00:00:09
Hello, you are listening to the Omni talk Fast 5 brought to you. In partnership with the A and M consumer and retail group Firework, SPS Commerce and Sezzle ranked in the top 10 of all podcasts globally. The Omni Talk Fast 5 is the podcast that we hope. Makes you feel a little smarter, but most importantly a little happier each week too.
00:00:35
Today is June 29th, 2023. I’m your host, Ann Mezzenga. And I’m Chris Walton.
00:00:36
And we are here once again to discuss the most important headlines of the past week and highlight how the physical, digital and human elements of retail are coming together to shape the future. Chris, that kind of sounds like the LinkedIn live event that we just had about digitizing the physical store with the multitude of guests from Reva Group, from Trego, from SAP, from Accenture.
00:01:00
Was a great event this week?
00:01:01
Yeah, it was. We had 1000 people registered for it. We’re probably gonna talk about it later on the show too. We’ve got, yeah, we got the Microsoft event later today and you know, 2022 hundred people registered for that, you know?
00:01:14
Insane.
00:01:14
Man, I can’t believe its June 29th already. And when you read that, when you did that read, I was like, Oh my God. But yeah, but I’m out in Chicago too, at the.
00:01:24
Have to purchase Retail Media Summit as well, so I’m going remote, so apologies in advance to anyone with the sound as we try to get them tell tell Wi-Fi.
00:01:34
Remote.
00:01:35
Yeah, how’s?
00:01:36
Chicago this time of year.
00:01:37
I’m dressed up too, and that’s another reason you can tell for those watching on video. I’ve got my stylish Barracuda jacket on and I don’t know if it’s a no, it’s a Bomber jacket, not a Barracuda jacket. What am I saying?
00:01:47
I have no idea what a Barracuda.
00:01:48
I got my Tour de chicks on it.
00:01:50
Seems like the Barracuda jacket may be more appropriate for my outfit. I feel like I’m actually vibing out. Not a very, not a Barracuda isn’t.
00:01:58
That a song. Yeah. Oh yeah. From the 70s. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah. From heart. Yeah, that’s right. Yeah, that’s right. And again, shout out.
00:02:05
This week to Taylor Light she she did what we asked on like dude, she said. She said hey what’s up? I listened to the podcast so so shout out to her. I always love when people do that. You do too. I know you do. So yeah, it’s been a good week. What do you got planned for the 4th?
00:02:19
We’re going up to a friend’s cabin this weekend. We’re going to go just be out on the lake. You know, we’re going to do do the damn thing, Chris that you do for 4th of July.
00:02:31
In the Midwest.
00:02:32
In Minnesota.
00:02:33
That’s lots of lake sitting and pontooning your favorite thing, Yeah.
00:02:39
What do you all things I inspire being on water? I’m going to Portland, going to the PDX airport here on Saturday. I’m heading to Portland.
00:02:48
Just to the airport. You’re going to just hang out in there, Rose.
00:02:51
City. No, I’m staying. I’m staying with, I’m staying near some friends in Beaverton, you know, home of Nike and Adidas, I believe.
00:02:59
Do some hiking.
00:03:00
I’m pumped.
00:03:00
I hope. I hope not, Ann. I hope not. I’m not a big hiking fan. I hope not. I think we’ll see some zoos, I think some. Some taking some. I don’t know. I have no idea how. Some brunch, I think, is what we’re thinking about, Ann. But.
00:03:14
Do some Portlandia things. Put a.
00:03:16
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Find out where my chickens were raised before I eat them. All that kind of good stuff. Shots are. It’s in Portland, too.
00:03:22
I cannot wait to hear your recap of this Portland trip. It’s going to be amazing, which we’ll have to wait for because we are.
00:03:30
Next.
00:03:30
Week. Yeah, we’re off actually. Good programming note.
00:03:32
Until the following week to hear Chris’s rendition of Portlandia the Omni Track Portlandia.
00:03:38
Hold me to that. And hold me to that for sure. All right, Should we get this show started? Let’s do it All right. In today’s half, in today’s fast 5I almost forgot where we were. We’ve got news on the rumor that Amazon is interested in acquiring a Kado.
00:03:54
Amazon also closing more of its Amazon Ghost stores to Amazon stores this weekend. DoorDash launching guaranteed hourly rates for its drivers. Dollar Tree expanding its assortment to cover multiple pricing levels beyond its current level of $1.25. But we begin today with big legislative news out of Washington DC, something I thought I’d never say on this show and.
