In this special pre-vacation edition of Walton's Weekly Wramblings, Chris gets brutally honest about his 2025 retail predictions—the wins, the misses, and the humble pie he's serving himself.

From nailing his Costco-Target prediction to completely whiffing on the Starbucks turnaround, Chris breaks down what separates real retail accountability from pundit hot takes. He dives deep into why he shouldn't have bought into Brian Niccol's java-flavored Kool-Aid hook, line, and sinker, and what the data now reveals about wait times, ceramic mugs, and sustainable change versus short-term execution.

To view the reference article on Placer.ai's Anchor, head here

This episode is brought to you by:

Retail Club - The new event from the founders of Shop Talk. Join their AI Deep Dive retreat September 14-17 in Huntington Beach, California. Shop Talk helped Retail Go Digital. Retail Club will help it Go AI. Just 500 tickets available. Get yours at retailclub.com.

Mirakl - The catalyst of commerce. Over 450 retailers are opening new revenue streams with marketplaces, dropship, and retail media. Unlock more products, more partners, and more profits without the heavy lifting. Visit Mirakl.com to learn more.

Hosted by Chris Walton, former Target executive and co-host of the Fast Five Podcast. New episodes of Walton's Weekly Wramblings drop every Friday.

Subscribe now and be careful out there - the retail landscape is changing faster than ever.

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute:

• Starbucks moves away from mobile order, pickup-only stores as CEO Brian Niccol calls the format "overly transactional" and lacking brand warmth, while announcing over $500 million in staffing investments to improve customer experience amid six consecutive quarters of same-store sales declines.
• Copper Property CTL reaches $947 million cash deal with Onyx Partners affiliate to sell 119 JCPenney store properties, completing an extensive marketing process for assets acquired during the retailer's 2020 bankruptcy proceedings.
• Hy-Vee's retail media network RedMedia joins Rippl consortium, adding 285+ stores to the national network of regional grocers spanning 58,000 locations and 140 million shoppers to deepen first-party data and expand off-site advertising capabilities.

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 insights.

Be careful out there!

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute:

• Bed Bath & Beyond makes its brick-and-mortar comeback on August 8th in Nashville, bringing back beloved legacy coupons as it attempts to tap into the power of retail nostalgia in brand resurrections.
• The Trump Administration considers charging patent holders 1% to 5% of their patent value, a radical shift that could significantly impact retail innovation costs and technology investments.
• PayPal launches 'Pay With Crypto' for merchants, allowing businesses to accept over 100 cryptocurrencies at just 0.99% transaction fees, potentially opening new customer segments for forward-thinking retailers.

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 insights.

Be careful out there!

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute:

• Abercrombie Kids expands into Macy's stores for back-to-school season, leveraging strategic wholesale partnerships to reach new markets while helping both retailers navigate tariff challenges.
• Ty Haney makes her dramatic return to Outdoor Voices after four years, relaunching the activewear brand with a "confident, bold and sexy" aesthetic focused on lifestyle dresses and elevated design details.
• Hershey implements double-digit price increases across its candy portfolio due to unprecedented cocoa costs, while accelerating diversification efforts to reduce commodity exposure.

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 insights.

Be careful out there!

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute:

• Walmart streamlines its AI strategy by consolidating dozens of agents into four "super agents" to simplify user experience across customers, employees, engineers, and suppliers.
• Walmart's weeklong Deals event significantly outperformed Amazon's extended Prime Day, with 24% spending growth versus Amazon's 4% and increased cross-shopping between platforms.
• Tractor Supply reports record Q2 sales of $4.4 billion and announces aggressive expansion plans with 100 new store openings planned for 2026, fueled by strong performance in backyard poultry and rural lifestyle categories.

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 insights.

Be careful out there!

Welcome to the second edition of "Walton's Weekly Wramblings" - a brand new weekly synthesis where Chris Walton steps back from the daily headlines to identify which retail stories actually matter for your business over the long term.

