Target Says Move Or Go, Walmart Bets On Beauty & Claude Wants Your Cart | Fast Five

When I saw this headlight, I immediately sent it out to a bunch of people via text with the words finally,.

Human sharing experience in the physical store is so very important.

AI is not going to replace that.

This is the basic foundation of what I'm calling the marketplace of marketplaces.

The challenge with AI is as soon as you train it, it's old, it's different.

The leaders have to understand it themselves in order to help guide their team.

Hello and welcome to the OmniTalk Retail Fast 5.

This week I decided to craft the episode around two topics that are of paramount of importance, people and AI.

And I can think of no better guest host to join me than who helped me out this week.

Who is it?

I'm going to tell you right after we hear from all our wonderful partners who make this podcast possible each and every week.

So producer Ella, let's get to this week's show.

This episode of the OMNITALK Retail Fast 5 is brought to you by the A and M Consumer and Retail Group.

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To Learn more, visit Veloc.com that's V E L O Q.com Jen Hahn, the founder of J Recruiting Services how you keeping?

Do we need to have a moment of silence for your beloved Spartans or how are you healing?

Are you okay?

I am absolutely fine, Chris.

You know, we are a storied university.

We're a storied program in March Madness.

There's always next year.

And I'm a loyal Izzo fan.

So on to the next season or I might even say sport.

I'm excited to see what coach, the new coach does with our football program this year.

Oh, right, right, right.

Yep, yep.

Still holding on to that one championship from like 30 years ago, right, Jen?

That, that, that, that.

That's how you're rolling with Tom Izzo.

Yes, yes, that's exactly how we're rolling over here, Chris.

But I did.

It did feel a little bit worse this year because I had just throwing that number out there.

I don't remember what I said, but.

I think 80% chance.

Okay.

I think it was pretty high chance that they'd be pretty high chance in the championship.

So I don't know that I'll put it on air next year.

That might have been bad luck.

I might have been the one that screwed it.

Screwed it up for those Spartans.

Oh, yeah.

I don't know.

I think I'll probably make you put it on air.

I think, I think our loyal Omni Talk listeners will want to hear your prediction again year over year.

But Jed, before we go further, why don't you remind our omnitalk listeners because we have a lot of new people that join us each week.

Tell us about yourself and who you are.

Yeah, so my name is Jen Hahn.

I'm the founder and CEO of J Recruiting Services.

So we're a recruiting organization that focuses what we say in and around retail.

So we serve the retailers when they're looking for executive talent, we serve the retailers when they're looking for store ops or distribution level leadership.

And then we also, when I say around retail, we also support manufacturing, distribution, vendor partners that really want their teams to understand retail.

So that's kind of how it naturally moved into some of those other niches.

Yeah.

And that's why we call you our resident talent expert in air quotes.

That's who you are, Jen.

And that's why we brought you on the show.

And that's why I teased at the outset that you are the perfect guest for this week's headlines.

Because as, as all you folks will soon see, we have a lot of talent related headlines this week that just coincidentally hit the waiver wire.

So Jen, real quick, you also have a podcast too.

Tell our audience about the podcast and what it's focused on.

Yeah.

So our podcast, it was kind of a passion project of mine for years that just never made it off the to do list until I think early 2025 is when we officially launched the podcast.

It's called Candid with Candidates, and it's really focused on the person behind the title in and around this industry.

So while you're here on omnitalk, you're talking about headlines and industry news.

We're talking about that specific individual.

Let's say it's a president of a retailer, might be an executive in retail media.

I don't know, a CMO of a brand.

Right.

We're talking about that human behind the title.

In terms of like, how did you get here?

What are the lessons learned if you had a career change?

What was that like for you?

Fun questions.

And then we always end with, what is your candid advice for candidates?

So we want them to say, like, hey, you might not be able to say this in an interview, but what do you wish people were showing up with that would really get your attention when you're interviewing for leaders on your own teams?

So it's very fun.

It's very people focused, very much in our niche.

And it came from.

I just have this like, unique lens of seeing all of these career stories from 10 years of interviewing executives in the space.

And the executives we work with that are our partners, I know their career stories and how they landed where they're at.

And I'm like, this just isn't being shared enough.

So it's a very people focused, organic.

Like we're having coffee conversation with some mentorship and some candid advice and some how in the heck did you get here?

Thrown in.

Yeah, I love that.

And truth be told, I'm actually kind of jealous of that podcast because that's something I've always had interest.

Yeah, I'm interested.

I've always had an interest of doing something very similar.

So I'm very jealous of that.

And kudos to you.

But the other reason I asked you that too.

Well, one, it's cool, but two, it's also a really good segue for what is my favorite part of the show each and every month when we have you on Jen, and that's when we announce our Omnistar, because like you said, you are so much closer to the ground in terms of knowing which retail executives are really making the grade inside their organizations.

You're talking to them constantly.

And so for those new to the podcast, our Omnistar Award is the award we Give out each month in partnership with Corso to recognize the top Omni Channel operators out there.

Not the pundits, not the so called experts, but the real life retail operators making a difference in their organizations.

And for those that aren't familiar, Corso's AI copilot coaches retail leaders to optimize store performance at every level.

Transform retail operations from data overload and into data powered.

So Jen, without further ado, who is this month's Omni star?

Rum roll please for May.

The Omni Star is Kathy Sweegert.

So Kathy is a division vice president for the Giant company where she leads multi region division with over 17,000 associates.

She's one of those leaders that, I mean she has incredibly high standards.

She loves a challenge.

Give her a region that's underperforming.

Right.

But she's also so real and honest about what it's going to look like for those action plans to play out in the stores in operation.

Right.

She grew up in the business.

She's one of those legacy employees.

She also happens to be an avid Omni Talk listener and a big fan of the show.

Well, congrats to Kathy.

I mean she works at the Giant company and now she's a giant in the industry by way of the omnitalk Omni Star Awards.

