Walmart’s New Mobile Locks, Instacart’s Big Week & E.l.f. Beauty’s Dollar General Plans!

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To Omnitalk's Retail Fast Five, ranked in the top 10% of all podcasts globally and currently the only retail podcast ranked in the top 100 of all business podcasts on Apple Podcasts.

The Retail Fast Five is the podcast that we hope makes you feel a little smarter, but most importantly, a little happier each week too.

And the Fast 5 is just one of the many great podcasts that you can find from the Omnitalk Retail Podcast Network alongside our Retail Daily Minute, which brings you a curated selection of the most important retail headlines every morning and our Retail Technology Spotlight series which goes deep each week on the latest retail technology Trends.

Today is November 13, 2024.

I'm one of your hosts, Ann Mazinga.

And I'm Chris Walton, and we are.

Here once again to discuss all the top headlines from the past week making waves in the world of omnichannel retailing.

Chris, before we dive in, would you like to ask me about the Donegal that I'm donning today?

Your.

Your Donegal sweater and I don't know, would you like me to ask you about it?

I would.

You love.

You love everything Irish.

So I thought that you would appreciate this Donegal sweater.

I'm definitely down with County Donegal.

Is there a reason you're wearing it, though?

Like what they tell and what is that reason?

Yes.

So as some of our Omnitack viewers may have seen, I have started a new series along with retail stylist Ann Marshik.

And we have been diving into fashion's missing middle, Chris, which is covering all.

It's.

It's all the fashion retailers that still have fashionable products and there's still style to be found.

That's not fast fashion and that's not super high end luxury.

And so this week we just released our last one.

We covered Lands End.

So there are some really great things, including this dominant sweater at Land's End.

And especially for the gentleman, Chris.

Especially for the gentleman who appreciate.

This is actually a men's Donegal sweater that I'm wearing today.

Sweater.

Wow.

You can have your very own Donegal sweater from Donegal County.

Is that what you said?

Donegal County.

Done.

County.

Yeah, yeah.

County Donegal.

Yes, Donegal.

Okay.

But Ann, so.

So I want to make sure I understand this for the audience.

So middle.

Middle is meant to connote the middle part between fashion and high end luxury.

Not middle aged.

Right?

That's not.

Or is it a little bit of both?

I mean, what are.

You can define your own middle?

We are exploring specifically retailers who are at the malls.

Land Zen is at a lot of local strip malls.

So like something that's middle of the road, price point.

But if you're middle aged as I am, you could also use this as your moment to shine with fashion's missing middle.

That's totally fine.

Accepting you.

Are we.

Are we middle aged now?

Are.

Is that true?

Is that.

Is that what we are?

Are we technically middle aged?

I mean, I think so, right?

Like, what's the life expectancy?

Kind of like 80, kind of.

Yeah.

I'm more than halfway there, so I must be middle aged.

Yeah, I think it's like 74 or 72 for a guy.

You're gonna outlive me.

But I think, yeah, I think.

Yeah, that's.

That's a scary thought.

To start this podcast, I think.

I think we better get to some fun headlines now.

Anne, what do you think?

Okay, let's go into it.

Now that you've already made our death, our eminent death feel even closer than it should be, we should definitely get headlines.

I've got less than 30 years.

Okay.

All right.

It's this week's Fast Five.

We've got news on elf beauty expanding in Dollar General.

A flurry of announcements From Instacart surrounding its connected store initiative, Lowe's debuting a new home platform for its loyalty members and Amazon opening up eight new Amazon Fresh stores.

But we begin today with news that is just too good to keep under lock and key.

And do you see what I did there?

I did, I did.

Brilliant transition, Chris.

Headline number one.

I worked hard on that one.

I know, I know you did.

Walmart is testing new technology in stores that would let people open security locks for products with their cell phones.

According to Bloomberg, the technology is currently live in a few hundred Walmart stores and right now only allows employees to unlock cases without manually using keys.

Well, the company is rolling out the test to its employees first.

It has reportedly also discussed extending mobile unlocking to Walmart plus loyalty members.

Chris, this is also where AM is going to put you on the spot with the A&M CRG question, Chris.

They want to know being able to unlock secured products on shelf yourself versus waiting for employees would be a meaningful time saver and consumer experience benefit.

But Chris, would you have any concerns about the exclusivity of restricting this to Walmart plus members?

Ooh, and that is an awesome question.

We're starting out hot.

Right out of the gates.

My short answer to that question is 100% yes.

I would have probably have concerns, yes.

But I'll come back to that in a second because I think there's a lot of ground to cover with this story.

