods acquiring Foot Locker ( Source ...
71
May 14, 2025

Instacart’s CEO Bolts, Primark Teaches Sewing & Amazon’s Robot Dials Dork Up To 11

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: Instacart’s CEO resigning to take a job with OpenAI ( Source ) Amazon’s new warehouse robot, Vulcan ( Source ) Primark’s in-store repair classes ( Source ) ASOS offering next-day delivery through InPost Lockers ( Source ) And closed with a look at how LTK is bringing The Bachelor ...
70
May 7, 2025

Walmart Stores Of The Future, Morrisons Robots & Why Saks Just Set Omnichannel Back

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 , Shoptalk’s Ben Miller joined Chris and Anne to discuss: Saks Fifth Avenue’s new Amazon storefront ( Source ) Walmart’s new “Store of the Future” down in Texas ( Source ) Morrisons introducing Simbe’s Tally robots ( Source ) Pinterest becoming a visual search engine ( Source ) And closed with a look at Lowe’s...
69
April 30, 2025

Amazon’s D.C. Blowback, Caper Carts & Why A ChatGPT/Shopify Tie-Up Should Scare Google

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 Anne to discuss: Amazon’s tariff pricing fracas with the White House (Source) Schnucks expanding its Caper Cart deployment (Source) ChatGPT potentially integrating with Shopify (Source) Pepsico accelerating its transition to natural ingredients (Source) And closed with a look...
68
April 23, 2025

Walmart Gas, Circle K & Why Target’s Floral Brand May Not Come Up Smelling Like Roses

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 strategy (Source) Quorso’s intelligent store management platform rollout with Circle K Europe (Source) Target’s new floral owned brand (Source) Trove’s acquisition of reverse.supply (Source) And closed with a look at why Walmart’s 40 store beauty bar test could herald even mor...
67
April 17, 2025

Walmart’s Trend-to-Product AI, Sam’s Club’s Expansion & Ulta’s Pregnant Pause At Target

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 its Target shop-in-shop expansion (Source) Walmart’s new Trend-to-Product AI tool to speed up product development (Source) Sam’s Club’s expansion plans (Source) DoorDash’s AI enhancements to help its quick-service restaurant partners (Source) And closed with a look at what Hy-...
66
April 9, 2025

Old Navy Hits The Radar, San Diego Bans Digital-Only Coupons & Amazon Debuts AI Agents

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: Best Buy storefronts and where influencer commerce will go next (Source) Instacart’s introduction of “Will Call” Delivery (Source) Old Navy rolling out Radar’s RFID solution to 1,200 stores (Source) San Diego banning digital-only grocery store coupons (Source) And closed with a look at just how game-changing...
65
March 26, 2025

Amazon Haul, Best Buy Social+ & Edibles.com

🎧 Retail Fast Five | March 26, 2025 – Live from Shoptalk 2025 This week, Chris and Anne are back together live at Shoptalk 2025, bringing you exclusive insight and on-the-ground energy. This week's episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital and Infios, kicks off with a behind-the-scenes look at their interviews with CVS, Wayfair, and Purina (03:15), followed by their five big retail stories of the week: Best Buy Launches Social Plus – A new retail med...
64
March 19, 2025

Kroger’s Sunk Cost Trap, Ulta’s Mirakl & Why Klarna’s Walmart Deal Is ‘One’ For The Ages

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital and Infios, Chris and Anne discussed: Kroger’s surprising decision to create a standalone e-commerce unit (Source) Ulta’s launch of a digital marketplace with Mirakl (Source) Wayfair’s plans to open a second large format store in Atlanta (Source) Klarna becoming Walmart’s exclusive BNPL provider (Source) And closed with a look at Wonder’s acquisition spree an...
63
March 12, 2025

CVS “Mini-Stores,” Google Shopping & Loblaw’s Plan To Slap Tariff Labels On U.S. Goods

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital and Infios, A&M’s David Schneidman and Chris Creyts joined Chris and Anne to discuss: CVS Health’s rollout of “mini-stores,” i.e. smaller stores with pharmacies but a limited retail selection (Source) Loblaw identifying U.S. made products at shelf with a new tariff symbol (Source) Google Shopping’s new AI search features (Source) Reckitt’s claims that it has r...
62
March 5, 2025

Alexa+, Publix & Why There’s More Than Meets The Eye To Target And Warby’s New Deal

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, Chris and Anne discussed: All the wrinkles surrounding Target and Warby Parker’s new partnership (Source) The launch of Alexa+ (Source) The deceptive pricing lawsuit against Publix (Source) Furniture.com’s unique take on omnichannel commerce (Source) And closed with an examination of Walmart Unlimited, Walmart’s new video game shopping experience (Source...
61
Feb. 26, 2025