00:04:17
Right. I mean, what? It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?
00:04:21
No. So headline 1, Chris, is that the new INFORM that’s all CAPS because it’s an acronym for something.
00:04:28
It is.
00:04:28
The Informed Consumers Act officially became law this week on Tuesday, June 27th, according to Chain Storage, the new Here We Go Integrity Notification and Fairness and Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act.
00:04:43
Also known as inform, is meant to increase transparency of online transactions and to deter criminals from acquiring stolen, counterfeit and unsafe items and then selling them through online marketplaces.
00:04:55
Here are the key components of the law, Chris as break.
00:04:58
It down and break it down.
00:05:00
Change store age. I feel like I’m that, like, you know, the reporter on NPR that always has to explain like, what’s happening in the legislature. Like, I feel like her right now. I cannot remember her name.
00:05:11
Can you do it in the NPR, Nina?
00:05:12
Totenberg.
00:05:13
Nina Totenberg That’s what I feel like. That’s right. No idea.
00:05:16
All right. So number 1, Chris.
00:05:18
Online marketplaces must now collect and verify certain financial and identifying information from quote, high volume third party sellers, and quote, which are defined as a person or business that meets specific sales thresholds on that platform number 2. The law requires that online marketplaces generally must disclose on those sellers product listing pages.
00:05:40
Or in confirmation messages and account transaction histories, the seller’s name, address, and contact information and number 3 The online marketplaces must also now suspend High Volume Thirdparty sellers that don’t provide the required information and must offer a clear way for consumers to report suspicious conduct. Chris.
00:06:03
I need a cigarette ad. I need a cigarette after that, Read. That’s.
00:06:06
Good, no. But really this has been very top of mind, especially this I think since the beginning of the year really, but especially within the last few weeks as they try to push this legislation through. What are your thoughts on this move is this gonna help solve?
00:06:21
The retail organized crime that we have that all of us retailers are facing.
00:06:26
Yeah, right. I mean, my hunch is this is my current my take on this is it’s a good first start. It’s a necessary first step. But my gut reaction really is that it isn’t enough. And I say that for two reasons. One.
00:06:40
The high volume designation that you talked about, as you read that, it comes after the fact, right. And that’s a key point. You’re not talking about that a lot that the criminals are smart. We’ve done a lot of podcasts on fraud prevention and fraud detection and they’re smart. They’re just going to create new accounts over and over again before they even meet these thresholds and before it even raises any red flags. So I don’t think it’s going to actually do that much. And then second part, Ann?
00:07:02
I went to my go to person who I always talk to you about these types of things, my buddy Reed Hayes down at the Loss Prevention Resource Council down in Florida, and he brought up another point which which I had never thought about before, and he told me he said something I’ll never forget, he said.
00:07:17
Any good law comes down to two things. One, execution and two, enforcement. This is clear. The execution side of that, it says nothing about the enforcement. Now Reid tells me that there’s going to be a follow on law coming soon meant to get at the enforcement side of this effort. So I think that’s good. But Nat. Nat, I think it’s a first step but nowhere nears it enough in my opinion. It’s an example of, I think, best case skating to where the puck is and not to where the puck is going. And so hopefully there’s more to come.
00:07:45
Yeah, I agree. I mean.
00:07:47
I think you needed to have some action though from legislators like this was not something that that the retailers are able or equipped to handle on their own. And clearly it’s getting worse. So I think that we do need to have some actions being taken. I think that doesn’t mean though that retailers can also rest on this type of legislation either. Like you said, you know, read is 100% right. It needs to be enforced, It needs to be penalized. And then even, you know, whatever they decide, the enforcement’s going to be the current like $3000 fine.
00:08:17
If you get caught doing this is not going to be enough to deter the career criminals who this is. A career as Bennett from Signify has told us. Like, right? This is not just like a fun thing to do for fun on the weekend. For these people, this is an actual job and they are very good at doing it.
00:08:36
I also think that you know the hope is here too that with some of these we may start to see a a reduction in some of the smash and grab the more dangerous crimes that are happening in the stores. Hopefully if if the volume is is one of these things that they’re trying to cut down and with these online marketplaces. But I think you know the final thing I’ll add.
00:09:00
This is also going to be something that they’re going to have to pay close attention to because you do have thirdparty sellers on these sites who are legitimate and are you going to prevent them from selling on these platforms because of these laws? Like I think that that’s there’s going to be some hurdles to try to get over there, but.
00:09:16
At least at least one step forward here. We’ll see what execution looks.