So first of all, I love this idea as a test.

You know, having worked in a Target store where I had to find a key to unlock the video game cabinets when I did not have one, was always a major pain in the ass and was definitely a big customer disappointment when, you know, you go to ask the employee that doesn't have it and you don't have it and you just gotta wait and you gotta find it.

And there's far more mobile devices going around in a store than there are like sets of keys.

That's my opinion anyway.

Right.

So, you know, with that said, I think enabling employees to unlock cabinets via mobile devices, you can also personally identify the user that way too, which when in comparison to a key, you can give that key to anyone you don't know who's unlocking that cabinet.

So that has, you know, shrink implications as well.

So all that makes this a big win in my book from a test perspective.

But now the rumors that they're going to be again experimenting this, experimenting with this for Walmart Plus, I hate that idea.

Oh really?

Because Walmart is.

Yeah, I Hate it, Ann, because Walmart's essentially saying it to its customers.

Look, you're okay to unlock the cabinets because you're paying us $98 per year.

That just doesn't smell right to me.

Like, why can I get my Tide from a cabinet?

Because I'm paying $98 per year, I'm going into Walmart, I should be able to get the same benefits.

So I'm all for experimenting with the Walmart app being a tool to unlock a cabinet, but not Walmart Plus.

It's just, it's not in the ethos of Walmart.

And the other point I would make, even with the Walmart app, you could put some type of extra identity verification in that app to enable any consumer to unlock a cabinet.

So, so, so that's why I like, I like where this could go.

But at the end of the day, I hate the idea of Walmart plus being the conduit by which people as consumers can unlock these cabinets.

What do you think?

I mean, you sound like you disagree.

I mean, I think that there's a huge opportunity here and I think you're nailing it with the Walmart app.

I think that very similar to how Target is doing, like Target Circle I think is a great analog for this where you don't have to pay to be part of Target Circle.

It's just the basic loyalty program.

I do think that it would be okay for Walmart to include this as part of the perks of a regular loyalty program.

I don't know that it makes sense for us to have, you know, for it to just be for Walmart plus members.

But I think, like, this is a huge advantage and it should, you know, there should be some identifier if this is truly the way that Walmart's going to go about this.

And I still don't know that I agree that, you know, keeping things under lock and key is the best experience as it is.

Like, I'm, I'm much more.

That's a whole another point.

Yeah, I'm much more of a proponent of going the Sam's Club way of things where, you know, you're identifying yourself upon entering and then you, you just, you'd have zero disruption to the shopping experience.

I also think, like, if now customers are opening up the doors, like, how do they get locked again?

Like, I haven't seen these devices.

I know a lot of retailers are testing them, but I haven't seen these devices firsthand for myself.

So something kind of makes me curious about, like, is this really going to Stop shrink in the long term, if, you know, somebody leaves the door open or something happens after they grab their soap and knowing, you know, just the traffic and throughput into a mass merchandise store like a Walmart, like, that's bound to happen.

So I guess I have a lot of concerns about, like, the bigger problem here of how are you going to identify who's in your store and provide an optimal shopping experience for those people.

And I think that it's, you know, having, having an app identify you that you don't have to pay for, that's one way of doing it.

But I really think it gets down to the bigger issue of, like, how are you doing controlled entry and exit of the store?

Or like, what's the real investment to make this shopping experience optimal for the future?

Yeah, it's funny, my mind wanted to go there too, like the controlled entry and exit point.

But the one thing that I don't think any of us really understand yet too, is how much, how much of the shrink problem is employee related versus how much is consumer related too.

So in a way this helps solve the employee issue, which a controlled entry and exit doesn't necessarily.

Now, my hunch is that it's still a little bit of both and probably more on the consumer side than the employee side, quite honestly, because you can monitor your employees a lot more closely than you can your consumers, and you can take action on them much more swiftly than you can your consumers too.

So, yeah, I think at the end of the day, like, you're right.

Like, if this is the experience that we're going to end up creating, it's not a great experience.

And I'd rather just, you know, come up with some new way to identify, identify myself at entry.

Like, whether it's like, hey, do I have to show my id?

Do I have to get my credit card to enter?

If I don't have one, do I go to the Walmart help desk and sign up for one?

You know, so you're not limiting anyone, you're just requiring that as a step to shop.

And, and you know, we've talked about it a lot.

Do we start to see that more?

I don't know.

I just like that I'm with you.

I like that idea better than what this is doing.

But this, given the constraints, is still like, I, I think it's a smart test, particularly for the employee side of things.

Yeah, I mean, I think the other thing too is like, they're, you know, do you feel the same way about scan and go?

