Amazon’s Same-Day Push, Warby & Why Ulta Won’t Be Target’s Last Shop-In-Shop Regret | Fast Five

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 Juli 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 Juli 202433min

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:Amazon’s plans to copycat Shein and Temu (Source: CNBC)Target lowering its in-store theft threshold from $100 to $50 (Source: Bloomberg)Tesco piloting on-pack, scannable QR codes (Source: Grocery Gazette)Tiptop adding the new wrinkle of trade-ins to its BNPL offering (Source: Digital Transaction)And we closed with yet another look at the future of smart carts through the lens of Shoprite’s further expansion of its Instacart Caper Cart pilot to more stores (Source: Retail Dive)There’s all that, plus this month’s OmniStar (congrats Diana Marshall of Sam’s Club), how Chris would improve the Delta Sky Club, dating app wingmen, and who Anne would most want to call the play-by-play of a 10-minute recap video of her life.Music by hooksounds.com

3 Juli 202437min

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 Kelly Carey and Jeff Dwyer joined Chris and Anne to discuss:Whether Target is making a smart move in rolling out generative AI so quickly across its store base (Source: Target Press Release)What Netflix has to get right for its “Netflix House” concept to work (Source: The Verve)Unilever’s new partnership with Microsoft to expand its use of quantum computing (Consumer Goods Technology)The long-term value and viability of a generative AI Amazon Alexa (Source: Reuters)And we closed with a discussion of whether we should buy or sell Target’s new partnership with Shopify (Source: CNBC)There’s all that, plus Ovative’s Chuck Anderson-Weir stops by to give us 5 Insightful Minutes on his company’s latest Enterprise Marketing Return Power Rankings, along with a lighting round filled with questions about postage stamps, Tom Brady, and spicy romance novels.Music by hooksounds.com

26 Juni 202455min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, recorded live from the lovely Marriott in Salt Lake City, and sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Sezzle, Chris and Anne discussed:Whether Kohl’s new return drop is a sign of an ongoing identity crisis within the retailer (Source: Retail Dive)TikTok going after Google (and Amazon before it) with image search (Source: TechCrunch)Instacart plugging into YouTube shopping ads (Source: Grocery Dive)McDonalds calling it quits, for now, on automated order taking at the drive-thru (Source: Restaurant Business)And closed with a story on how adults are buying more toys for themselves than they are for pre-schoolers (Source: Retail Dive)There’s all that, plus Microsoft’s Rajen Raval of Microsoft stops by to give us 5 Insightful Minutes on improving supply chains with AI, and Anne and Chris get absolutely wacky with taxes in honor of Avalara and our upcoming work at the Outdoor Retailer conference.Music by hooksounds.com

19 Juni 202443min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, recorded live from CommerceNext 2024, and sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Sezzle, Chris and Anne discussed:Walmart rolling out electronic shelf labels to nearly half its U.S. stores (Source: Retail Dive)TJX asking its sales associates to wear body cameras (Source: CNN)Tesco building its own third-party digital marketplace (Source: Retail Gazette)IKEA hiring employees to work inside of Roblox (Source: Marketing Dive)And closed with a look at Starbucks’ decision to open its own in-house production studio (Source: Adweek)There’s all that, plus Capri Suns, Dr. Pepper, and some really spicy enchiladas.Music by hooksounds.com

12 Juni 202432min

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:Amazon adding Grubhub food delivery for free to Amazon Prime (Source: Verge)Abercrombie & Fitch’s first billion dollar Q1 (Source: Retail Dive)Takeoff Technologies filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Source: Grocery Dive)Walmart’s “trippy” new online storefront, Walmart Realm (Source: Fast Company)And closed with a look at Kohl’s disastrous earnings report (Source: Reuters)There’s all that, plus this month’s OmniStar (congrats Burlington’s Connie Droge), how to best take care of bald scalps, Prince, and whether an AI digital twin of Chris would actually enhance Anne’s work life.Music by hooksounds.com

5 Juni 202433min

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Wiliot, Avalara, Mirakl, and Sezzle, Chris and Anne discussed:What Wayfair has to get right in the opening of its first large-format store (Source: Chain Store Age)TikTok lowering the thresholds for creators to earn seller commissions (Source: Bloomberg)Walmart adding free pet telehealth to Walmart+ (Source: CNBC)Schnucks partnering with Ibotta (Source: Chain Store Age)And closed with a lively debate on the value of Google’s new AI tool that lets advertisers showcase clothing on various models and body types (Source: Wired)There’s all that, plus A&M’s Joanna Rangarajan stops by for 5 Insightful Minutes on Shein and fast fashion, and we also talk head transplants, beach vibes, and why Chris is now a dead ringer for Mikhail Gorbachev.Music by hooksounds.com

29 Maj 202444min