So congrats, Kathy, we're pulling for you.

That's great to hear.

All right, Jen, should we get to this week's Fast Five?

Let's do it.

All right, in this week's Fast Five, we've got news on Estee Lauder announcing 10,000 job reductions with more than 70% of the increase tied to point of sale cuts in department stores.

Walmart conversely rolling out trained in store beauty experts to more than 400 of its stores.

Anthropic's Cloud AI integrating with Instacart, Uber Eats and more than a dozen other consumer apps in an interesting and novel way.

And Walmart's ambitious plan to train all 2.1 million of its employees.

Holy cow.

On agentic AI tools.

But we begin today with Target and why it's telling.

150 Remote merchandising employees relocate to Minneapolis or take your severance and go according to retail dive.

The move is not a company wide mandate as Target allows individual teams to determine their own in person requirements.

But this is being described as the company's largest return to office mandate in recent months.

In a statement, a company spokesperson said, quote, as we enter a new chapter for Target, increased in person collaboration across a core part of our Merchandising team will help us reinforce our merchandising authority, unlocking greater creativity and enabling us to move faster to deliver on our strategy.

End quote.

Jen, is requiring remote employees to relocate or leave a smart turnaround move?

Or is this a strategy that will cost Target more than it ultimately gains?

You know, I am honestly surprised as I was reading through this headline, that they still had remote merchandising teams, because most retailers have already called that back.

Right.

That was a thing of 2021, 2022, and then we all kind of called everyone back to office.

So I definitely, I mean, to answer your question, I would say it's a smart move for the business.

I want to make note that we talked to many an executive that reaches out and it's hard on them.

And it's a relocate or resign decision is never easy.

No, but in this case, I mean, we're talking about, we'll call it a turnaround, right?

Like we're talking about a turnaround.

They need to foster that creativity.

I am a big believer, as much as I believe in hybrid work and flexibility, I'm a big believer that if you've got, if you've got a lot of work to do, that organic collaboration, it does have to happen in person.

Like, you just don't get as much of it if you need a teams meeting to correct something.

So I, I apologize to the people that are impacted that don't want to move to Minneapolis.

But if I'm looking at this from a business perspective, I do think it's important that they get those teams in person and figure out where they're headed next from a merchandising standpoint.

Yeah, that, that's really interesting.

I didn't thought about that point when you said what you said at the outset.

Like, you're kind of surprised that they're doing this now.

Like, why did they already do this is kind of your opinion.

That's, that's really interesting.

Yeah.

And you know, my, my thoughts are.

And this probably is going to cost me even more friends at Target that I've probably already lost over the years being, you know, candid and frank about how I think, you know, they're doing things over there.

And, and I probably even, I think I even know a lot of some of the people, not a lot of them, but some of the people that this announcement potentially even pertains to.

But I've never shied away from my opinions and I'm not about to start now.

So I agree with you, Jen.

I like this move.

I Mean, at the end of the day, we're talking about 150 people, too.

And if Target thinks its merchandising can be better with those 150 people in the office, then it's their right, you know, and it's their.

It's their opinion to do it.

And it's an opinion that I happen to agree with.

So.

And I can guarantee.

The other thing I'd say, and I want this to land the right way, is I can guarantee you that none of those 150 people are mission critical to the success of Target, as much as any of us in our jobs are mission critical to anything that we think that we are, because the machine will just plug back in the holes over time.

I hate to say it, but it is true.

Now, my one caveat, and Jen, I'm curious what your take is on this.

My one caveat is the leadership, if it's going to do this, also has to eat what it cooks.

You can't have VPs, vice presidents, managing teams from their summer cabins and their vacation homes whenever they feel like it.

And if that's still happening, too, then I'm resolutely against this move because leadership starts from the top, and they have to set the example here.

So.

And I don't know if we're still seeing that across the industry, but, Jen, I'll give you the last word.

Yeah, I think I definitely agree with you.

I think it starts at the top.

I think when we're looking to bring on executives, typically what we see at the VP level or above is they have an even stronger mandate to be located near the office because there are days where executive team needs to have.

They need to be present, especially again in a situation like this.

Right?

Like they need to be present, they need to be supportive.

They need to be in the room as these decisions are being made.

So I would agree with you there.

I think there is a way to relocate to Minneapolis and still offer flexibility.

There are still retailers that offer summer Fridays, where you work from home on Fridays, or, you know, three flex weeks a year where you can work from wherever.

Right.

So it's not that people couldn't travel to their summer homes as much as I do think the executive team needs to be on board to also be located in Minneapolis, and that's their home base.

And they're in the office more than they're not if they're making this choice.

So I would say I agree with you on that for sure.

All right, so for the second headline, Estee Lauder has expanded its restructuring program for the second time in the last year, now targeting a net reduction of between 9,000 and 10,000 positions globally, which is up from its previous estimate of between 5,800 and 7,000 as the cosmetics giant accelerates its beauty reimagined turnaround plan.

So a lot of turnaround plans here, Chris.

According to Retail Dive, again, more than 70% of the increase in planned cuts is tied to a reduction in point of sale positions at what the company calls select unproductive doors in the department store and freestanding store channels at the upper end.

The new Target represents roughly 17.5% of the company's total employee base, which is a lot of approximately 57,000 worldwide as of June 30, 2025.

It should also be noted that along with the expanded job cuts, Estee Lauder raised its annual profit forecast and now expects gross annual benefits from the restructuring of between 1 billion and 1.2 billion before taxes, which is up from a prior estimate of 800 million to 1 billion.

And that its shares jumped approximately 11% in pre market trading following the announcement.

To add even further intrigue, Chris, Intrigue, yes, there's a lot here.

Estee Lauder is also currently in talks to merge with Pooch, spelled P U I G, the owner of Jean Paul Gaultier, which would create a $40 billion luxury beauty group.

All right, Chris, I'm curious.

That was a lot of information here.