00:09:20
Like, yeah, some negative extra knowledge for sure. Yeah. You bring up a good point too. I forgot about Bennett. Signified. Yeah. Anybody that can go by one name in the fraud prevention space, you gotta take him seriously. Like, yeah, there’s probably more to this. But, Ann, I gotta push back on you a little bit and I wanna give you a chance because.
00:09:34
Actually, as I was thinking about it and you read through what that law is about, is there really anything that the retailers couldn’t do on their own? Like if this is a big problem, is it, is there anything that you outline that they couldn’t do on their own?
00:09:44
For sure there’s a we’ve talked about this so much like there’s so much that retailers should, can and should be doing. In addition to this, I think that is a key thing to emphasize here. It’s about investing in technology in store that’s going to help prevent this. It’s about investing in all of the categories under the umbrella of organized retail, crime and.
00:10:04
Shrink, you know, like it’s not just about what’s happening these smash and grabs in the stores, it’s it’s really taking a wide look at what are all the things that are contributing to the shrink in your store and to this this crime and theft and how are you as a retailer getting strategic?
00:10:20
About it, yeah, I’d actually like to see the online marketplaces go even more aggressive in terms of waiting periods to get the money that they are collecting on their sales. I think that’s a way to cause this, cause some serious damage in, in this realm. But all right, headline 2 shares avocado shut up like a.
00:10:34
Rocket ship after the Times newspaper reported that there was quote speculation of bid interest from more than one American shooter. End Quote. And according to the report, and as documented by CNBC, Amazon could be one of the potential interested parties. Both Ocado and Amazon, in no surprise to anyone, declined to comment on the news, however. And what do you think of this story? Do you buy into Amazon buying Ocado?
00:11:03
I don’t think so. I mean I think this is I I have to look at this and really ask the question like what does Amazon stand to gain by buying Ocado and vice versa? Like what does Ocado get from selling to Amazon? Amazon already has a partnership with Morrisons in the UK. There Morrisons is the 4th largest grocer there right now. So maybe buying Ocado gets them a little bit more market share, but is that I mean we you mentioned Amazon Go like is that where Amazon’s headed?
00:11:33
They’re pulling back on stores like I doubt they’re looking for like taking this Omni channel route. If they acquired Ocado like I think they could have already done that with Morrisons. And so I just I’m, I really questioned here Chris and I’m interested to hear what you think too because like does Amazon need Ocado’s logistics experience like enough to purchase the company I.
00:11:56
I don’t think so.
00:11:57
That’s a great point. I don’t. I don’t know what they have to ask. Why, yeah, but I don’t.
00:12:01
Know what they’re going to learn anymore now from what they’re currently learning from their work with Morrisons, you know, doing their, the delivery of groceries through them. So I guess I’m left thinking like, is this last mile logistics play a sass play like will other grocers in the UK or in the US for that matter, like purchase.
00:12:22
The technology to use the way that they are for Amazon just walk out like I I was just so many questions here and I kind of I’m doubtful that this is even something real but.
00:12:32
So you’re doubtful. It’s real. You’re doubtful The story is real. The headlines. I don’t know. I just feel.
00:12:37
Like something’s weird here. Like something it seems.
00:12:40
Upset. No. The reason I push you on that is I I agree with you. I mean, I think, I think as we’ve talked about on the show with any story that you read and take this.
00:12:49
Take this wholeheartedly, listeners. With any story you read, you have to ask one question. Who benefits from the headline you’re reading being made public, right? And the answer to that, The short answer to that is Okato. Okato benefits from this. Look at the stock price increase they had because it makes them, and it makes them more attractive to others if they are on the acquisition block.
00:13:09
So with that said, like, I don’t think Amazon, if they were actually interested in this, would want this story out because it pushes up the price and makes the deal more competitive for Amazon. And then even if Amazon is interested, there’s so many complications in this deal. The one that I think about most is Ocado’s relationship with Kroger in the US.
00:13:26
So when I start putting that into play, like I feel like this deal could never happen. Even if both sides wanted it to, there’d be so many entanglements to how it could get done. So, so to me, I think it feels kind of like a non story to a potential non story now to a potential man Ocado acquisition story down the line, that isn’t nearly as sexy as what’s being reported right now.
00:13:47
That’s my take. It’s, I mean it’s not super informed, but like, I mean I think it kind of makes sense. It’s rational.
00:13:52
The OK, the Kroger’s thing doesn’t even come up like. And the research we were doing for this story, it’s like.