Chris breaks down why Walmart's decision to make Vizio TVs exclusively private label represents masterful long-term strategic thinking - and how it's really about building a connected TV retail media empire that will generate disproportionate profits for years to come. Then he contrasts this with Target's announcement to end price matching, calling it a short-sighted reactive move that weakens an already struggling brand.

What You'll Learn:

• Why Walmart's Vizio acquisition is about ecosystem building, not just TVs
• How connected TV advertising is reshaping retail media strategy
• The real reasons behind Target's price matching decision (hint: it's not what they're saying)
• Why Target's brand is "the weakest it's ever been"
• The technology gap that's making these strategic differences even more pronounced
• What these moves tell us about the future of retail competition

Key Takeaway: The retailers thinking five to ten years ahead and making intentional bets on future trends will thrive, while those making defensive, reactive moves will keep falling behind.

Chris brings his signature direct commentary and insider perspective to help retail executives understand which strategies will drive long-term success and which ones are just survival tactics in disguise.

This episode is brought to you by:

Retail Club - The new event from the founders of Shop Talk. Join their AI Deep Dive retreat September 14-17 in Huntington Beach, California. Shop Talk helped Retail Go Digital. Retail Club will help it Go AI. Just 500 tickets available. Get yours at retailclub.com.

Mirakl - The catalyst of commerce. Over 450 retailers are opening new revenue streams with marketplaces, dropship, and retail media. Unlock more products, more partners, and more profits without the heavy lifting. Visit Mirakl.com to learn more.

Hosted by Chris Walton, former Target executive and co-host of the Fast Five Podcast. New episodes of Walton's Weekly Wramblings drop every Friday.

Subscribe now and be careful out there - the retail landscape is changing faster than ever.

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute:

• Amazon snaps up AI wearables company Bee in an undisclosed deal, adding conversation-recording technology to its AI portfolio as CEO Andy Jassy focuses on subscription revenue growth and AI-powered customer service innovations.
• Embedded vehicle payments move forward as the payments industry drives plans for seamless in-car transactions at gas stations, parking, and charging locations, with Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, and BMW leading early adoption despite infrastructure challenges.
• Tm:rw opens a groundbreaking 20,000-square-foot experiential store in Manhattan's Times Square, featuring next-generation technology from 120+ brands across gaming, wellness, and entertainment categories in the space formerly occupied by a massive McDonald's.

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 insights.

Be careful out there!

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute:

• Tesla officially opens its long-awaited Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles after seven years of development, featuring 80 charging stalls, two movie screens, and a 24/7 diner with locally sourced food that's open to everyone, not just Tesla owners.
• Barnes & Noble continues its remarkable brick-and-mortar resurgence, opening three new smaller-format stores in Texas and South Carolina as part of its ambitious plan to open 60+ locations in 2025, proving physical bookstores can thrive in the digital age.
• Costco establishes its first Global Capability Centre in Hyderabad, India, planning to employ 1,000 people initially in technology and research operations, joining other major U.S. retailers expanding their international tech presence.

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 insights.

Be careful out there!

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute:

• Apparel and department store retailers face mounting pressure from U.S. trade policy, with Moody's Ratings giving the sector a negative outlook as import duties eat into profitability and revenue growth stalls at just 3%.
• Walmart transforms Vizio into a private-label brand with exclusive sales through Walmart and Sam's Club, ending multi-retailer distribution as part of its $2.3 billion acquisition strategy.
• Over half of ad buyers now use generative AI for video creation, with 30% of digital video ads currently developed using the technology, expected to reach 39% by 2026 as smaller brands lead adoption.

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 insights.

Be careful out there!

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by RetailClub and Mirakl.

In today's Retail Daily Minute:

• Target discontinues price matching with competitors like Amazon and Walmart, citing customer behavior data and focusing on its own value proposition amid ongoing business turnaround efforts.
• UNFI's operations return to normal following a cyberattack that will cost the grocery distributor $350-400 million in sales, highlighting the growing cybersecurity challenges facing retail supply chains.
• Amazon Web Services launches an AI agent marketplace with Anthropic as a key partner, creating new distribution channels for AI-powered retail solutions and enterprise automation tools.

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 insights.

Be careful out there!