Like, should scan And Go then be limited just to Walmart plus members like it is right now too.

So like could you start to unlock that?

If again like does Walmart to your point because they, they have this ethos like do you just create new abilities in the app because Walmart's still getting data from the customers, then they're still identifying the customers in that scenario.

But can it be something that's available to everyone versus you know, just people who are paying that, that upper level Wallet Plus?

Yeah.

And we're going to go long here on this one in particular because this, there's a lot here in this story.

And your question about Scan and Go is interesting too because I had a conversation with the Business Insider reporter this week.

He asked me that exact same question, you know, and what I told him is like Scan and Go is standing scanning.

Go is an opt in to use.

I can choose to shop the store that way but unfortunately if I want to go buy it by tide behind a locking cabinet, everyone is forced to shop that way.

That's why this feels different to me.

And it's asking the Walmart, it's delineating the Walmart clusters too much if you go the Walmart plus angle to unlock the cabinet.

So I don't know.

But yeah, there's, there's a lot of ground on this story that just makes your mind go, whoa, let me stop and think about what the right approach is here.

All right.

Headline number two in its earnings call last Wednesday, Elf Beauty CEO announced plans to expand with Dollar General stores.

Quote we're pleased to announce we'll be expanding will be expanding Elf to a subset of Dollar General stores in November.

Elf Beauty CEO Tarang P.

Amin said during the brand's 2025 Q2 earnings call on Wednesday.

And as restated by Glossy quote, Dollar General has a stated strategy of serving the underserved with 80% of its stores serving markets of 20, 000 people or less.

With this launch, we hold true to our mission to democratize access who otherwise wouldn't have the best of beauty, particularly in rural areas which have traditionally been served by only the major legacy brands.

And yes, how will Elf Beauty's expansion into Dollar General impact the beauty retail landscape?

What is your take on this headline?

This is a massive opportunity for E L F and I cannot wait to see what this, this test proves out for them because I think that you, you traditionally look at the dollar store market and it's the, it's the legacy brands that are in there, the Maybellines, the COVID Girls, you know, it's, it's middle of the road product and for those who aren't familiar with elf, it's really this like elevated beauty product.

If you look online like this product wins consistently time after time wins awards for being like best in beauty.

And it really is kind of that, that upper, lower end tier, like the top of the lower end tier pricing.

But you get really great higher quality products than you do with a lot of the legacy brands.

And so I think, you know, what really, what really was an eye opener for me when I heard this was an experience I had recently where my kids, they wanted to go to the five below dollar store and I was surprised when I was in there with them, like they started carrying some of these products and I was surprised that you know, typically I would just let them run free and like they would pick out their stuff and we'd go check out.

But I was actually surprised that I was, I was in the beauty section just checking it out and sure enough, you know, they have some of these products that ordinarily I'd have to go to a Walmart to get or I'd have to go to a Target to get and now I could get those products in that same place.

So I think as Dollar General especially is continuing this massive expansion, to be able to have yet another product for me to pick up while I'm on that dollar store trip could prevent me potentially from having to make another trip to a Target or Walmart and could start to steal share from some of those stores.

So I love this move.

I think tons of opportunity, especially in some of these rural areas where again like you said in the intro, there's not access to these high quality beauty products, especially at this price point.

So I love it.

Right, so and let's play a game here.

So let's say, let's say like 10 years from now, ELF has expanded across the country in Dollar General stores.

They've expanded their beauty lines in general across Dollar General stores.

Who wins and who loses in that?

I mean, I guess we know who wins, who loses in that.

If in that eventuality, should that happen in your mind in the landscape, I.

Mean I think that you start to look at the product set, the exclusivity that some of these dollar stores are getting with some of these brands.

And I think, like I said, I mean I think you start to look at Walmart and Target really, really starting to be in a position even, even, you know, and potentially even Amazon for some of these same day purchases like, you know, Beauty is still not a place where I think a lot of people are going to Amazon first for these products.

But yeah, I mean you've got a great quality product here.

You're saving yourself a trip.

And I think, you know, we've, we're starting to see so many more categories and so many more reasons to shop the dollar concept both from an product availability perspective and from a price point that, that I think, I think we could start to see some share stolen from, from a Walmart.

But what about you?

That's interesting.

Yeah, no, I mean I don't disagree with you, but I think, I think, I think about it a little bit differently.

I think if you're Walmart, I think you're okay because you are bolstered by the grocery trip.

You might lose a little bit of your business in the category.

But if you're the beneficiary of an auxiliary trip, like your point about the trip is really interesting.

