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

The episode also features exclusive consumer sentiment data from A&M's David Schneidman, revealing how consumers are cutting discretionary spending while embracing private label and loyalty programs.

The hosts deliver sharp criticism of Target's leadership while praising innovative moves from Sam's Club and Lowe's that leverage technology and customer loyalty.

And, if you want to read the latest A&M survey report on consumer sentiment, you can do so by clicking here: https://alvarezandmarsal-crg.com/insight/consumer-sentiment-survey-spring-2025/

#retailnews #target #samsclub #retailtechnology #googleai #nike #RetailAnalysis #omnichannelretail #retailstrategy #consumersentiment #marketplaces #retailinnovation #ecommercenews #retailtrends

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In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne discussed:

• The utter absurdity of Target’s Acceleration Office (Source)
• Sam’s Club’s new pizza delivery play (Source)
• Lowe’s third-party marketplace initiative with Mirakl (Source)
• Google’s advances in agentic AI checkout (Source)
• And closed with at look at why they both think Nike selling on Amazon again is a bad idea (Source)

There’s all that, plus A&M’s David Schneidman stops by for 5 Insightful Minutes on consumer sentiment, along with everything from personal pan pizzas and travel hacks to how close we are to the living in the world of the Terminator.

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 Apple Podcasts and on Feedspot

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In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, A&M’s Michael Prendergast and Christopher Disa join Chris and Anne to discuss:

• Walmart signaling that price hikes could begin later this month (Source)
• Target Circle 360 members receiving free same-day delivery from 100+ other retailers via Shipt (Source)
• Dick’s Sporting Goods acquiring Foot Locker (Source)
• The cybercrime wave that has hit European retailers and whether U.S. retailers are prepared for something similar (Source)
• And closed with a look at Target’s new small town store expansion strategy (yes, two Target headlines this week folks!) (Source)

There’s all that, plus RADAR CEO Spencer Hewett stops by for 5 Insightful Minutes to put Chris in his place on his recent comments about his company’s Old Navy store rollout, along with a Favre-filled, Sesame Street lightning round.

Lastly, don't forget to secure your spot now at CommerceNext.com and use code OMNITALK for 10% off general admission. If you’re from a retail brand, you may qualify for a free ticket—but act fast, availability is limited. See you in NYC!

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In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne discussed:

• Instacart’s CEO resigning to take a job with OpenAI (Source)
• Amazon’s new warehouse robot, Vulcan (Source)
• Primark’s in-store repair classes (Source)
• ASOS offering next-day delivery through InPost Lockers (Source)
• And closed with a look at how LTK is bringing The Bachelor to life on its social commerce shopping platform (Source)

There’s all that, plus Justin Swagler of AWS stops by for 5 Insightful Minutes on the technologies he thinks will most impact physical store retail operations, and Chris and Anne also go into everything from Stranger Things and The Office to who would win a battle between 100 Yanks and 100 Brits.

And be sure to check out the ‘IDC TechScape: Frictionless CX-Enabling Technologies in Retail, 2025’ report to unlock detailed insights on retail technology trends and discover how AWS Retail Solutions can help you implement these innovations today. 

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In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Shoptalk’s Ben Miller joined Chris and Anne to discuss:

• Saks Fifth Avenue’s new Amazon storefront (Source)
• Walmart’s new “Store of the Future” down in Texas (Source)
• Morrisons introducing Simbe’s Tally robots (Source)
• Pinterest becoming a visual search engine (Source)
• And closed with a look at Lowe’s new MyLow AI app for store associates (Source)

There’s all that, plus Omar Akilah of Infios stops by for 5 Insightful Minutes on how AI will impact order management system design, this month’s OmniStar, and we ask Ben about everything from which snack food he would least like to live without to the all important question of, “Who won the Met Gala?”

