Omni Talk

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 - Victoria’s Secret’s new CEO Hillary Super and what her first-year priorities should be - Whether we should all buy or sell Best Buy’s new up-to-the-minute delivery monitoring as a point of differentiation - If forced to pick just one, would they rather have the DashPass or Amazon Prime - 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 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. M

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Sezzle Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: An Amazon Studio Acquisition, Anti-Shoplifting Lightning Round For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/BFqhL9EnFN8

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Sezzle Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: If They're Pro Or Con: Amazombies? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/BFqhL9EnFN8

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Sezzle Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: How The Google Chrome Cookie Will Crumble? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/BFqhL9EnFN8

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Sezzle Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: How Significant Simbe’s New Remote Monitoring Enhancement Is For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/BFqhL9EnFN8

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Sezzle Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: What They Think Of Best Buy’s Push Into Video For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/BFqhL9EnFN8

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Sezzle Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: If They're Buying Or Selling The Narrative That Target Employees Hate Their New AI Chatbot? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/BFqhL9EnFN8

Join Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga for an insightful discussion with Placer AI's Ethan Chernofsky as he hands his 2024 Midyear Retail Report Card grades. You'll hear Ethan discuss the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the retail landscape. Key moments include: 0:08 - Introduction and overview of Placer AI's data collection methods 8:02 - Overall retail performance grade and analysis 15:09 - Small format revolution: Promising or overhyped? 22:20 - The future of retail media networks 28:28 - Value retail: The rise of the "middle" and the tri-furcation of retail 35:30 - Surprising mall renaissance and its implications 40:53 - The impact of strategic decisions on retail success Ethan shares valuable insights on foot traffic analytics, consumer behavior shifts, and how major retailers like Costco, Walmart, and Target are adapting. Learn about the potential of retail media networks, the evolution of value retail, and why malls might be making a comeback. This episode offers a compreh

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 stops 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

Join Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga for this compelling 5-minute discussion with John Clear, Senior Director at the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, as he delves into the pressing issue of retail shrinkage. Learn about the latest strategies for combating retail shrink, focusing on external theft, internal theft, and operational shrink. Discover how effective inventory management and staff training can significantly reduce shrinkage in retail organizations. Don't miss these valuable insights from their recent study on retail loss prevention. A link to the full study can be found here: https://alvarezandmarsal-crg.com/insight/retails-trojan-horse/ Music by hooksounds.com *Sponsored Content*

In an era where customer loyalty is more critical than ever, retailers are shifting their focus from transactional efficiency to interactive engagement across channels, with generative AI spearheading much of the change. So Omni Talk is pleased to announce that Michael Klein, Talkdesk’s Director of Retail Product Marketing, joined Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga for the latest installment of their Omni Talk Ask An Expert Series to explore the future of retail CX, and, specifically, how retailers should prioritize it and attack it head on. Collectively the three of them went deep on: - The shift from transactional efficiency to interactive engagement - Strategies for integrating new technologies and enabling talented staff - The expanding ecosystem of customer service roles - The critical importance of unifying customer data across all touchpoints - Practical insights and lessons learned from leading retailers It's the perfect conversation for retail executives, technology enthusiasts, and anyone interested

In this episode of Omni Talk Retail Technology Spotlight Series, hosts Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga dive deep into the revolutionary world of 2D barcodes with experts Carrie Wilkie from GS1 US and Ayub Mohammed of Bitly. Discover how these small squares are reshaping retail, from supply chains to consumer engagement. Key moments include: 0:08 - Introduction to the future of barcoding in retail 3:50 - The fascinating history of barcodes and their evolution 10:26 - How 2D barcodes are revolutionizing food safety and waste reduction 16:51 - Unlocking consumer engagement through connected packaging 21:37 - ROI for retailers implementing 2D barcode technology 24:51 - How grocers can differentiate themselves with advanced barcoding 27:27 - The future of retail technology and connected packaging With the Bitly Connections Platform, users can manage and track all of their 2D Barcodes and Short Links in one place while getting robust insights into consumer behavior including where and when they are engaging, do

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI and Sezzle Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and guest hosts from the Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group Mohit Mohal and Chris Disa discuss: Pro Or Con: Petaluma’s City-wide Reusable Cup Pilot With Starbucks? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/mt_9Rzw3a6g

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI and Sezzle Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and guest hosts from the Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group Mohit Mohal and Chris Disa discuss: Buying Or Selling: 2025 As The Year Of The Electronic Shelf Label? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/mt_9Rzw3a6g

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI and Sezzle Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and guest hosts from the Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group Mohit Mohal and Chris Disa discuss: If Macy’s Will Finally Get A Break From Being On The Acquisition Block? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/mt_9Rzw3a6g

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI and Sezzle Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and guest hosts from the Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group Mohit Mohal and Chris Disa discuss: How Long It Will Be Before Walmart Retail Media Dwarves The Competition? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/mt_9Rzw3a6g

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI and Sezzle Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and guest hosts from the Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group Mohit Mohal and Chris Disa discuss: How Rufus Will Shape Digital Commerce? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/mt_9Rzw3a6g

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. To get The Cappy, head here: https://www.amazon.com/coolest-Beverage-Opener-Closer-devices/dp/B077GHSL1H/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DD9QZFK2PED8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.a8vieecwLVdSDip1YhvX599LDlw

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Sezzle Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: Love It Or Leave It: Walmart Stocking 101 For College Credit? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/wRZQbkcFGrE

In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Ownit AI, and Sezzle Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss: Pro Or Con: Paying For Groceries With Venmo? For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/wRZQbkcFGrE