Does Estee Lauder's drastic employee reduction say more about Estee Lauder itself or do you think this is more about the state of department stores in general?

Oh, man, that's a really tough question.

You know, as much as I've been short on department stores in the history, the eight year history of Omnitalk, Jan, I, I actually think this says a lot more about Estee Lauder.

One could spin it as a mark or demerit against the department store industry, but I don't think, I don't think that's, that's what I'd start to do.

Because the pattern that I've recognized doing this podcast for as long as I've done it is that a bold move like this tends to happen in front of big time corporate restructuring.

It's just par for the course.

Companies want to make their books look as clean as possible and they can always add the jobs back in over time.

So I think, you know, from a leadership perspective, and Jen, you probably know this too.

Like, you know, they're probably like, if I cut too hard, I can always bring them back or rehire again or try to.

So I just chalked this up to quote, unquote, merger math.

That's my new term of the day, merger math.

But it is pretty darn sizable.

You said it kind of as you were reading the headline.

17, 17 And a half percent of your employee base.

Oh, man.

The one thing I would like to know is in what department stores is that reduction concentrated?

Because I would probably short all of them immediately if I could.

I'm not a financial advisor, so don't take my advice.

But.

But, you know, I probably would because that would be pretty damning if those are, you know, concentrated in certain chunks of the department store industry, not just in the US but globally too.

Yeah, it's interesting.

Those unproductive doors or whatever the headline reads, right?

It's.

It'll be interesting to see where those.

Where those are.

Initially, I read this as a sign of what's to come for department stores.

So I was on the flip side.

But once I started reading about sort of this potential merger and the way it impacts profit and the amount of financials that was highlighted in the headline, I. I could see where you're at with your merger math, for sure.

I think it's probably a both.

And if I have to guess, I mean, in my very limited time that I spend in department stores, being an ops girl, when I walk through, I'm always wondering, like, who is paying them to stand there?

Because I've never seen it busy.

Right.

So you do have to wonder, like, man, their margins are high enough to just have that person stand there.

So I wouldn't be surprised if it's a sign of what's to come for department stores and sort of the commercial strategy as a whole or the go to market strategy for Estee Lauder and how it could be different, but maybe both.

Maybe it's merger math and a sign of what's to come for department stores.

Yeah, I think that's.

I think as I sit back, I think that's probably the right way to look at it.

It's probably a little bit of both because, you know, essay Lauder is also saying, like, there's better ways to invest our money to get a better return, you know, whether it's through social media, influencer tie ins, whatever.

Then, you know, and there's probably a whole host of things they're looking at, but that there's more options out there than just putting somebody, you know, in a department store and not having them, you know, interact with customers.

Because like you said, there's Many hours in a department store where there's just no traffic into the beauty counters.

At this point in time, the traffic.

Is drastically different than it used to be.

I guess this would almost go in a similar way to the last headline where I'm like, oh, I'm surprised they didn't already cut.

Like, I, I didn't think about it.

But from a financial standpoint, if you're looking at opportunities to improve margin or improve, improve your P and L, that has to be the most obvious, I would think.

Again, I haven't seen their numbers, so maybe there is a lot of revenue that points back to that point of sale interaction at that beauty counter.

But it isn't the 90s anymore, you know, like, there just isn't the traffic in those department stores to justify it, I would think.

Yeah.

So, Jenna.

Yeah, I've spoken like a true talent expert, too, and a pragmatic one at that.

I mean, if I read between the lines of what you're saying, it's also just good business practice to constantly be shaving your, your base where it's not needed anymore as well.

Right.

Yeah.

And shaving your base.

I mean, I'm not saying constantly cut back, but I do think constantly reevaluate, evaluating.

Right.

Like, where is your labor contributing to.

And labor can be corporate salaries.

Right.

I'm not just talking about people in stores, but where's your labor contributing to your revenue?

And if it isn't, we should reinvest that labor into where revenue is coming from tomorrow.

And so whether it's shaving or not, I would certainly say restructuring.

I think restructuring gets a bad word out or a bad rap out there because it feels like, oh, people lose jobs, but people also gain jobs.

They might put those, those dollars into e commerce strategy.

They might put those dollars into investing in agentic AI and the way people can shop for makeup online.

Right.

But yes, I guess you're reading that correct.

I think it's, it has to be a strategy every, every year, every quarter.

Yeah.

Which is an interesting word because that's the word they're using too.

They're using restructuring as the, the, the, the modus operandi here for what they're doing.

All right, well, this next headline is kind of the converse of that last one.

This is why I'm really excited for today's show because Walmart headline number three, Walmart is breaking out of its historically no frills service model by staffing its beauty aisles with trained specialists, AKA beauty experts.

Again, enjoy Trip Gandhi air quotes.

Who can recommend foundation shades, flag what's trending on TikTok, and offer personalized skincare advice as part of a broader play for a bigger slice of the $129 billion US Beauty and Personal care market.

According to the Associated Press, the beauty expert roles were piloted at 22 stores in Arkansas and Texas in recent months, and Walmart expects to have them in more than 400 of its 4,600 namesake US stores by year end.

As part of a broader remodel of 650 stores, Walmart is also moving beauty departments to the front of stores and installing displays to showcase products, getting buzz on social media, said Vanima Shekar, VP of beauty merchandising for Walmart's US Division.

Quote we're not trying to be an Ulta or Sephora.

We have the breadth of assortment that no one else has.

We have the convenience that no one else has.

What we also want to do is layer on a level of service.

End quote Jen this is also the A and M Put yout on the Spot Question of the Week because I think they knew you are going to be guest hosting with me and here it is.

While in store, human beauty advisors have maintained consumer trust for recommendations.

Nearly 30% of beauty customers are now using AI to discover new products and brands and roughly the same percentage to research.

Given that, how should Walmart and other beauty retailers determine what where human expertise creates real competitive advantage against AI?

Hey, better you than me.

Again, they're put you on the spot questions are always so long.

I'm like well which question do I answer first?