00:13:58
That’s not even mentioned. It’s so focused on the UK market which is fine and makes sense, but like why are you going to invest that much in some in a player like a Kado that’s already rooted with a retailer in the US like I just I do not understand and yeah I don’t know and your.
00:14:14
Point is like and and I thought your point about it too, Amazon gets logistics pretty well. Like what are they really buying from Ocado at this point? You know, I don’t know, I don’t know. It’s just it’s baffles to mind but so does the next story which is very germane.
00:14:26
Yes, let’s go to headline 3.
00:14:28
In somewhat related news, Amazon continues to close even more of its Amazon Ghost stores here in the US. So, according to Payments Dive, Amazon has closed its Amazon Ghost store, located at 5th Ave. and Marion St. in Seattle. The store, opened in 2018, was actually the second Amazon Ghost store that Amazon ever opened.
00:14:48
Amazon has not opened a new US Ghost store since March, right before it announced plans to close 8 ghost stores this year. Chris, what are your lessons and takeaways from this? You know, I mean, it felt we were hesitant to put another Amazon story in the Fast 5, but I feel like there’s there’s some reasons that that we went this route, but explain yours.
00:15:11
Yeah, I’m I’m really glad we put this story in retrospect. And I I got a lot to say on this and I want to give a shout out to our buddy Dilip Kumar too at Amazon who you know take what I say Dilip and you know I’m. I’m trying to be as thoughtful as I can and as constructive in my critique that I’m about to lay on Amazon and the history of Amazon go here. But but here’s my take and so the the big lesson here to me is that just walk out with the pre entry scan requirement alongside of bad merchandising.
00:15:39
As you and I saw especially in the license operation in Philly, which you know fair play at Amazon is not run by Amazon, but we saw that a couple weeks ago in the Philly airport, but they didn’t have a price tag signs you know in the in the operation. When you combine those two things, it’s just a bridge too far for most consumers I think. And so I say that also because of what I’m hearing on the flip side of this argument.
00:16:03
As you mentioned at the outset, we just did a podcast with particularly Annika Vos of Rebel who is probably the foremost expert on computer vision AI in a physical retail store outside of Dillip and outside the team at Amazon. And she’s doing it with with a number of providers. But specifically the one we talked about is with Trego, right. Trego is the the the non Amazon just walk out competitor that she’s deploying the technology in her stores in Germany.
00:16:30
And for all intents and purposes, she’s saying she’s seeing consumers respond to the technology and she’s publicly talking about how they’re planning to invest in it going forward and roll it out to a further degree. But the reason for that is she went about it differently. She took a hybrid approach to start. They didn’t force customers in mass to change how they shop their stores, and they allowed the customers to try it that way, right? It wasn’t forced upon them. But the biggest point here.
00:16:57
I think in this story, in this headline of looking back at the past got five years since Amazon Go first opened in 2018. The biggest point is that Revel already knows how to merchandise a grocery store. And so my take away here is hubris. And Amazon screwed up thinking that it a knows how to run a grocery or a convenience store. Either one of those, they didn’t know how to do that and that too it could deploy a tech that no one had ever used on top of either one of those new experiences.
00:17:23
So in retrospect, it was like Amazon was running two experiments at the same time as opposed to one. And anytime from an experimentation standpoint, when you make that happen or there’s that dynamic at play, it’s impossible to read the data accurately in terms of analyzing and understanding what happens. And so for that reason I think the experimentation plan around Amazon Go was quite honestly flawed from the get go on, very much intended and.
00:17:52
We well, your pun is slightly like the delivery was slightly impacted by your crappy.
00:18:00
Was my audio shit damn it cuz like I was going on A roll, man, I was.
00:18:03
I know, but I think the listeners get the gist of the terrible joke and I actually am happy that where they’re saved from hearing your your plan words there. But I do agree, Chris, I think you know the number one thing that’s different about what Reva had and I think is like playing out now across all Amazon stores and.
00:18:21
We, you know, you and I were we’re huge proponents of this. We love the Amazon Go experience. We’re retail nerds.
00:18:27
So we we.
00:18:28
Definitely are going to shop the store because of the technology and because of the convenience. And I do think that the next generation will do the same thing, but they’re not the ones that are making the impact right now. And I think that this technology unfortunately while it’s cool.
00:18:44
There’s not the merchandising to back it up. Like there’s no reason for me to go to that Amazon store for the product in the store. Like I definitely think there is a need for this kind of store and that’s why Annika on the team at Reva Group has seen success with it. Like people have built Reva into their daytoday behaviors for years. They come to know the products. There are things that are driving them to that store. They have a relationship with their customers and Amazon didn’t have that before going into this they Amazon.