So by that I mean if you're a Target or an Alta, this move I think hurts you big time over time.

And it all goes back to me, to that age old accent.

We've discussed and debated on this show a lot and involves Clayton Christian's theory of low end disruptions.

That customers who do not need the full performance valued by customers at the high end of the market will therefore always go where their needs are met at the lowest cost to them.

And so Dollar General is serving that need in this case.

And so that cost could be the low cost of the items at Dollar General or the fact that as you mentioned that you no longer need to take that extra chip to a Target or Ulta.

And the other part about this and I think is really interesting if we step back, Target particularly has a ton of risk here in the long run because you have a one stop mass merchant competitor that basically is Walmart so far to date.

But with this elf beauty news, you've got dollar Generals pushing to food as well.

You've got their pop shelf concept expanding.

That day could be coming soon when there's a dollar store one stop shop concept here in the next five to ten years and, and that when that happens, Target's not going to know what hit it I think and that's why this is a really interesting headline too.

Yeah, I don't, I don't think you can just put Target in that category though, Chris.

I still think Walmart's at risk too, especially when you look at the, because of the footprint like where people are going to get and especially if they do start to have groceries that are available.

Like even the people that still have to drive 25 minutes to a Walmart, if they can go to their dollar store that's on their main street in town, that could start to steal share too, I think.

But I think your points are solid in that the Dollar store is coming for the mass merchant and our economy, especially right now, is absolutely ready for a lower price option.

Yeah, the Dollar Store one stop shop is an untapped idea, you know, and what does that look like and how big is it and what products are in it?

Like that's what's happening here in our minds, I think.

Yeah.

Great discussion.

All right, let's go on to headline number three, Chris.

We saw this week a flood of announcements from Instacart retailers in Australia to small regional grocers like Bowman's Market and Queen's Price Chopper are reportedly rolling out its caper cartoon.

But the announcement I particularly want to key in on today has to do with its carrot tags.

According to an Instagram press release, Aldi Gelson's and Hornbachers are now leveraging Instacart's carrot tags.

And for those keeping score at home, or for those who may be listening to Omnitalk for the first time, Carrot tags is the name of Instacart's software solution that seamlessly integrates into a retailer's electronic shelf labels or ESL hardware to enable incremental functionality, including pick to light capabilities.

Chris, I have to know, what do you make of this bevy of announcements from Instacart this week?

Yes, and I think I would call it a deluge.

It's a deluge of announcements overall.

Donegals and deluge.

The theme of deluge.

Yes, great alliteration too.

And well, whenever I see a deluge of announcements like this, I'm always a little skeptical.

Right.

And because you have to ask yourself, like, why so many, like why is Instacart trying to position itself in this manner?

That's the question that came to my head first and foremost.

And to that question, I honestly have no idea.

But something is likely driving it and I think it's a good question to ask.

Now to the two announcements in question, Smart carts and carrot Tags.

I think first of all, there's no surprise coming out of Grocery Shop one month ago to see the interest in the smart cart, Right.

And these implementations still seem very small scale because I couldn't find anything, but I couldn't find any references to the store counts that are, you know, piloting these Smart cards, which is typical of the caper card announcements if you look back in history.

But now the carrot tags and this one I think is really interesting.

On the one hand, I love that you're seeing more grocers find value in electronic shelf labels, but I do take some umbrage with what Instacart is calling their API call to that tag as a carrot tag.

Because it's not a tag.

So in a way, you know, it's not, it's just a software that works with the tag.

So in a way it feels like Instacart is trying to take credit for ESL expansions across the industry.

Oh my God.

And in reality, it's just providing the software for those that want to use their software to coordinate picking with their esl.

So maybe a small nitpick and maybe, but I think calling something a tag when it really isn't a tag is a little bit misleading.

And that's.

I was, I suppose you think the same thing.

Like, I think, and I think when you read the headline of the press release, new Grocers adopting Instacarts carrot tags, that if you're not really, you know, skilled or fluent in how this stuff works, that's what you're going to think.

So that's why I don't like it.

I think I got to call it out.

Yeah, I totally agree.

When I read this headline, I was like, these ESLs, in the majority of cases, one of the main reasons that grocers are adopting them is because they come equipped with pick to light functionality.

Like that's the selling point.

And you don't want to be limited for that pixel light just for Instacart shoppers or just for, you know, your consumers in store.

Like it's, it's gotta be available to everybody.

So yes, Instacart you are tying into that.

And if I'm an Instacart shopper using a capricart walking through, or I'm a consumer using a Capricorn walking through, like, yes, they're talking to each other, that's great.