A and M. Very thoughtful.

They're very thoughtful questions.

They take a lot of time to do them every week.

It's very appreciated by me.

It makes you, makes you really think.

Yes.

Okay, so the question is how to layer in in person service and where that could probably make a difference versus agentic AI and and research at home.

Right.

I think in Walmart's case and then we'll go back if I don't answer that question for a M, let me know because I'll be more clear.

But I think in Walmart's case, I love that they're saying they're not trying to be Sephora, they're not trying to be Ulta, they just know who they are.

And the fir.

When I first read this I was like what are we doing?

What is Walmart doing adding this beauty layer that Estee Lauder is getting rid of.

Right.

But as I read further I was like this is not some fancy beauty counter trying to pretend there's something they're not.

This is simply just better service.

Yeah.

And if there is one thing that I think Walmart should be investing in, it's better service because if you finally get people to step inside your store, you don't want them wandering up and down that beauty aisle.

You want someone that can say, hey, do you know what's hot?

You know, did you know this is the viral concealer?

I, I'm very curious on how they're going to staff that, who they're going to hire, what their ideal candidate looks like because it should be like a, a tick tock, you know, it should be a Gen Z, someone that knows what they're talking about, wants to engage the customers.

But I think this is very different than research at home via AI.

Like makeup is something where, like if you can see the shade on your skin, skin, it's helpful.

And I also think this might be a different customer than the one that is purchasing through AI.

At least today there's still a hesitancy with AI.

We use it so much as business owners and in the industry, but consumers, I would say the average consumer in a Walmart store isn't probably on the cutting edge of shopping for, for makeup through Claude or through ChatGPT or whatever it might be.

So will you read me the last part of A M's question again, Chris, just so I make sure I answered it?

Sure, yeah, I think, I think you've answered it for the most part.

But you know, I think they said, you know, how should Walmart and other beauty retailers determine where human expertise creates real competitive advantage against AI?

Yeah, well, human expertise and I'm gonna just die on this hill if I have to.

We can't forget about it with AI I just don't think it's going to be replaced.

I think AI can help those beauty consultants, we'll call them with better recommendations and more information and make their job easier.

But a human sharing experience or information in the aisle of a physical store is so very important and, and AI is not going to replace that.

At least not in the near future in my opinion.

Yep, yep, yep.

That I think, I think you nailed it, Jen.

Like I think I think of, I think it's both can exist, you know, like you can be shopping more with AI but there's still a component of in person service that is, that is also going to be important.

And the way I think about it too, and this was my biggest takeaway coming out of the World Retail Congress in Berlin last week is that we spend a lot of time talking about how generative AI is going to make our experiences more human.

And that doesn't mean necessarily more person to person, like actual physical person to person, but more human in their bend is how I'd put that.

And an experience can be more human because of digital.

So, Jen, when I extrapolate, what you say is, yeah, I start my journey online.

I probably engage with Walmart online with Sparky and offers me some advice.

That information is then transferred to the associate in the long term.

This is like the vision.

That information is then transferred to the associate who's helping me in the store.

And therefore I can understand the consumer better and provide better service to them both digitally and in store, in theory.

And that's where AI is taking us.

And I think that's the, that's the key point here.

The other thing I love, and then I'm going to get on my soapbox for a little bit and share an anecdote too, Jen, is I love how you said that if I was Walmart, I'd be investing in service.

Yeah, I think, I think I would be too.

Like I'd be taking all my retail media dollars, the billions of billions of dollars that I'm getting generated from retail media.

And that's exactly where I'd be investing it is in things like this to provide better service.

And service can come in many forms.

It can become in the beauty area, it can come from making sure the shelves are stocked right.

Like it can come in all different shapes and sizes.

But that's a smart place to invest the other thing.

So now the soapbox, I'm buying this.

Hook, eyeliner and sinker, Jen.

Hook, eyeliner and sinker.

I'm buying this because the anecdote I want to share is back in 2009, I was being recruited by a former mentor of mine at the Gap, who was then at Baby's R Us to come and join our team.

When I was running Baby for Target and at the time the baby business was Babies R Us, Target and Walmart.

And we got into a discussion, I remember we were over dinner and we were talking about what really makes Walmart different from Target or Target different than Walmart at the time.

And I told her, in my opinion, Jen, I said, not much.

The only thing that makes Target different than Walmart at that time is that Walmart has to believe they can do what Target does and they have to have a commitment to execute, execute on it.

That's the only difference.

And Walmart plus, in my Opinion Jen has been the lightning rod that has given Walmart the belief in themselves that save money, live better, can be the expect more, pay less promise of the 21st century.

And I think you're seeing it play out here, you're seeing it play out in store redesign.

Their marketing is doing that as well.

I mean their CMO is X Target.

So I see no reason why this isn't going to be successful as a strategy, particularly as beauty still drives traffic to stores and macroeconomic pressures, let's not forget, are not abating one bit.

So people that are desirous of beauty products are probably going to end up finding themselves in a Walmart part and parcel more often than they were in the past few years.

Yes.

And you know the other piece that was mentioned in the article here is the breadth.

Like no one has the breadth they have, no one has the access, they have the scale.

And so I think there's a real opportunity here that obviously they've recognized and they've tested it in 22 stores.

I have to think that they've already gone through this pilot in 2020 and not 2022 stores, but in 22 stores they saw something they liked.

Right.

My thought goes to how on earth do you train that specific of a position if you're used to being Walmart, where it's like stock and answer questions.

Right.

Like, and I don't want to simplify it, but that's kind of what their people have been responsible for in store.

Instead you're now asking this person to be more consultative, know their product really well.

No one was expected to know Walmart product really well because there's so much of it.

But I would say that that will be a challenge.

But that's where I would lean into AI.

Right.

Like if you have, if you have a bot trained, if you have internal systems where this, this beauty consultant logs in that day and it's like what's hot?

