Omni Talk Retail

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Quorso, Veloq, and R&S Logistics, Chris Walton is trying something he’s never done before: going solo.

Coming to you from a hotel room in Nashville after a whirlwind stretch of conference travel, Chris takes on all five headlines himself, with Producer Ella stepping in to put him on the spot with the questions from the A&M Consumer and Retail Group. And this week, there’s a pretty clear theme running through the show: who gets to control the customer, whether it’s an AI agent, a delivery platform, a retailer, or even a company-issued shirt.

Chris digs into five of the biggest stories in retail this week, including:

• Amazon blocking Meta’s new Muse AI shopping agent from Amazon.com, raising the question of who ultimately holds the power in agentic commerce: the AI super app or the e-commerce marketplace. (Source)

• Tapestry making Coach and Kate Spade products purchasable through Google’s Gemini app and AI Mode, bringing the battle over who owns the customer and checkout moment into focus. (Source)

• Kroger rolling out a new dress code for nearly 400,000 store associates, as Chris weighs whether a more recognizable workforce can help improve the in-store experience. (Source)

• Amazon letting retailers offer Prime delivery directly on their own websites, prompting the question: gift to mid-sized retailers or Trojan horse? (Source)

• Lowe’s teaming up with DoorDash and Wing to offer 20-minute drone delivery on more than 100 home improvement essentials. (Source)

Then Producer Ella takes over the lightning round, putting Chris on the spot about the greatest retail employee uniform of all time, one night in Nashville vs. Vegas, the one thing he wants delivered to his backyard by drone, and whether camera-free AI smart glasses might finally convince him to buy in.

P.S. Be sure to check out all our other podcasts from the past week here, too: https://omnitalk.blog/category/podcast/

P.P.S. Also be sure to check out our podcast rankings on Feedspot.

Music by hooksounds.

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses:

• McDonald's faces scrutiny over a Reuters report that it uses AI to set location-by-location menu prices, with franchisees saying they feel pressured to comply.
• Marks & Spencer and Sephora partner to open Sephora at M&S shop-in-shops in 100 UK stores and online starting spring 2027.
• Toast launches Toast Fuel, putting pump payments, in-store retail, and foodservice on one platform for independent convenience store operators.

The Retail Daily Minute has been rocketing up the Feedspot charts, so stay informed with Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, your source for the latest and most important retail news.

In this episode, sponsored by Instacart Enterprise, Portager, Vusion, and Sifter Solutions, Ben Miller is joined by Jordan Berke, Founder & CEO of retail consultancy TOMORROW, for his first time on GrocerTalk. Jordan shares a little about his retail background and the work he’s doing at TOMORROW before he and Ben jump into surveillance pricing, the realities of rapid delivery, AI hype becoming reality, and whether retailers are actually listening to their shoppers.

This week, they discuss:

• Seattle approving its Fair and Transparent Pricing policy to ban so-called “surveillance pricing,” and Walmart CEO John Furner laying out the principles that will guide Walmart’s use of AI and pricing technology. (Source) (Source)

• Tesco store employees raising concerns about the operational impact of its Uber Eats and Deliveroo partnerships, and what grocers need to consider as more ecommerce fulfillment shifts into stores. (Source)

• Instacart CEO Chris Rogers’ claim that AI will transform grocery more than any other retail category, what AI shopping agents could mean for the industry, and the growing questions around who ultimately owns the customer relationship. (Source) (Source)

• Sam’s Club giving its members a bigger role in shaping what it sells through its Member’s Mark Community, which now includes more than 200,000 shoppers providing feedback on products, merchandising decisions and the broader member experience. (Source)

Plus, Jordan joins Ben for GrocerTalk Grab & Go, where they share the grocery stories that have caught their attention this week. Ben digs into Instacart’s latest marketplace partnerships, including Dollar General joining the platform with no price markups, and keeps an eye on the potential sale of Tesco’s Central European operations.

A few things worth checking out from this week’s episode:

Catch up on Omni Talk’s Groceryshop 2026 coverage, including conversations with some of the biggest names across grocery, retail, technology and CPG. Watch the latest interviews and episodes across the Omni Talk LinkedIn page, podcast channels and YouTube.

Episode 007. Welcome to GrocerTalk.