However, that's not the only way to shop this.

And I totally agree.

I was like, this is a lot of, a lot of news coming out of Instacart taking credit for a lot of things that I, I'm not quite sure that they should, I don't know that they should be owning.

But it does show that more in, more grocers are getting on board with Instacart.

And that's the thing.

Regardless of what the Arrangement looks like.

Yes.

I think that's the key thing to point out here.

That became very apparent to me for sure during grocery shop.

And I think you too is like, how.

How much grocers are relying on Instacart and the potential that Instacart has to further penetrate.

Penetrate grocery in ways that I.

I didn't.

I, you know, I have to admit I didn't.

I didn't think grocers would be all in on to this level.

But.

But yes, the carrot tags.

Let's go.

Easy, Easy there.

Yeah, I, I mean, I think it just needs a rebrand, honestly.

Like, if you're gonna keep doing this, you gotta rebrand.

You can't call it a tag.

Like, you know, even, even, even the, even the, the release says, like, schnooks has our carrot tags.

They don't have your tags.

They have the user API call.

Like, that's just a different thing.

So I don't know, maybe they'll rebrand it.

Maybe they listen to our show and they'll be like, yeah, Chris and Ann, they know what they're talking about.

We should change their name.

Don't you.

Don't question.

Don't you question though.

Like, I wonder as an instacart like, salesperson, like, are you even going in there and can you go into a grocer and are you leading with like carrot tags?

I.

Do you want our carrot tags or do you want our pick to light functionality?

Right.

I know, right?

Yeah, I just have a hard time believing that.

Okay, well, let's 100, let's go on.

We're not.

Great point.

So let's move on to headline number four.

We.

We're salespeople.

A lot of the time.

I'd say 80% of our job is selling.

We're not carrot tanks.

Sales people.

Yeah, we're not selling carrot tags, though.

Yes.

At least not yet.

Headline number four.

Lowe's has debuted a digital home platform for its loyalty members.

According to Retail Touchpoints, Lowe's has introduced a digital home platform that offers members of the retailers my rewards.

My Lowe's rewards program free personalized information about the products in their homes, which includes warranties, manuals, maintenance guidelines, how to content, recommended subscriptions, and replacement parts.

While the platform's initial launch focuses on home appliances, the retailer is planning to eventually expand it to include other aspects of home maintenance.

Customers who purchase a major appliance connected to their my Lowe's rewards account within the past five years will automatically see the appliances displayed in their member profile.

And this Was kind of my headline of the week here, or one of my headline picks of this week.

Are you buying or selling Lowe's new digital home platform for its loyalty member?

Look, I.

Like, we've talked about, I just moved into a new house.

Yeah, you're into the home buying situation.

Yes.

If I could have, like, I.

I get the value of this because we are trying to find, like, light bulbs and light switches and all kinds of things here.

But my question is, is this really something that Lowe's should be doing?

Like, is.

Is Lowe's the person that should be owning this?

I don't think so.

Like, if I were Lowe's, I feel like I would be looking to your partners who are already managing the home.

So Google Home or Alexa or, you know, what are the other smart systems that are.

That people are already buying into because of their TVs, their Ring doorbells, you know, all these other smart home things.

I think Lowe's would be smart to position itself as, like, a partner within this that integrates into one of those or both of those systems, instead of me having to have another Lowe's app for something.

Like, I don't think that that part makes sense because I think, you know, it has to be integrated into something that I'm already using.

I don't see myself.

Even if I bought all my appliances from Lowe's, I just.

I don't see myself going in and like, using that on a regular basis because it's not something that I need to access every day.

So I guess if I would.

If I were to proceed, I would.

I would continue with this path.

I think Lowe's has got a good thing going.

I would add everything, though, like, all my purchase history from Lowe's, like paint colors, light bulbs, and, you know, my appliances into a larger home management application.

But that's.

That's just me.

I know you like this, so explain to me why.

I don't know.

Actually, I like it less now.

Okay.

I like it less now because I thought you presented a really cogent argument there.

I think it's.

I think it's your point about who has the right to win in this idea.

If it's a good idea is interesting because, you know, you're not going to make all your purchases at Lowe's, generally speaking, but maybe the.

My.

My Lowe's Rewards members are.

Maybe those are the people that are, like, really in love with Lowe's and they buy all their stuff at Lowe's.

So, you know, if I go down that road, I kind of like the idea, but I don't.

I don't love the idea, but I.

I do think.

I think this is where you're thinking, too, is like, I think it's a good experiment.

Right.