And there's like 18 products they need to know really well then we're not asking them to be the expert, we're giving them the tools to be the expert.

And you can elevate service pretty quickly in that way.

Yeah, so, but I like what you said about the difference between Target and Walmart too.

It's just the major difference is, is what Walmart has perceived themselves to be and therefore behaves like in store.

Right, exactly right.

That's the only difference.

It's your own self perception that we're talking about here.

And, and, and the other reason that I think this They've been experimenting with this exact idea in Canada.

I saw it firsthand, especially where they move, where they're moving the beauty department, so.

So they've got a lot of understanding to know that this is going to work.

And the other point, Jen, about training, you can lean on the cpgs.

The cpgs have so much training on this because they're doing it in department stores all the time, like we just talked about, and they're doing it to a lesser degree and they've rolled it out to other places like Target, Sephora, Ulta.

Like, this is not an uncommon practice.

It's just a muscle that Walmart has to decide to exercise.

And I think there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to exercise it correctly.

Yeah, I like it.

All right, let's move on to headline number four.

So Anthropic has expanded its cloud AI assistance integration ecosystem from workplace tools into consumer personal consumer apps.

And among the 15 new connected services are Instacart and UberEats.

Meaning that Claude can now suggest build and action grocery orders and food delivery entirely within a conversation.

According to Chain Storage, this integration works differently from what we have previously discussed on the show surrounding OpenAI and ChatGPT app integration.

Claude doesn't just passively wait for commands.

It proactively suggests relevant connected apps mid conversation.

So, for example, ask about dinner and it can build an instacart cart and suggest a resi reservation without the user ever switching apps.

So, Chris, I know this is going to be one I think that you're going to like to discuss.

Is Anthropic's integration with Instacart and DoorDash the right way to integrate apps into an LLM experience?

Or do you think this is just another flashy integration that won't actually change how consumers shop?

Ooh, Jen, you know, I think I'm gonna have to say.

I think I'm gonna have to say again, no, this is cool.

This is great.

I love this.

I love this.

I.

When I saw this headline, I immediately sent it out to a bunch of people via text and with the words, finally, Jen.

Like, because there are so many things I like about this approach versus the approaches we have talked about and ad nauseam on this show going back to November.

Number one, it is how people shop.

We talked about it on past shows.

If I know I want to engage with an app, I'll just use an app, right?

Like, I don't want to direct myself to the app inside the LLM.

I see even producer Ella shaking Her head, yes, in the background here.

Number two, it's leaning into grocery.

And that is because of the time saving, time savings nature of grocery, but also, as I believe, because of the potential to save people a ton of money.

There's a ton of money to be saved if you can use and shop for grocery in the way they're describing.

Because this is the basic foundation of what I'm calling the marketplace of marketplaces, and probably other people are calling it too, the marketplace of marketplace concept, in which I can now use Clyde to shop across multiple grocery stores or marketplaces to find the best deals on the items that I need.

And if you add that up, monthly savings from that effort alone, if you're willing to do it, my hunch is that you're talking about close to an average person's utility bill when you get all the savings on all the items that you routinely shop for in grocery and look for the deals.

It's why couponing people exist.

Right.

It's why the coupon cutters exist, because they see the value in it to them.

So, yes, that is going to spur consumer interest over time to go to anthropic to shop in in this way, because that's what drives consumer adoption, is finding value, and the value is going to come from saving money.

So way to go, Claude.

But Jen, talk me off the ledge.

Like, am I.

Am I missing something?

Do you agree with me?

Do you disagree with me?

Yeah, I think maybe not the ledge.

Talk me off the diving board.

I'm diving.

I'm diving head first.

Yeah.

I think you're excited.

I think you're like in the pool.

I'm not sure where you're at swimming.

No, I agree with you.

I think this is very exciting.

I have to be honest, there are so many headlines about integrations.

And like you said, you've discussed it at nauseum about all the different integrations with AI.

This one does feel different if it operates the way in which it's as it does.

Your point about cost savings is really interesting and I like that.

I didn't think of it from that perspective.

I thought about it from time savings.

Right.

As a business owner and a mom of three and a wife and someone that would love to have at least a little bit of a social life in there.

The amount of time saved by interfacing with Claude and having it build my grocery cart or book my reservation for me is amazing.

It feels like that's, that's the solution we want.

Like, can I just hit go?

Like, do I Have to flip back into resi and then check my email and validate a code like, no thanks.

I don't want to be in that many different spaces.

So I'm agreeing with you.

I think there's a ton of potential win here.

Will it change the way people shop?

I think possibly, because I also think there's a hesitancy around AI from some consumers because of the confusion.

Right.

If you tell it like, oh well, then you've got to download the Claude browser extension so that it can accurately interact with your instacart account.

Like, all of that just feels hard.

And if people aren't big AI users anyways, if they aren't just naturally curious in that way, they've stayed away.

Right.

But if we can make it this easy, someone tries it once, it just feels like you've got your own little personal assistant there.

So I think we're inching closer and closer to that smart house vibe, that movie from the 90s or whenever that was out, where it's going to take over, do things for us.

Yeah, right, yeah.

The other part I hadn't thought about too you just said that is the companies that they're talking about doing this with are digitally native companies.

They're very digitally forward companies.

And when I look at that, in contrast to the other companies we've talked about and the OpenAI integrations they've done, they've been much more like traditional retailers.

And I wonder if that's partly why I'm liking this approach more, because it's rooted in understanding how digital works versus trying to have my legacy business model work inside of a new technical innovation, technological innovation.

I think that's something to think about, folks, especially if you're at these companies and ask yourselves, why are we doing what we're doing and who should be looking to as the example for how we should be doing it.

I think, I think that's something I hadn't thought about until I just, you know, listened to what you just said there, Jen.

So I think it's important.

All right.

Headline number five.

Walmart has announced an ambitious plan to train all 2.1 million of its employees, from its tech team down to its in store greeters on artificial intelligence tools over the next few years, positioning Agentic AI as the backbone of its future retail operations strategy.