00:19:14
Built the store 100% based on like we’re going to get you in and out of here fast. It’s about the technology. But I think what we’re learning is that that’s not enough. And if you have one thing that’s preventing you from getting in store, you have a bad experience. It took you too long to download the app when you’re walking in the Amazon store. Like all of those things are just preventing consumers from making the trip back because once you get through the gates, there’s not enough to hold you there to keep you coming back for that experience.
00:19:42
In the way that the Reva store has or that that like a or an established grocer convenience store retailer has. So I think that there’s potential for this. There’s 100% of need for this kind of store. But I think Amazon’s still going to have to fight those demons of like how do you become a a, a retailer, a store that people are having to go to in a physical sense, not just because you’re the cheapest and have the most online breath in assortment.
00:20:08
Yeah, 100%. Like I think what it what what I think about when you talk about it like that, it’s like it kind of makes me think the days of physical grocery for Amazon with a new concept are kind of over like it’s going to be really hard for them to figure this out. Yeah, but on the glass half full side of this.
00:20:22
I could still see this working from a licensing perspective. You know if people can gravitate towards it more overtime they’ve already pivoted the way they require pre entry authorization in their London stores. And so like you know how does the, the one I think about most is the Hudson news that seems like that seems like the company that’s deploying us the best right now. Yeah so how do they continue to learn from it, pivot it the merchandising in the new store that just opened this past week looks a lot better, much more color blocked, much more you know brand palpable pricing is visible.
00:20:52
Like all that kind of stuff. So like there could still be a play there, but I really think at this point it’s probably a licensing play and then you’re going to have the question of customer acquisition if you go pre entry authorization against the cost of the investment to make this happen. And so I don’t know, those are still some big ifs I think for for for most purveyors of these types of operations.
00:21:15
Yeah, yeah. It’s definitely not the future that we anticipated, Chris, but.
00:21:20
No, it’s not.
00:21:22
Or or the other option is you get you’ll go in there and you get some people, which they’ve done. Get some people that really understand how a grocery store works and what good merchandising looks like and how it’s done day in and day out and make it happen. Yeah. All right. Headline 4 an according to The Verge. When that’s my favorite thing to always say. And according to The Verge.
00:21:42
Not the band. Not the 90s band.
00:21:44
Yeah, Well, that’s the verve, right?
00:21:46
Or is there a yeah, It is the verb. It is the verb Man. I always think about the.
00:21:50
I always think I do, too. I was just going to make a verb joke, but yeah, but yeah, wow. All right. I just trumped you on music that Never.
00:21:57
Did you did?
00:21:58
According to The Verge, DoorDash has launched new features that provide guaranteed hourly rates to its drivers. Couriers will now see the option to quote earn by time End Quote, which offers a guaranteed hourly minimum rate for the time they spend making deliveries. The time clock reportedly starts as soon as a Courier accepts an order and ends when it’s dropped off. All of which constitutes a big shift for DoorDash.
00:22:24
Which previously had couriers earning a base pay based on various factors about an order like time, distance and desirability. And this was one of your headline picks this week. Why? Why in the world did you want to talk about?
00:22:40
This because I think that this is going to cause a lot of impact for retailers that I don’t think many of them are thinking about right now, especially when it comes to the labor shortage and what’s happening.
00:22:53
Right now, just to try to get people working in stores when you’re competing against an already very competitive gig economy. Now one thing that I I read in researching this so according to Engadget, apparently yes. Apparently by July 12th of this year in New York City, delivery apps will need to start paying their careers in the city a minimum of $17.96 per hour plus tips. So that may be a part of.
00:23:23
Driving this DoorDash to make this move across their platform, but I think what what the impact is here is now what you’re guaranteeing or offering. They don’t have the DoorDash delivery drivers do not have to go this route, but what you were able to do is guarantee a base pay.
00:23:42
For those, those DoorDash drivers, which is competitive with working at, you know, an Albertson’s, a Walmart or a Target, like now you’re able to do that but in a gig.
00:23:53
Pick when I want to work, how I want to work, where I want to work in it, that gig economy. And I think that you’re going to start to pull, pull that talent away from the typical retail jobs that are already having a hard time getting filled. And I think that secondly, it requires retailers to start thinking about investing in this technology. Whether they’re going to go the way of like flex work platforms like we heard from Leo this week, whether they’re going to go the route that Schnucks took where they’re starting to build their own tech inhouse to try to allow this kind of like.
