Hello Omni Talk Fans! Anne and I returned home yesterday from NRF, where we once again interviewed a great lineup of retail executives in what I will go on record as saying was the best designed podcast booth at the conference. I want to give a HUGE shoutout to Vusion for setting us up in style all week long.
However, the content never stops at Omni Talk, so before packing up and boarding flights home, Anne and I recorded this week’s Fast Five podcast from our NYC hotel rooms on Wednesday morning.
And, not surprisingly, after spending three straight days of podcasting together, we got a little salty with each other. But then again, that’s also par for the course with us!
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we discussed in this week’s podcast:
- Amazon’s 225,000 square foot supercenter — I am QUITE skeptical this will work (does anyone remember Amazon Four Star? Amazon Style? Anyone?), but Anne thinks we need to see the actual concept before passing judgment, which begs the question: Is this Amazon’s last retail experiment, or the first piece of a puzzle we can’t yet see?
- Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol — Anne thinks this could be the headline of the year. With backing from Best Buy, Home Depot, Macy’s, and major payment providers, Google is making a bold play to win agentic commerce. But I am not convinced Google can pivot from search to commerce.
- Circle K + Quorso expansion — 7,800 US stores (12,000 globally!) are getting Quorso’s intelligent management platform. We break down why this matters using my three principles of leadership: complexity, autonomy, and attachment.
- Amazon’s Buy for Me backlash — Small merchants are furious their products are showing up on Amazon without permission. Anne says brands better get their data house in order, while I think the headline might be more salacious than reality.
- Walmart’s drone army — 270 stores by 2027! Walmart’s Greg Cathey told us people are using drones for forgotten items, sick kids, pet treats, and birthday party surprise deliveries. Could this be Walmart’s play into the $400 billion convenience business? I think it just might be.
There’s all that, plus we also have an exclusive 5-minute interview with Josh Friedman from Ulta Beauty on Ulta’s invite-only marketplace strategy, which appears to be paying big dividends already, and we also touch on banana water and whether Producer Ella would accept an engagement proposal via drone.
Listen to This Week’s Fast Five Podcast
Be careful out there,
— Chris, Anne, and the entire Omni Talk team
P.S. I don’t talk about it much but I used to work at a pizza place in college.
Yeah, I kneaded the dough.
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.