According to CIO Dive, which I think may be the first time we've ever mentioned them on this show.

The announcement was made by EVP and Chief People Officer Donna Morris at MIT Technology Reviews, MTech AI Summit, Chad did you get your invite for that one?

I did.

It got lost.

Lost in the mail.

Yeah, the M. Tech AI Summit.

Okay.

I have to keep that on my radar screen for next year.

Which essentially framed the initiative explicitly around removing friction from associates workflows and not replacing workers.

AI certifications are currently open to associates in the US and Canada, 1.7 million of the company's workforce, and are offered through Walmart's internal associate facing platform called Squiggly.

Yes, Squiggly.

And I don't know about you, Jeff, but I would have loved to have bet a fly on the wall for that naming meeting.

We do have to talk to.

I love Walmart, but we have to talk about their names.

Their names are a little bit crazy sometimes, but it was done in partnership with OpenAI and Google Gemini for role specific tracks.

From a scale standpoint, training 2.1 million employees in AI skills will likely be the largest workforce transformation effort ever attempted in the history of retail, or arguably in any industry for that matter.

Jen.

So to close us out as our resident talent expert, what advice would you have to Walmart as it embarks on its effort to train its entire workforce of 2.1 million employees on AI?

This one is so interesting because it's one of those, like, of course they have to do this.

Of course we all have to be looking to train our employees on AI and the way we're going to use it in the world of the future, in the.

We'll say the future of retail in this case.

Right.

And also I'm like, there's no way this plays out cleanly because we're training on AI.

The challenge with AI.

I was just talking to a CEO earlier this week about this.

The challenge with AI is as soon as you train it, it's old, it's different, there's a new model, there's a new integration.

It isn't something.

And not that tech hasn't always been a little bit that way, but AI is just moving at the speed of light, right?

So when you say things like AI certifications are available to employees, I think that's very meaningful.

I think that's the way training departments have typically operated inside of retail.

Like, we come up with this certification program, they learn it, they're trained on it, we're done.

Maybe there's a 2.0 next year.

This is going to be very different.

Like, I really feel for those internal training and development leaders on what on earth do we do with AI?

Because it's very much individualized.

Like, you can share how to use it and best practice.

But that individual, each employee, I believe, has to have the ownership and the curiosity to then continue, continue learning.

Because it's going to be different tomorrow and it's going to be have new data tomorrow.

So what advice would I have for Walmart?

I think they've got people much smarter than I in those seats that are figuring this out.

But I would just say we need to be very cognizant about continued learning.

I don't think it's a check mark and a certification.

I think it's a how do we stay in front of this forever?

I mean, forever is such a scary word.

Right?

But it's a forever project.

It's not a one and done.

Walmart's going to be done with this by 2027.

That doesn't make sense to me.

I think it's more just a new way of business.

It does that make sense, Chris?

It does, it does.

And yeah, and I don't think you should sell yourself short too, because I think this is a tough challenge for any executive who's facing it right now.

I mean, I'm happy to jump in and help them.

I'm just saying I'm certain, certain training and development teams across the nation are looking at this right now.

Right on how will we train and continue to train at the speed of light as we move forward?

Yeah, yeah.

And experience isn't something you have until after you need it, which is one of my favorite sayings of all time.

And no one has experience on how to do this.

No one.

Somebody could try to tell you that they do, but they're, they're lying, bald face lying to you if that's the case.

So you know, Jen, I, the word that I, that I kept coming back to you and think about this headline was gargantuan.

I mean, this is just a gargantuan effort.

And I applaud the effort.

I think like you said, it's something you have to do.

And so I was trying to think back, like if I was, if I was an executive sitting around with all the executives again and like say, you know, back in my Target days and Target was thinking about doing this, I think what I would have said to them is, or the, or the 2 cents I would have thrown in, which maybe it's not even worth 2 cents, would have been go slow and be deliberate.

And here's the other point I would make.

I would also start from the top down and roll out the training from there.

And the reason I say that is because the leaders have to understand it themselves in order to help guide their teams.

If you have everyone learning everything all at once, I feel like it could just create cultural confusion and a lot of uncertainty and certainty in your job and understanding what you have to do every day and what's asked of you is really important.

So I wouldn't want to rush this and get that out of whack, especially when things are going so well at Walmart.

So I just be very slow and deliberate and I'd probably go more top down than bottoms up on this.

I think it's interesting you say slow and deliberate because slow, it doesn't feel like you can move slow in the world of AI.

Like, oh, we're behind if we're not using this new version 5.0.

That does eight other things.

However, I agree with you on the slow, because what we're going to see and what I've already seen is this fatigue around change.

We're all used to change.

The only thing that's certain is change.

Right, we know that.

And if you're constantly pinging like, there's this new way, hey, guys, there's a new way.

We're going to train you on this today.

It has to be constant.

But at the same time, the word you use, deliberate.

Like, we have to think long and hard about where AI can make the biggest impact and where human interaction needs to stay as is.

Because I think there will be some that win by not moving forward with all of the AI.

Like, there are places we can use it and places we shouldn't.

And I think it's really important for businesses to be very clear about their intent on where we do not put AI into the process, if that makes sense.

It does.

And I think it's a great point to end on because I think, you know, the value of historical perspective is also important.

And so you and I also live through the e commerce boom of the past, you know, since the mid-90s.

And I think the thing.

The point I would make to what you just said is slow is very different than dismissive.

I think what got companies in trouble during E commerce was they were dismissive of it and just said, we're not going to do it.

It's fine.

We'll just put it to the side, let other people deal with it.

And then many of those companies are gone.

And so I think with AI, you have to be invested in it and want to apply it and wholeheartedly be all in on it.

But to your point, how do you tackle it and roll it out.

I think you have to be slow and deliberate and take off and bite it off with what.

What you're able to bite off, because you're still going to get the value from that.

That's how I think of it.

Yeah.