But the trick is, of course, like, how do you get people.

How do you get people to use it?

But because if you can't get them to use it, it's going to be a very sticky experience because, like you said, coordinating your warranty and repair information across all your plants is not something easy to do.

And if Lowe's can make that easy for me, and I shop at Lowe's a lot, then there's value there.

And.

Yeah.

And Lowe's should.

Should at least be able to get people to set this up very easily, too, because I think you can incent people to use it to interact with it.

Lowe's can ultimately pipe retail media into it.

Right.

As well.

So I think so from a test perspective, I'm like, why not?

That's what I say.

But I think your question about who has the right to win is really interesting, Chris.

Does this change.

So you're one of those people that's good and has one of the programs where, like, you have the home service plus or whatever, the coverage to, like, make sure that all of your appliances are warrantied at any given time.

What if Lowe's added something, a service component to this?

Does that change your opinion of it?

Because that.

That might slightly skew where I.

A hundred percent.

Because that's when you said, who has the right to win on this.

I think that was where my mind went exactly.

It was a service like that.

Whoever is going to maintain your furnace and your air conditioning unit is going to be the primary person that you want to house this information, because that's how you're going to be coordinating this.

So, yes, if Lowe's can partner with somebody like that, or Lowe's starts that owns their own service themselves, which they may even have.

I have no idea.

Right.

Then, yes, I like this idea a lot more.

And I think that's what you're thinking too, right?

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

I mean, that's the totally different business model, but I think, again, it makes sense of, like, then there's the.

Like, it gets back to what we were saying, too.

Like, then there's the incentive to be going to that or to be using it or looking at it more on a more frequent basis.

So.

All right, Lowe's, let us know.

Let us know.

Provider of the new furnace or whatever, you know, in that situation.

Exactly.

Exactly.

When it breaks down.

Which it will, Ann.

Which it will.

I'm not ready to hear that yet.

Okay, Chris, headline number five.

Amazon Fresh is not dead.

Yes.

According to Grocery Dive.

Not dead yet.

According to Grocery Dive, Amazon confirmed the opening of eight stores across five states and will continue to selectively add locations based on consumer response.

After surpassing the 50 store mark in September, Amazon Fresh's footprint now consists of 60 stores after the company recently opened three stores in California, two in New York, and one each in Maryland and Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The company confirmed the locations range from 31,000 to 59,000 square feet.

And Amazon is, quote, encouraged by early signs, end quote, coming from stores that follow the refresh design.

It debuted in Chicago and Southern California last year.

Chris, do these Amazon Fresh new store openings change your mind at all about Amazon's grocery strategy?

We're back talking about Amazon grocery strategy.

And I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking, no, not a bit.

Not a bit.

Not a bit.

No, no, no.

You know, when I, when I read this headline, I think on the plus side, I could say that at least geographically, they're keeping them concentrated to specific markets, Right?

They're not like building one random one in Kansas, for example, you know, so, so sure, that's good.

That's, I mean, small win, but you got to take them where you can.

But with that said, I think what I find most interesting about this headline is the undertone, the undertone of the headlines as I read about them this week.

It's all about the quote, testing and learning.

And those are my quotes.

Really.

Those are Joey Tribbiani quotes.

It's all about testing and learning.

It's not anything about why people should change their grocery shopping habits and shop these new Amazon Fresh stores.

I got news for you, Amazon.

Once you get to 60 stores operating on both coasts in Illinois, it gets a lot harder and harder to refresh in those investments into something that is captivating.

Because at, at 60 stores, and I mean, you know, it, you're already kind of a chain.

You know, you're a chain, you're a grocery chain at 60 stores.

And so generally speaking, when you're at 60 stores, you got a prototype that works.

And that's not the case here if you're still testing and learning.

So, you know, I think at the end of the day, we step back here.

We think Amazon just got ahead of itself with just walkout technology being the hook and it's expansion plans and, you know, they're just Likely saying test and learn because they quite honestly know they just don't have a strategy that's that captivating, that is that convincing.

It's going to work.

Right now that's my opinion on this story.

But I'm curious what you think.

Yeah, I mean, I agree.

I'm, I'm really curious as these stores are rolling out to see what is pulled, if anything from the tests that we've talked about over the last couple of weeks that are being conducted with the, you know, the attached automated warehouses or the attack, you know, the different concepts that they've been testing in some of the other newer stores.

But the other thing too, Chris, for me, especially given the story we just talked about with Dollar General and Elf and you know, their expansion, especially as they go into food, like I think low prices are going to be key here and if I'm Amazon fresh, I think right.