Good-Bye Joann, Hello Adidas Buy With Prime & Welcome Walmart To ‘Wally’ World

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, Anne remoted in from eTail West, Chris was back home in Minneapolis, and together they discussed: Adidas offering Amazon Buy with Prime via its website and app (Source) Joann no longer being in the fabric of our lives (Source) Sprouts launching its first-ever loyalty program (Source) Kroger and Schnucks enhancing their quick delivery offerings via Instaca...
60
Feb. 19, 2025

Amazon’s Italian Beauty Store, Wayfair’s Muse & Dick’s Enviable Influencer Program

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, A&M’s David Brown and Lisa Collier joined Chris and Anne to discuss: Amazon’s new beauty store in Italy (Source) Scheels adding 460 and $11 million worth of digital screens into its stores (Source) Dick’s new varsity influencer program (Source) Wayfair’s new AI-powered shopping tool, Muse (Source) And closed with a look at why in the world Amazon would t...
59
Feb. 12, 2025

Aldi, GapVintage & Why The “Next Best Action” Is An Idea Everyone Will Be Talking About

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, and Scratch Event DJs, Chris and Anne discussed: The many angles to Aldi’s decision to sell back some of the stores it previously purchased from Southeastern Grocers (Source) How bullish they both are on Gap’s new vintage clothing play (Source) Why EG America’s new partnership with Quorso heralds a new age of store management technology (Source) If Save A Lot...
58
Feb. 5, 2025

Crypto BuyBuy Babies, More Walgreens Woes & Walmart Takes Same-Day Rx Nationwide

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, and Scratch Event DJs, Shoptalk’s VP of Original Content & Strategy, Ben Miller, joined Chris and Anne to discuss: CVS Health’s new app rollout (Source) Beyond buying back BuyBuy Baby (Source) Walgreens’ plans to close down 47 of its in-store health clinics in Illinois (Source) IKEA’s decision to expand its secondhand furniture marketplace in Europe (Source) ...
57
Jan. 29, 2025

Starbucks Ceramic Mugs & Drizzles, Walmart Pay Increases & Amazon’s New Head Of Grocery

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, and Scratch Event DJs, Chris and Anne discussed: The appointment of Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel to head up Amazon’s grocery strategy (Source) Whether CPGs will jump at the chance to pay Walmart to test products with Walmart’s actual customers (Source) If Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol could be getting ahead of himself with his plans for ceramic mugs (Source) Th...
56
Jan. 22, 2025

Walmart Opens A New HQ And Does Fendi, Chanel And Robots All In The Same Week!

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, and Scratch Event DJs, A&M’s Kelly Carey and John Clear joined Chris and Anne to discuss: Walmart’s new Symbotic relationship, aka its new robot deal (Source) The veracity of Target’s claims that it has cut its production lead times down from 7 months to 8 weeks (Source) Whether the American consumer really needs smaller Burlington stores (Source) Sephora’s p...
55
Jan. 15, 2025

Amazon Ads, Best Buy’s Marketplace & Macy’s Ever-Changing Strategic Narrative

Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, and Scratch Event DJs, Chris and Anne discussed: Macy’s shuttering some of its small format stores (Source) Amazon $11 Billion AI investment in the great state of Georgia (Source) Best Buy launching a new marketplace with Mirakl (Source) Amazon allowing online retailers to use its advertising tools (Source) And closed with a look at the 1 + 1 = 3 partnership between eBaby and Facebook’s marketplace (Source) There’s all that, plus To...
54
Jan. 8, 2025

Walmart Expands ESLs To All Stores, DoorDash Teams With Ibotta & Simbe Hits The Spot

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, and Scratch Event DJs, Chris and Anne discussed: Walmart accelerating its rollout of digital shelf labels to all stores (Source) Cantaloupe’s innovations in smart vending for grocery stores (Source) Simbe augmenting its Tally Robot with fixed-positioned sensors (Source) DoorDash and Ibotta teaming up to offer DoorDash users better pricing (Source) And closed...
53
Dec. 18, 2024

The 2024 Omni Talk Retail Awards Show

In this special year end edition of the Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, A&M’s Chad Lusk and David Ritter join Chris and Anne to look back on 2024 and to salute everything that stood out in retail this past year. Who will win retailer of the year? CEO of the year? And which retail headline would you most want turned into a feature film? You will just have to tune into find out! Music by hooksounds.com
52
Dec. 11, 2024

Amazon Auto, Porch Pirate Insurance & Why There May Be No Stopping Tractor Supply

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, Chris and Anne discussed: Amazon’s momentous launch of Amazon Auto (Source) Why Tractor Supply Company may be the retailer to watch over the next decade (Source) PorchPals new insurance offering for victims of package theft (Source) Whether Dollar General’s slowdown of its fresh expansion signals underlying issues with its grocery strategy (So...