And just one last note here.

I have tried to wrap my head around in many conversations like, who's responsible?

Responsibility is this.

And I don't know, it is different in every organization, because is it.

Is it the CTO talking about the tech side of the things?

Is it the chro.

To figure out how do we develop our teams to, like, make sure they're implementing these AI pieces?

Is it each and every division or department like you and I have talked about, Chris, where it's like, no, every department head needs to be thinking about how they can use it in their space, but it is a job in itself to be exploring all of these options and understanding where they could fit in the process.

So it's almost like we need, like, a head of marketing and then a.

A pseudo what's next for AI position.

Right.

That in every department.

That is their support in exploring that.

Because it.

It's very.

The lines are very blurred on whose responsibility it can be because of the way it works and the way employees interface with it.

And it.

And it starts at the top.

I mean, it really does.

Like, if your CEO doesn't understand it.

Yes.

Which is why it was publicly said that Doug McMillan stepped down and they felt John Furneaux was the right one because they felt he was the right one to lead Walmart into this next age of AI.

It starts there.

And for what it's worth, I could not believe just the, The.

The.

The wonderful things people had to say about John.

I mean, I love the man, but the wonderful things people had to say about him at all the conferences I was at the past few weeks as they really believe he's the right person to do that.

And you're right, Jen.

I mean, it starts.

It starts there.

All right, let's go.

Let's go.

The lightning round, Jen.

The era of free refills say it isn't so, but the era of free refills at McDonald's is coming to an end as McDonald's looks to transform its operating model.

Jen, if you were to drink a soda at McDonald's, what soda would you choose and how many refills on average would you make in a given trip?

This is.

I missed this headline.

I didn't know it was over.

So I'm behind.

I would definitely Go Coke.

I'm not a Diet Coke girl.

I'm going Coke.

And everyone knows McDonald's.

Yeah, McDonald's Coke is different.

Right.

It's never tasted like another Coke.

So I would go Coke, and I would say, I'm one of those.

Like, I drink my Coke and I maybe top it off on my way out the door.

If I'm actually eating in restaurant, I'm not a.

You know, I'm not going back for three.

I'm not.

I'm not even probably a two.

Let's call it a one and a half, a full one, and then maybe I top it off for my drive out of there.

You, like, top.

You like to top it off.

You like to top off that high fructose corn syrup as much as just a little bit.

Just a little bit, yes.

And not that I frequent McDonald's regularly.

And if we do, it's like we're in a pinch.

Right.

So I'm not sitting in the restaurant to get my refill.

But when I let my kids know about this, they're going to be very bummed because that's, like, the only time they get more than one pop.

Right.

If the refills are free, it's like, have at it.

Kids have a heyday.

Yep.

And hence why they're changing their model, too, because they realize that they don't need to.

Because of my kids.

Yeah.

And your kids.

Because of the Hans changing their model.

Because of these children.

I have.

All right, Chris, I have one for you.

So round one of the NBA playoffs just wrapped up.

Who are you rooting for?

And with this many games, I mean, seven game series, they always weird me out.

Right.

Like, why do we have to have so many?

Are you actually watching them, or are you just living through the highlights?

I'm not watching them yet.

I usually start watching.

I usually start dialing in, like, in the conference championships and then the finals, and I do like watching those.

I don't really have a horse in the race this year, though.

And I'm not a Timberwolves fan for all those Minnesota people because I just.

I just can't get behind anything that Mark Laurie and Alex Rodriguez do.

So sorry, guys, but that's the way it is.

So I think I'm probably.

I think I'm probably going for.

Probably going for the Spurs.

I think I like the spurs.

Or maybe Oklahoma City, too.

Actually, I think I like Oklahoma City.

I don't.

I don't.

I don't.

I don't think Shay Gildous Alexander gets enough credit for just how good of a player he is.

So I'm changing my answer.

I'm going with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Yeah, I think he was on the 2K cover, like, a couple years ago.

I think he gets credit.

Yeah.

Yeah, he does.

Yeah, he does, but not as much as I think he deserves.

He's.

He's really, really, really, really good.

All right, chad.

It was May 4th on Monday, and Star wars fans reportedly streamed 33 billion minutes of the franchise in 2025.

What of the Star wars properties did you personally watch in 2025?

All I do is disappoint you when you ask me these types of questions, Chris.

It's like producer Ella and myself both like, you're asking questions about movies, and we're like, yeah, we don't know.

I don't believe I've ever seen a full Star wars movie, like, from start to end.

I know, that's wild.

I don't know why I don't have anything against it, but, no, I did not participate.

Taken May 4th.

And I didn't watch any of them in 2025.

Well, this is crazy because you dropped a movie reference earlier in the show that I didn't even know what you were talking about.

The smart home reference.

I have no idea what that is.

That was a Disney movie from, like, the 90s.

I mean, it's, you know, it's just different, Chris.

Yeah, shot through the heart on that one.

Oh, my God.

So you and your family, you're not going to rush out and see the Mandalorian and Grogu when it opens on May 22?

I didn't even know that was happening.

No.

I'm so far removed from Star Wars.

Are you a Star wars fan?

Oh, God, yes.

Oh, God, yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay, so which ones did you watch in 2025?

All of them.

Okay, so you definitely contributed to that 33 billion minutes.

Yes.

Yes.

10 Billion were.

Chris.

Okay.

Yeah.

It's probably easier for me to say which ones did I not watch?

Than which ones did.

Did I watch?

You know?

Wow.

Well, like I said, I have nothing against.

It's just something like, somehow I didn't catch the bug, and the rest of my family must not have either.

I don't know.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, something I get.

Pop culture.

Some people don't, Jed.

You know, that's just the way it goes.

Yeah.

It's not me.

It's okay.

I own it.

But something I do love tacos.

So let's talk about that.

So just yesterday, it was Cinco de Mayo.

And it fell on a Taco Bell Tuesday.

So this is very exciting, Chris.

