Walmart’s Super Agents, Vogue’s AI Models & Bed Bath’s Rebirth (Discounted, Of Course) | Fast Five

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five weekly retail news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, Chris and Anne discussed:How important ads within Amazon Rufus could be (Source)Costco testing mobile inventory search (Source)The Biden administration putting an end to the de minimis exception (Source)Zara’s plans to sell secondhand apparel in the U.S. (Source)And closed with a look at Amazon’s decision to bring its employees back into the office five days a week (Source)There’s all that, plus Mirakl’s Alex Hase joins us for 5 Insightful Minutes on how retailers can leverage dropshipping and marketplaces at the same time, tips to improve Starbucks, croissant-shaped lamps, and the last time Anne wore leopard print.Music by hooksounds.com

18 Sep 202445min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, A&M’s David Schneidman and Brooks Levering, joined Chris and Anne to discuss:If Target wasted its 2024 tech budget on its new CarPlay integration (Source)The likelihood that Dick’s Sporting Goods keeps up its phenomenal Q2 sales growth (Source)Just how special Walmart’s new partnership with StockX is or is not (Source)Simon’s introduction of ShopSimon and whether it heralds a new way to shop your local mall (Source)And closed with a look at the many use cases of Walmart’s new invisible barcodes (Source)There’s all that, plus this month’s OmniStar (congrats Michael Diedrich of Tractor Supply), the return of Barney the Dinosaur, and our votes for the best television episode of all-time!Music by hooksounds.com

11 Sep 202453min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, Shoptalk and Groceryshop VP of Original Content and Strategy, Ben Miller, stopped by to discuss with Chris and Anne:The four new Amazon Fresh store openings and whether Amazon Fresh still is a concept deserving of grocers’ attention (Source)Whether they would “buy or sell” (pun intended) IKEA’s new Preowned peer-to-peer used goods marketplace (Source)Netto Denmark joining the growing list of grocers rolling out electronic shelf labels chain-wide (Source)The veracity to Nordstrom’s reported claims that supply chain improvements led to its recent CX and sales improvements (Source)And they closed with a discussion on the significance of Instacart waiving its next-day delivery fees (Source)There’s all that, plus mushy peas, Adele, and Ben Miller’s favorite Las Vegas guilty pleasure.Music by hooksounds.com

4 Sep 202449min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, Chris and Anne discussed:Walmart opening up hosted U.S. fulfillment for Chinese goods (Source)Chick-fil-A opening a new “elevated” store with not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 drive thru lanes! (Source)Amazon allowing its FBA sellers to ditch taking physical returns (Source)The ongoing subscription wars between Amazon and Walmart, prompted by Amazon’s new grocery delivery subscription and Walmart+’s new Burger King perk (Amazon Source and Walmart Source)And they closed, as one always should, with ice cream, and a look at Unilever’s unique use of AI inside the freezer (Source)There’s all that, plus at-home remedies they regret trying, their favorite Oasis songs, and the meaning of the word, “skibidi.”Music by hooksounds.com

28 Aug 202439min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, A&M’s Chad Lusk and Adam Thompson, joined Chris and Anne to discuss:The “tall” order that awaits Starbucks’ new CEO (Source)Victoria’s Secret’s new CEO Hillary Super and what her first-year priorities should be (Source)Whether we should all buy or sell Best Buy’s new up-to-the-minute delivery monitoring as a point of differentiation (Source)If forced to pick just one, would they rather have the DashPass or Amazon Prime (Source)And closed with a look at Walmart’s decision to pull drones out of three states and if it signals the end of all the drone delivery hype (Source)And, the Global Head of Digital Commerce at AWS even stopped by for 5 Insightful Minutes on how and where retailers should make investments in AI!There’s all that, plus this month’s OmniStar (congrats Tony Costanzo of Torrid), dating deal breakers, Greek delicacies, and whether Adam is Team Alfie or Team Gabriel.Music by hooksounds.com

21 Aug 20241h

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Sezzle, Chris and Anne discussed:If Target’s new in-store chatbot is really the “sh*tbot” Forbes makes it out to be (Source: Forbes)Best Buy’s push into video (Source: Chain Store Age)Simbe Robotics’ new remote planogram monitoring solution (Source: Grocery Dive)Google’s big Chrome cookie pivot (Source: WSJ)And closed with a look at whether any retailers should let Amazombies, aka Amazon package returners, into their stores (Source: Yahoo News)There’s all that, plus A&M’s John Clear stopped by to give us 5 Insightful Minutes on what retailers can do to combat shrinkage, along with teenage dirtbags, french fries, and how much Anne and Chris both despise putting fitted sheets on their beds.Music by hooksounds.com

24 Jul 202451min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Sezzle, A&M’s Mohit Mohal and Chris Disa, joined Chris and Anne to discuss:Amazon rolling outs it generative AI assistant, “Rufus,” to all shoppers (Source: Chain Store Age)Walmart’s wide lead in retail media (Source: Marketing Dive)Macy’s ending its acquisition talks (Source: Retail Dive)Hy-Vee rolling out ESLs with the VusionGroup (Source: Progressive Grocer)And closed with a look at Petaluma, California’s new city-wide reusable cup pilot with Starbucks and many others (Source: Chain Store Age)There’s all that, plus how AI could have improved our college dating lives, the inconsistent weights of Chipotle’s burrito bowls, and even more reasons to be scared about facial recognition.And, to get The Cappy, head here!Music by hooksounds.com

17 Jul 202442min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Sezzle, Chris and Anne discussed:The Saks and Neiman Marcus merger and what to expect from Amazon’s involvement in it (Source: NPR)Co-op opting to use “Store Assist” from Walmart Commerce Technologies (Source: PYMNTS)Circle K gamifying employee training via iPads (Source: Chain Store Age)Hy-Vee enabling its online shoppers to pay for their groceries with Venmo (Source: Chain Store Age)And closed with a “love it or leave it” discussion about Walmart and McDonald’s working to secure college credit for the hours their employees work in their stores (Source: NPR)There’s all that, plus Taco Bell retirement communities, drone mishaps, and the best way to toast a marshmallow before putting it into a s’more.Music by hooksounds.com

10 Jul 202433min