00:24:23
Flex work that we’re seeing or if they’re going to go after one of the multitude of tech providers that are out there that are enabling flex work for retailers. So I think it it’s going to be an area where retailers are going to have to start to invest in like what we were talking about early on in the show where it’s about you know how are you, how are you reducing shrink in this case it’s how are you thinking about the future workforce that’s going to operate your stores.
00:24:47
Yeah, that’s a great point. I mean I hadn’t thought about the the the angle that this will push the retailers themselves to figure out how to make their jobs more flexibly available for the workers as well. Like that’s that’s a great point. I mean I think for me in a nutshell, I don’t have much to add, but I think it’s just more evidence these types of jobs are are highly desirable for people because of the flexibility and now even more so because of the the increased stability and pay that you’re going to get from this move. So you know like you said if you can control your shifts.
00:25:14
Versus having it to work when Target or Walmart or some other mall based retailer tells you or dictates you to you really when you need to work. Why the hell would you choose that option? I mean it just makes no sense. So you know it’s going to be more pressures on. It’s also going to mean more pressure on wages. I think until legislation steps in as a counterbalance you know to to what’s going on here, which you know people have talked about a lot, but I don’t see that really happening either. And because it’s not going to be popular, the voters, the voters aren’t going to want legislation, they’re going.
00:25:43
Don’t want the gig economy to continue to be fueled because it gives them the flexibility in their life that they want. So I don’t see that. So I see that happening. So your point is dead, right, Which like I said, I hadn’t thought about. And so you you just brought it up. Like, yeah, the retailers are just going to have to respond. They’re going to have to figure out how to make their jobs.
00:25:59
More flexible, but then that comes into conflict with much more established rules and regulations about how people need to deploy their workforce in those type of environments. So legislation is gonna have to come in here somewhere. It’s just a question of where and how I would.
00:26:12
Guess and are they 1099 employees, are they W2 and you’re guaranteeing wages like there’s so much that comes into this, that right? Yeah, I don’t think retailers are even, they haven’t even gotten there, Chris. They’re still trying to.
00:26:25
Trying to figure out what they’re going to do about Prime Day coming up, but they’re not.
00:26:28
Yeah, I mean this, this is like, this is like yard yard 50 of the marathon. You know, 26 miles like this is crazy. But all right, let’s close out the show at the last one.
00:26:37
All right, headline number $5 Tree told investors it plans to go beyond its dollar 25 price point.
00:26:44
And begin selling $2.00 and $5 items, particularly in food and beverage, according to win site Grocery Business. Dollar Tree reveals its plans last week at its annual investor conference, where it reported that its successful shift from $1.00 to 125.
00:26:59
A move the company terms BTD or breaking the dollar, Chris, I love.
00:27:05
That so much, Yeah.
00:27:06 I know, I know you.
00:27:07
Need a little BTD? We all need a little BTD in our lives.
00:27:10
Yeah, for sure. Across. So they’re moving, they’re breaking the dollar across this assortment, which they did more than a year ago and it has paved the way for further price boost.
00:27:22
Dollar Tree CEO Rick Drilling told investors Wednesday, according to a transcript from the financial services site Sentio quote that leap to 125 was painful, but it’s done now, Chris, and it’s time for us to capitalize on it. And quote Chris, this is also the A and M put you on the spot question of the week A and M wants to know.
00:27:43
Quote Given Dollar General has already been at multiple price points above $1.00 for some time and are on their way toward its goal of adding fresh food in 10,000 stores, do you applaud Dollar Trees efforts to follow suit, or do you think Dollar Tree is harmfully breaking its unique value proposition to discount shoppers? End Quote Chris, go for it. What do you think?
00:28:04
Oh man, I I resoundedly think this is a goddamn no brainer move. Yeah, and I think the the $1.00 hook, the dollar hook was important like a decades ago, right? When you’re standing up this concept as a marketing angle. But history’s $1.00 is tomorrow’s $3 or $5 because of category expansion and they can eat away at whatever Walmart. I mean really, if you stop and think about it strategically, they can eat away at whatever Walmart has historically owned that the dollar concept as a concept is now well established everywhere.
00:28:34
I mean how many stores does this Dollar General have, Like 20,000?
00:28:38
So you know so many.