Based on what they've learned so far, like you are going to, to me the key benefit here is going to be can you get the lowest prices possible on the highest quality food.

Like can you be the elf beauty of food?

Is that a survivable strategy for Amazon?

Because it's not about the experience based shopping like you talked about.

It's not about just walk out anymore.

Like there's not enough of a reason to go to these stores.

So I'm really, I'm really curious to see like what they do end up changing and hopeful that this isn't just like, you know, they've been, these stores have been vacant for seven years and they've decided to, you know, do a concept in here again or something.

So it's there, there's a lot that, there's a lot that they have to do to win and I, I don't know that they're ready to do it based on what we've heard in the last few months.

Well, you have, you bring up two questions I want to ask you based on what you said.

So like one, well one, one more is a statement.

The other one's a question.

So like the first, the first one about low price, like how are you going to, how are you going to conceivably compete on scale and low prices when you have Walmart and 4600 stores and you've got the likes of Aldi, you know as well, like that just seems like an impossible thing when you've got 60 stores of produce and meats and all that kind of stuff.

So like that just seems impossible.

But the other point I want to ask you about is, like, because you brought up.

You're interested in seeing the tests, right?

Like, you know, do they start incorporating some of the other tests we've seen, like, the warehouse, you know, in, you know, alongside the store or whatnot.

But, like, I'm asking you, does.

I mean, we've talked about this a little bit, but I don't think we talked about it as overtly.

Like, does the idea that you can buy Pepsi from a micro warehouse while you're shopping a store make you want to go to that store?

No, no.

Like, it doesn't.

It doesn't do.

It does.

Jack.

All for me, honestly, like, that doesn't make me want to switch from Kroger or Walmart or anywhere else I'm going.

Like, does it?

I mean, when you think about it.

That way, yeah, it's another step.

It's like kind of the opposite, which is funny.

It's kind of the opposite of what just walk out would to do.

It's like, now we're gonna create a new grocery store, and you're gonna have to shop another new way that's less convenient.

Like, now you have to put in your order for your Pepsi and your lay's potato chips in a separate way than you.

You could have before, or you could just go to Kroger across the street and get it all done in one.

One fell swoop.

But, yeah, it reminds me of the analogy that somebody told us when we started entrepreneurship, where they said entrepreneurship is like you're drowning trying to save a kid, and somebody throws another kid and asks you to save them too.

You know, like, here you go.

That kind of feels like Amazon's grocery strategy right now.

I don't know.

But, hey, got to do what you got to do.

Test and learn.

Test and learn, always.

You can never argue with test and learn and never.

Oh, God.

The cities are probably happy that.

That they're going back into these vacant buildings that have been sitting there.

At least I'm sure that's the.

That may might be the part of this.

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right, Chris, let's go to the lightning round.

Question number one for you.

Viori just hit a $5.5 billion evaluation, thanks to their latest $825 million funding round.

If Lululemon and Vi were side by side in the mall, which one are you going to first?

Oh, I think you're the same on this one, but I'm curious.

I want to hear what you think, too, but for me, it's Lululemon.

Like, yeah, the.

The Fiori stuff.

Does not fit my tall torsoed body very well.

And you know, it just, it just.

Doesn'T more than put it out there.

Needed to know.

But yes, I think generally speaking, that's.

A problem for me.

But you are too.

Okay, yeah, generally speaking, I have problems with everything that fits me, but Lululemon does it better than, than Viori for me.

But what about you?

You're the same way.

No, I, I, I'm still, I'm still kind of a Lululemon loyalist.

I've got a few Viori products that are very nice, but I also, I don't know.

It's, it's not.

Yeah, I don't know.

I'm, I'm gonna still go to Lulu first.

Sorry, Viori.

Yeah, I do.

Yeah, you're good.

You can still get a sizable chunk of the market.

All right.

And a raccoon was recently seen falling from the ceiling at LaGuardia Airport.

Where does a falling raccoon rank in terms of the worst things you have encountered at the most godforsaken place on Earth, aka the LaGuardia Airport?

You know, I feel really bad when I read this headline because LaGuardia has done such a good job cleaning itself.

They have.

In fairness.

They have.

Oh, my God.

They are just.

It's like unrecognized.

It's a great airport now.

Airports gotten so much better.

But I mean, I saw somebody that was.

Yeah, I.

The bathrooms at LaGuardia, you never know what you're gonna find in there.

You think Vegas is bad, but I've seen, I've seen things that I will never unsee in the bathroom at LaGuardia Airport.

So I'm going to say that's, that's worse than a raccoon falling from the sky.

Although that would be very, very bad.

