Target Goes Factory-Direct, Walmart Goes Dark & Starbucks Revamps Its Hiring Process
In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne discussed:Walmart testing dark stores (Source)Wegmans piloting Instacart’s smart carts (Source)Target exploring factory-direct shipping models similar to Shein and Temu (Source)Hibbett’s launch of a kid-focused app and website (Source)Starbucks retooling its hiring process for baristas (Source)And gStore from GreyOrange’s General Manager, Troy Siwek stopped by for 5 Insightful Minutes to give us the lowdown on what technologies he thinks retailers should be evaluating for their next generation of smart stores.There’s all that, plus alien bodies, AI mode, the Bezos wedding, and Arnold Schwarzenegger movie rankings.You can give this week’s Fast Five retail news roundup a listen by clicking above or on the platform of your choice below: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 FeedspotMusic by hooksounds.com#RetailNews #WalmartDarkStores #InstacartSmartCarts #RetailTech #TargetFactoryDirect #RetailPodcast #OmniTalk #StarbucksHiring #HibbettKids #RetailInnovation #GroceryTech #RetailStrategy
2 Juli 50min
Lightning Round: Romance Novels, Soap Wars & French Fry Pizza
In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, our rapid-fire lightning round covers the week's quirkiest retail stories: Ollipop's 5-cent VIP boxes, Jimmy John's steamy romance novel promotion, Unilever acquiring Dr. Squatch, and Tombstone's wild French fry crust pizza experiment.Timestamps:32:19 - Ollipop Amazon partnership32:53 - Jimmy John romance audiobook34:54 - Dr Squatch acquisition35:34 - Tombstone French fry pizzaCatch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3lsaTBvBuMs#RetailNews #FoodInnovation #BrandMarketing #ConsumerTrends #LightningRound
30 Juni 5min
Amazon's Desperate Grocery Play: Will Bundling Work?
In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Amazon is testing aggressive grocery bundling by showing 100+ food items during regular checkout flows. We analyze whether this interstitial approach can change deeply ingrained shopping habits and why Walmart has a massive advantage in the grocery recommendation game.Timestamps:29:28 - Bundling strategy details30:08 - Intent vs behavior mismatch31:03 - Walmart's positioning advantage31:43 - Recommendation engine comparisonCatch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3lsaTBvBuMs#AmazonGrocery #GroceryDelivery #OnlineGrocery #AmazonFresh #RetailStrategy
30 Juni 2min
H-E-B Tests Grocery Robots: Innovation or the Next Garmin Dash-Mounted GPS?
In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, conservative grocery giant H-E-B surprises everyone by piloting autonomous delivery robots in Austin with Avride. We break down why this 1-mile radius test makes sense for this location but question whether robot delivery can scale beyond urban experiments.Timestamps:25:12 - H-E-B robot pilot details26:21 - Why this location works27:07 - Scaling challenges27:45 - "Garminized" prediction28:56 - Partnership speculationCatch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3lsaTBvBuMs#HEB #AutonomousDelivery #GroceryRobots #RetailInnovation #LastMileDelivery
30 Juni 4min
Walmart's New AI Saves Managers 60 Minutes Per Shift
In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, we discuss how Walmart is revolutionizing store operations with AI tools that cut shift planning from 90 to 30 minutes. We analyze why overnight stocking is the perfect testing ground for retail AI and how this technology could transform workforce productivity across thousands of stores.Timestamps:15:17 - AI tool announcement15:53 - Why overnight logistics matters16:34 - Team lead time savings17:29 - Execution vs data interpretation18:22 - Revenue impact potentialCatch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3lsaTBvBuMs#Walmart #RetailAI #StoreOperations #RetailTechnology #WorkforceEfficiency
30 Juni 4min
Inside Whatnot: The Secret $5B Live Shopping Empire
In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, we deep dive into Whatnot, the live streaming shopping app that hit $3B in sales selling trading cards, sneakers, and collectibles. We explore whether this QVC-meets-Twitch model can expand beyond niche markets and why video commerce is finally taking off in America.Timestamps:8:28 - What is Whatnot?9:47 - US vs China video commerce10:44 - Niche vs mass market potential13:05 - eBay 2.0 comparison14:30 - Platform distribution challengesCatch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3lsaTBvBuMs#Whatnot #LiveShopping #VideoCommerce #CollectiblesTrading #SocialCommerce #LiveStreaming
30 Juni 6min
$1.77B Grocery Mega-Merger: SpartanNash & C&S Unite
In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, we break down the massive $1.77B merger between SpartanNash and C&S Wholesale Grocers that will service 10,000+ retail locations. We analyze why wholesale consolidation is accelerating and what it means for independent grocers fighting against Walmart and Kroger's dominance.Timestamps:5:28 - Merger announcement details6:09 - Why scale matters in wholesale7:11 - Pressure on independent grocers7:51 - Can this stop big retailer market grab?Catch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3lsaTBvBuMs#Grocery #retailnews #SpartanNash #WholesaleGrocers #RetailConsolidation #IndependentGrocers
30 Juni 2min
Walmart, Whatnot & WTF Is H-E-B Doing With Robots?
In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne discussed:SpartanNash’s merger with C&S Wholesale Grocers (Source)Whatnot, the $5 billion shopping app you probably haven’t heard of (Source)Walmart equipping its store associates with mobile AI tools (Source)H-E-B piloting autonomous deliveries in Austin, TX (Source)Amazon testing tighter grocery bundling for same-day deliveries (Source)And AWS’s Daniele Stroppa also dropped by to help us hand out a new award we are giving out each month in partnership with AWS, and we are calling it the Retail Startup of the MonthThere’s all that, plus french fry pizza, steamy romance novels, and whether Chris prefers bar soap or body wash in the shower.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 FeedspotMusic by hooksounds.com#RetailNews #WalmartAI #WhatnotApp #RetailTech #GroceryDelivery #RetailPodcast #OmniTalk #AmazonGrocery #LivestreamShopping #RetailInnovation #SpartanNash #Botify
25 Juni 38min