00:28:40
So people are shopping it at them. And so this, I mean, I think the Dollar General analogy just shows that, yeah, there’s a there there, this, this, the, the strategy is going to work in my opinion. Like it seems like an absolute no brainer. And the other point I bring up is you have to love the serendipity that comes from shifting one’s context as a leadership team when you have the problem of inflation in front of you.
00:29:01
And then, you know, turning it into an unbridled opportunity where they’re probably just going to reap the profit from this in the long run if they do it the right way and pick the right products and all that kind of stuff, which is not not a given, you have to do that well. But it’s, I mean when you think about what you’re competing against, you’re just offering a lower price alternative to what’s already exists through other avenues. When has that strategy not worked?
00:29:23
Right.
00:29:23
It always works.
00:29:25
Right, right. Yeah. No, I think that you’re you’re 100% right and I think.
00:29:29
The other thing that I was looking at here is like so many retailers we’ve seen throughout like at since the inflationary period started have done this like we’re going to hold our prices for certain items at XY&Z. We’re not going to raise prices on these, you know, core 10 things. But I think what’s really cool here about what Dollar Tree is doing is that there’s no limit to the items like what they’re saying is that they’re they’re able to get.
00:29:56
Food from $2.00 to $5. There’s a huge market there, and I think the Dollar Tree customer now knows that no matter what, there’s no hesitation. There’s no, like, this thing’s going to be the same price, low price and this thing’s not. Or I’m going to pay extra for my soda versus, you know, the cheese being the same price that it was last week. You know, the Dollar Tree customer, you’re going to go in there, You’re not paying more than $5 for anything on that shelf. And there’s consistency and reliability in making that my destiny.
00:30:26
For grocery. So I think super smart way to go here. I don’t think there’s any, you know, to A and M’s question, I don’t think there’s any concern here and what you were saying to Chris, I don’t think there’s any concern about going above that dollar 25 threshold.
00:30:40
Not it’s just it’s not realistic to do that and the consumer knows that, but they want dependability. They want to know I’m not paying more than $5 when I’m going in there.
00:30:49
Yeah, or whatever price point it is, it’s it’s. But it’s all about comparisons, right? They’re even doing their own bread. And so as long as I can get bread from Dollar Tree cheaper than I can get in other places and it meets this quality hurdle that I need, it’s going to work. I don’t care. It’s $5, seven dollars, eight dollars, $10, it doesn’t matter. Yeah, it’s the point here.
00:31:07
Yeah, the ice is going to be $2.00 every time you go in there.
00:31:10
There, you know exactly what it’s going to be. It’s not fluctuating week to week. I love it. I love it.
00:31:15
All right, well, let’s close this baby out with the lightning around.
00:31:18
All right, Chris, Question number one goes to you. jack-in-the-box is leveraging artificial intelligence to be able to better understand how customers view their experience. What piece of feedback would you like to give to fast food restaurants?
00:31:33
Oh man, great question. jack-in-the-box. Take me back to my days of growing up in Arizona. I think the one thing that most people don’t understand about the the fast food industry is that jack-in-the-box and has the best tacos.
00:31:46
Going Their tacos are amazing. And that’s.
00:31:49
What? I Didn’t You and Mrs. Ami Taco on a first date there to have tacos?
00:31:52
Yes, we did. Well, actually, we went on a first date for the Supreme Croissant and I just found the receipt as I was cleaning out my House of our very first date. Yes, well, actually I went for Supreme Croissant in Vegas. She just kind of drove me.
00:32:05
I love the You can.
00:32:06
Read a lot into that story if you want.
00:32:08
About when that happened and.
00:32:09
All that kind of stuff, but like.
00:32:12
Excuse me, Mrs. Amitaca, getting a little hungry here. Stomach’s gurgling.
00:32:16
Dropping me off like.
00:32:18
Yeah, my way back to the Vegas hotel. Yeah. But anyway, like, enough. And let’s start moving on. I think we gave a little too much detail of that story. Pepsi has collaborated with the Culinary Institute of America to create college shop and Pepsi and ketchup.
00:32:34
It kind of sounded like you threw up when you said college up, which I think is appropriate.
00:32:37
Yeah, I did too, which is a quote which was designed, quote, to reinforce just how well hot dogs and Pepsi go together.
00:32:45
And what will you be putting atop the old hot dog next week on the 4th of July?
00:32:50
Garbage, because I will not be eating the hot dog. They’re going into the garbage and then I’ll be putting more garbage on top of it.
00:32:56
Yeah, I you. You’re like me. You. I hate hot dogs. Like I can’t stand them.
00:33:00
It’s a very rare occasion that I’m eating a hot dog and certainly not one that me or anyone that I know is preparing.