Worst bathrooms worth worst bathrooms in airports.

Real quick.

And rankings.

One is LaGuardia.

Two is Dallas.

Love three.

Las Vegas.

That's my top three worst bathroom airports.

I think this might have to be a breakout session where we stand alone show.

Because it is different for the women.

I think there are definitely.

Right.

There are definitely different experiences for women in bathrooms.

I would say Amsterdam.

Worst airport or sorry, worst bathrooms in the entire.

You're bringing international into this, into this question now.

Oh, my God.

We're gonna put you in a hot, steamy dungeon in the basement.

And there's only three stalls, so good luck.

And everybody just got off an eight hour flight.

Okay.

Yes.

All right, Chris, question number three.

Got to give a shout out to our Omnistar.

Allison Peterson, who just opened Carter's first ever 7,000 square foot flagship store in Atlanta last week, complete with a mother's lounge for nursing moms, a gift wrapping area, a gift shop, and a toddler tested playhouse for independent play while their adults shop.

Given your background and baby, what's the one thing that you would ask Allison to test in this new flagship store?

Chris?

Oh, man, this was a, this was hard because I, you know, it sounds like it's got everything that you would generally expect.

You know, what I came up with though was because there's a lot of products that people probably want to return off the registry, particularly from Carter's.

I like the idea that Nikki Barrett shared with us in terms of like a mobile assisted associate return process that like she, I think it was at North Face, right?

And that, that's where she's.

Where they were doing that.

And I think that, that, that could be a good idea because the idea that Nikki shared with us was like, like, right.

People get their return taken care of right as they enter and then they're, they have that cash in hand and they're going to spend more with you as well.

So that, that was my idea.

That's a great idea.

Plus, like being able to as a new parent too, to like be able to walk up to a mom and just be like, what do you need to return?

Let me take it from your stroller here.

Is that your, you know, here's your card or whatever.

Or like you're the mom's, you know, trying to nurse the baby or whatever, like watch the toddler.

Like that is, that's a great idea.

I love it.

So hopefully, hopefully Allison's listening.

Allison is listening.

All right, all right, cool.

Well, and last one.

A new, this is great.

A new AI startup is reportedly claiming it can authenticate sneakers by their smell.

And if you were a sneaker sommelier, what notes or aroma would one find in your pre worn Nikes?

Oh, well, actually this.

I had to smell my sneakers recently.

Don't ask why this happened, but I was like, I smell lavender.

You had to smell your sneakers?

Well, I was like, lavender?

Yes, I smelled lavender because the.

So at yoga they put like essential oils and I was like, I'm smelling.

I have a, I have a sensitivity to lavender.

And there was lavender on the, on like the yoga mats and it seeped into my sneakers so my sneakers would smell like lavender.

That's what they would smell like.

Wow.

They would smell like lavender.

I had no idea.

I thought I'd see.

I thought you'd be like more oaky or cassis.

You know, going with the, with the, with the wine stuff that you hear all the time.

Oh, I see, like tennis balls or whatever.

Like tennis balls and fresh cut grass.

Yeah, right.

There you go.

Yeah.

Yes.

Asphalt.

Asphalt.

No, no, I.

Yeah, lavender, which is weird.

So I have.

This is like a crazy thing, but I used to use a lavender room or, like, cleaner spray and when my kid was sick when he was little.

And so it always reminds me of vomit.

So I cannot smell lavender because I equate that smell to vomit.

So just in case anybody cares and wants to get deep into the depths of why I can't sand lavender, it's because it.

It covers up the smell of vomit to me, so.

Oh, that's not a good enough.

So you're not down with the lavender latte then either?

And that's what.

Oh, God, that's like drinking vomit to me.

No, can't do lavender.

Love.

Love and appreciate that.

It's so good for so many people and comforting.

It makes me think of fresh barf.

A fresh barf.

As.

As they said on SNL last week.

All right.

But, you know, and in closing, and one thing I do want to share, I went to Starbucks this week, you know, thinking of lavender lattes.

20 minutes.

It took me 20 minutes to get my drink.

20 minutes from the time I ordered it to, when it was in hand.

You need to send Brian Nichols.

You need to send him a direct message about that experience.

I want to hear.

I bet he'll.

Bet he'll get back to you.

22 minutes.

That's just crazy.

That's just too long.

All right, on that fun note, happy birthday today to Gerard Butler, Steve Zahn, and to Atreus himself from Never Endors Neverending Story, Noah Hathaway.

And while that story doesn't end, Anne, The Omnitalk Retail Fast 5 is coming to an end.

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