P.S. Be sure to check out all our other podcasts from the past week here, too: https://omnitalk.blog/category/podcast/

Music by hooksounds.com.

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses:

• Walmart merges fashion, home and beauty into a new Style business unit led by Denise Incandela, its latest attempt to win in style.
• Costco gains an estimated $2.5 billion in CPG share of wallet, per Numerator, though Kirkland is slowing and lower-income shoppers are pulling back.
• Hy-Vee aims to cut the time to complete an online grocery order from about 40 minutes to five minutes or less using AI.

The Retail Daily Minute has been rocketing up the Feedspot charts, so stay informed with Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, your source for the latest and most important retail news.

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by R&S Logistics, ZenlineAI, and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses:

• Amazon lets Multichannel Fulfillment merchants offer free Prime delivery on their own websites and adds fee discounts plus cross-channel selling tools.
• Starbucks closes 250 more North American stores this week, even as Brian Niccol's turnaround gains momentum and café remodels accelerate.
• Kroger requires nearly 400,000 store associates to wear company-issued shirts, its first uniform overhaul in a decade.

The Retail Daily Minute has been rocketing up the Feedspot charts, so stay informed with Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, your source for the latest and most important retail news.

This week we come to you live from Las Vegas at Groceryshop 2026. Omni Talk contributor and the host of GrocerTalk, Ben Miller, joins me for this week's Fast Five, recorded right from the trade show floor in the Vusion podcast studio, built specifically for us by our friends there.

In this week's lightning round, Chris Walton puts Ben Miller on the hot seat with questions ranging from which retailer deserves its own television drama to which words he would add to or remove from the dictionary.

Watch the full Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by The A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Quorso, Ocampo Capital, Veloq, and R&S Logistics, here: https://youtu.be/6RQVw_X_fqs

This week we come to you live from Las Vegas at Groceryshop 2026. Omni Talk contributor and the host of GrocerTalk, Ben Miller, joins me for this week's Fast Five, recorded right from the trade show floor in the Vusion podcast studio, built specifically for us by our friends there.

Meta Lab is nearly doubling its retail footprint with six new locations, alongside a plan to open 50 shop-in-shops at Best Buy by the end of the year. Is the future bright for smart glasses?

Watch the full Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by The A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Quorso, Ocampo Capital, Veloq, and R&S Logistics, here: https://youtu.be/6RQVw_X_fqs

This week we come to you live from Las Vegas at Groceryshop 2026. Omni Talk contributor and the host of GrocerTalk, Ben Miller, joins me for this week's Fast Five, recorded right from the trade show floor in the Vusion podcast studio, built specifically for us by our friends there.

Toys R Us is opening 120 new standalone stores this holiday season, bringing its total footprint to 160 locations. The new stores will also feature Creator Studios, cafes, and candy shops. Do you think we will see more or fewer Toys R Us stores in 2027?

Watch the full Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by The A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Quorso, Ocampo Capital, Veloq, and R&S Logistics, here: https://youtu.be/6RQVw_X_fqs

This week we come to you live from Las Vegas at Groceryshop 2026. Omni Talk contributor and the host of GrocerTalk, Ben Miller, joins me for this week's Fast Five, recorded right from the trade show floor in the Vusion podcast studio, built specifically for us by our friends there.

Harps Food Stores just named its first-ever Director of AI Strategy and Innovation, promoting a homegrown meat and seafood category manager into the role. Is promoting from within the right way for a regional grocer to move forward on AI?

Watch the full Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by The A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Quorso, Ocampo Capital, Veloq, and R&S Logistics, here: https://youtu.be/6RQVw_X_fqs

This week we come to you live from Las Vegas at Groceryshop 2026. Omni Talk contributor and the host of GrocerTalk, Ben Miller, joins me for this week's Fast Five, recorded right from the trade show floor in the Vusion podcast studio, built specifically for us by our friends there.

Costco is now available nationwide on both DoorDash and Uber Eats, giving members another way to get same-day delivery from nearly all of its U.S. warehouses. Is Costco smartly meeting members where they are, or handing delivery apps more of its best customers?

Watch the full Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by The A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Quorso, Ocampo Capital, Veloq, and R&S Logistics, here: https://youtu.be/6RQVw_X_fqs