00:33:07
Not happening A.
00:33:08
100 I could not agree more.
00:33:10
Chris, there’s a new plus membership on the block.
00:33:14
Can’t, can’t wait and.
00:33:17
799 Plus Wonder Plus from Wonder, Mark Laurie’s company. Oh.
00:33:23
Really. I didn’t even put that over now. Yes, when you sent that headline. I didn’t even put that together. OK, Yes.
00:33:28
It entitles members to free delivery with no minimum order value for just 799 monthly. Wonder Plus also entitles members to prioritize delivery or pick up via a Wonder Fast Pass with each member’s order. Chris, which restaurant would you have to have on the Wonder Fast Pass in order to get you to sign up for Wonder Plus?
00:33:48
Oh my God. Yeah. That’s a big hurdle. And that idea sounds really, really lame to considering where Wonder started back in the day. But I’m going to go back to the first answer. You know I’m living in Minnesota and I can’t get me any jack-in-the-box. You know I can’t. It’s not deliverable. So it, you know Mark Laurie Wonder hey, and Mark Laurie you’re in Minnesota all the time running the Timberwolves. Get me some Supreme coissants delivered to my house.
00:34:10
Some tacos from jack-in-the-box. I’m all in, man. I’m all in. If you do that, hopefully you’re listening. I can see him actually doing that. I can see that shit showing up at my door and watch, watch. That’d be fun if it did. All right, last question. And as part of a promo for the new Barbie movie, Barbie Dream House is now available for free on Air BNP. What is one other fictional home from your youth?
00:34:38
You would love to see on Airbnb. Oh.
00:34:41
Man, I would want to have probably Cher’s house from Clueless. I loved that house so much. It was beautiful. Like the big staircase, her closet with like the little computer picking out her outfits. That’s that was the first thing that came to mind. Kind of like.
00:34:55
That was the first line.
00:34:56
OK. With the Barbie trend, there’s there’s more from, you know, years past, but it was hard to narrow one down.
00:35:03
I’m going with the Rickards house from Silver Spoons. Remember that one?
00:35:06
Oh yeah, the train. Yeah, I thought I’d actually.
00:35:08
Pick that one, Yeah, I thought you’d pick that one, yeah.
00:35:12
It was fine. It was also a close tie with.
00:35:15
So what’s the one where he had the the kid had the like, secret hidden closet? Like the Oh my gosh, I can’t remember.
00:35:23
That’s why I would definitely go with the ricker saw. So if Alfonso came with it, you know, like that, obviously, yeah, that would be that would be a number brainer. All right, well, that closes us up happy birthday today to Gary Busey Madman creator Matthew Weiner and to the women who stole every scene she was in with Jason Gedrick in Iron Eagle, The Great Melora Harden.
00:35:44
And remember, if you can only read or listen to 1 Retail Blog in the business, Make it Army Talk, the only retail media outlet run by two former executives from a current top ten US retailer, our Fast 5 podcast is the quickest, fastest, rundown of all the week’s top news. And our twice weekly newsletter tells you the top five things you need to know each day and also feature special content that’s exclusive to us. And we do it all just for you. And we try really damn hard to make it all fit within the preview pane of your inbox. You can Sign up today at http://www.armytalk.blog.
00:36:11
Thanks as always for listening in. Please remember to like and leave us a review wherever you happen to listen to your podcasts or on YouTube. So until next time, like Ann said at the outset, we’ll be off next week, but we’ll be back in two weeks. So until then, on behalf of all this Omni talk retail, be careful out there.
00:36:27
The Omni talk Fast Five is brought to you in association with the a m consumer and Retail Group the a m consumer and Retail Group is a management consulting firm that tackles the most complex challenges and advances its clients people and communities toward their maximum potential crg brings the experience tools and operator like pragmatism to help retailers and consumer products companies be on the right side of disruption and Firework is the largest video Commerce solution built for the world’s leading Brands they Empower brands with the stoppable and live stream video on their own websites where people like to shop put your Commerce in motion with firework find out more at firework.com and SPS Commerce SPS Commerce is redefining how businesses across the supply chain operate in an omni-channel World their experts Tech and data work together to feel your growth and deliver for your customers to find out more head to SPS commerce.com and finally Sezzle. Sezzle is an Innovative buy now pay later solution that allows Shoppers to split purchases into four interest-free payments over six weeks to learn more visit sezzle.com
Omni Talk is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga founded Omni Talk in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail. 