I have to imagine Taco Bell is having a heyday with it in some way, shape or form.

What is your go to Taco Bell order?

Oh, my God.

Believe it or not, I have not eaten personally at a Taco Bell since college.

So I'm going on.

I'm going on almost 30 years since personally eating Taco Bell, but if you force me to go to Taco Bell, I just go.

I'd go bean and cheese burrito.

Jen.

Bean and cheese burrito.

What about you?

Okay, well, I'm surprised by that answer.

You seem surprised.

Well, I have questions about how you haven't been there in so long, but my go to order, so I'm a Cheesy Gordita Crunch girl.

And then I feel like you can't sleep on the Mexican pizza.

It's like the oldie but the goodie.

It's just.

Yeah, that's a good call.

It's just amazing.

And the kids today don't know anything about it.

Yeah, that's a good call, but it's.

Not like I'm there every week either.

But I definitely have been there since college.

So it was this a conscious choice where you're like, I'm done with Taco Bell or you just haven't been through.

I don't understand.

Yeah, no, it was.

It was a conscious choice that.

That I'm done with Taco Bell.

The gastrointestinal track of.

Does not.

Just not particularly enjoy the aftermath of a Taco Bell experience.

I've taken my kids there, but I have never.

I have not eaten a Taco Bell in 30 years.

I have not.

Wow.

Yeah.

Okay, well, I guess we're gonna have to think harder about our lightning round questions, because I have not seen Star wars and you have not been to Taco Bell, and I would have thought for sure you've been to Taco Bell in 30 years.

But.

But it makes for great.

It makes for great podcasting Jet.

Especially with Ella.

Ella, come on in this show producer Ella.

Especially with Ella nodding her head vociferously in for the Gordina Crunch.

Ella, I take it you.

I tell you that's your staple.

Yes.

I'm so happy you said that, Jen.

I literally had that three days ago.

And for some reason I have this thing in my head that Taco Bell is healthy.

I mean, it's definitely healthy, and I don't know what else you would call it, Ella, but we.

Chris, the Cheesy Gordita Crunch I mean, you've got the soft shell, the cheese, then the hard shell.

I mean, we try and recreate them at home.

It's a whole.

You need it.

Oh, yeah, right.

No, I just remember back to my science teacher in high school saying the reason he doesn't eat a Taco Bell is it's the only restaurant where they don't.

I don't know if this is still true, so sorry if it's not.

But he said, because this was true back in the day in 1995, it's the only restaurant that doesn't require their employees to handle meat or to wear gloves to handle meat.

And Sounds like.

Yeah, that's a really good point.

Yeah, I hadn't thought about that.

It's not.

There's no way.

We're gonna.

Yeah, we're gonna check that out, because there's no way.

Taco Bell.

No way.

Definitely true.

But I remember people, like, putting their hands in the meat at my high school.

That was disgusting, but, yeah, it was so gross.

That is not true.

Oh, my God.

My friends worked there.

It was crazy.

But I was like, yeah, all right, let's do it.

You know, you never know what's going on at a qsr.

But without a glove on.

Yes, yes.

No plastic.

They.

Number one, they didn't require you wear.

Use plastic gloves.

And hopefully you weren't putting your hands directly in the meat.

But occasionally, you know, things would happen, but I don't.

I doubt that's the case anymore.

I doubt that's the case anymore.

So that kind of soured me on Taco Bell going into college, and then, you know, I was done with it after that.

Okay, all right, well, coming for you.

Taco Bell's coming for you now.

Oh, my God.

Yes.

I'm gonna get, like, a whole.

Taco Bell's gonna listen to this, and they just ship me a whole thing of chalupas.

Ella.

Ella, come on in here.

Which.

Save me.

Save me.

Ella.

Produce.

Ella.

What?

What?

What headline discussion won the show for you this week?

I. I'm curious.

What.

Which one did you find the most interesting or delightful that got your mind going?

Yeah, well, on that note, I mean, what do you think, Chris?

What do you think it is?

Oh, my God.

I. I gotta think back on this one.

I think it actually might be the AI one.

Mm.

Yeah, you're actually right.

Yes.

Incredible.

I did have a lot of thoughts on Walmart, but that wasn't my favorite headline.

But I think, yes, the winner is anthropic, mainly because of the.

Yes.

The personalization piece.

I think it's.

If what they're saying is true and the personalization and the integration is easy for someone like myself who, you know, a recent grad, like, price is important.

I want the cheapest things so I can get out of my nana's basement.

Like, all these things.

Right.

This is very important to me.

So I am definitely going to dive in here and see if I can, you know, get some cash.

Right.

See if it works for you, you know, or see what it's going to take to get it to work for you.

Like that?

Yeah.

100.

That's fantastic.

Wow.

I can't believe I got.

I'm shocked I picked that.

Right?

I was, like, grasping for straws this week, but hey.

All right.

Well, that closes us up.

Happy birthday today to someone.

Jen will have no idea who it is, but General Thrawn, who is played by Lars Mickelson producer Al, has no idea either.

Adrian Poliki.

And to someone who I know they will know.

To the sexiest man to ever walk the earth, George Clooney.

And remember, if you can only read or listen to one retail blog in the business, both of them are shaking their heads.

Yes, again, in the background.

Make it Omnitalk.

Our Fast Five podcast is the quickest, fastest rundown of all the week's top news.

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Let's go.

That is insane.

Yeah, let's go.

That's right.

All right, Jen, before we let you.

You go.

If people want to get in touch with you, what's the best way for them to do that?

They can find me on LinkedIn.

Jen Hahn.

H A, H, N. Oh, and Jen has two N's.

We always say they can also find us on our website, jrecrucruitingservices.com and jrecruiting has a LinkedIn page as well.

Well, Jen, thanks for being with us.

I had a ton of fun today.

I hope you did, too.

On behalf of Jen producer Ella and myself and all of us at Omnitok retail.

As always, be careful out there.