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#retailnews #AIretail #ecommerce #Walmart #Amazon #Pinterest #RetailTech

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, A&M’s Jeff Dwyer and Luis De Lencquesaing joined Chris and Anne to discuss:

• Amazon’s tariff pricing fracas with the White House (Source)
• Schnucks expanding its Caper Cart deployment (Source)
• ChatGPT potentially integrating with Shopify (Source)
• Pepsico accelerating its transition to natural ingredients (Source)
• And closed with a look at if local product innovation incubators ever make sense for grocers (Source)

There’s all that, plus Quorso CEO Julian Mills stopped by for 5 Insightful Minutes on Intelligent Store Management, along with paper wine bottles, Beyonce, and Crockett vs. Tubbs.

And don't forget to visit MillionaireMatch.com to download the app! 

And here's a special offer just for you -use the referral code "0430" when you sign up!

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#RetailNews #ShopifyAI #AmazonTariffs #SmartCarts #RetailInnovation #Quorso #PepsiCo #GenerativeAI #RetailTechnology #OmniTalk #CaperCart #StoreOperations #RetailPodcast

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne discussed:

• Walmart’s gas station expansion strategy (Source)
• Quorso’s intelligent store management platform rollout with Circle K Europe (Source)
• Target’s new floral owned brand (Source)
• Trove’s acquisition of reverse.supply (Source)
• And closed with a look at why Walmart’s 40 store beauty bar test could herald even more sales growth in Walmart’s future (Source)

There’s all that, plus pasta shapes, Papal naming, and the latest spectator sport, sperm racing.

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In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne discussed:

• Ulta Beauty’s decision to pause its Target shop-in-shop expansion (Source)
• Walmart’s new Trend-to-Product AI tool to speed up product development (Source)
• Sam’s Club’s expansion plans (Source)
• DoorDash’s AI enhancements to help its quick-service restaurant partners (Source)
• And closed with a look at what Hy-Vee’s decision to close its bars and to end its full-service dining offering means for the “experiential” retail trend (Source)

There’s all that, plus faceplants, crosswalk hacks, and Anne also asks Chris to design his very own Omni Talk uniform.

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In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne discussed:

• Best Buy storefronts and where influencer commerce will go next (Source)
• Instacart’s introduction of “Will Call” Delivery (Source)
• Old Navy rolling out Radar’s RFID solution to 1,200 stores (Source)
• San Diego banning digital-only grocery store coupons (Source)
• And closed with a look at just how game-changing Amazon’s implementation of AI agents to shop third-party sites could be (Source)

There’s all that, plus David Dorf of AWS stops by for 5 Insightful Minutes on Agentic AI, and Chris and Anne also discuss tariff stockpiling, soggy doggy burritos and which animal species Anne would most like to see brought back from extinction.

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🎧 Retail Fast Five | March 26, 2025 – Live from Shoptalk 2025

This week, Chris and Anne are back together live at Shoptalk 2025, bringing you exclusive insight and on-the-ground energy. This week's episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital and Infios, kicks off with a behind-the-scenes look at their interviews with CVS, Wayfair, and Purina (03:15), followed by their five big retail stories of the week:

• Best Buy Launches Social Plus – A new retail media/social ad hybrid (06:23)
• Amazon Haul Gets a Spring Sale Boost – But is it bold enough? (12:23)
• Klarna x DoorDash Partnership – BNPL comes to food delivery (16:46)
• Edible Arrangements Launches Edibles.com – Game-changing move into hemp products (20:54)
• Target Tests Brown Box Delivery – Efficiency play or PR puff? Or both? (24:43)

They also talk Christina Aguilera workout songs (28:47), bad airport snacks (30:14), socks and sleep debates (31:53), and whether Minneapolis should host dating shows (33:03).

💥 A must-listen for anyone following the ever-changing retail landscape.

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#RetailFastFive #OmniTalk #RetailNews #BestBuy #AmazonHaul #ShopTalk2025 #RetailMedia #Klarna #DoorDash #Edibles #TargetRetail #Ecommerce #RetailTrends #BNPL #RetailInnovation