Hello Omni Talk Fans!
It’s been a little too long since we had Joe Laszlo back on the Fast Five, so it was especially fun to have him join me this week. Joe is the U.S. Head of Content & Insights at Shoptalk, and with both Groceryshop in Las Vegas and Shoptalk Fall in Nashville coming up in September, he has about as good an excuse as anyone to be busy right now.
We also spent a little time talking about what’s new at Shoptalk Fall, including the move from Chicago to Nashville and this year’s “Retail Unplugged” theme. Joe explained that the goal is to get retailers and brands to drop the polished, “auto-tuned” conference-speak and to give audiences something a little more honest, open, and authentic. And yes, we briefly discussed whether that means I should bring my acoustic guitar on stage. For the record, I probably should not.
From there, we got into five very different retail stories, but the conversation kept coming back to some of the biggest questions facing retailers right now: How fast do consumers expect things? What actually gets people into stores? And when a legacy brand needs a comeback, how much can marketing really accomplish?
Here’s what Joe and I covered in this week’s OmniTalk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Quorso, Veloq, and R&S Logistics:
Is Target Actually Turning Things Around?
We kicked things off with Target, which delivered another quarter of stronger-than-expected results and raised its full-year outlook for the second time this year. Joe and I agreed there are some genuinely encouraging signs, particularly around store performance, grocery, and the continued growth of same-day delivery. But I’m still not ready to declare a Target turnaround just yet.
The bigger question for me is whether Target has actually found a sustainable strategy or is simply benefiting from better inventory positions and easier comparisons. Joe pointed out that Target is making progress, but still has plenty of work ahead, particularly when it comes to creating a reason for consumers to visit stores because they want to rather than because they have to. That distinction became one of the central themes of our conversation.
Home Depot Wants To Get Your Stuff There Fast
Home Depot is now offering express delivery nationwide, promising thousands of products in three hours or less, with many orders arriving in under an hour. Joe and I both thought the move made sense, particularly because home improvement has two very different types of shopping missions: the planned renovation project and the “something just broke and I need it now” emergency.
That second use case could be where the opportunity gets really interesting. Consumers are increasingly being trained to expect ultra-fast delivery, and I argued that there may actually be more risk for Home Depot in not preparing for that expectation than in investing ahead of it. Joe also pointed out that Lowe’s is moving in a similar direction, suggesting the two home improvement giants both see a growing consumer need for speed.
J.C. Penney Picks A Fight With Off-Price
J.C. Penney is taking direct aim at off-price retailers with a new campaign encouraging shoppers to move from “retail regret” to “retail redemption.” The campaign even offers shoppers $15 off a $50 purchase if they bring in an item they regret buying somewhere else.
Joe and I had a surprisingly nuanced debate about this one. He likes the fact that J.C. Penney is finally being bold and giving people something to talk about after years of relative marketing silence. I’m more skeptical, particularly because the campaign could accidentally introduce shoppers to the idea that off-price retailers are a place they should be shopping in the first place. We also wondered what happens when hundreds or thousands of people actually show up at J.C. Penney stores with their “regrettable” purchases. Good luck to the store associates working that weekend.
CPK Is Putting Pizza In A Kiosk
California Pizza Kitchen is planning to deploy up to 1,000 automated pizza kiosks across the country over the next three years, putting its pizzas in airports, universities, hospitals, hotels, and other high-traffic locations.
Joe was immediately bullish on the strategy, particularly because CPK already has a recognizable brand and a strong CPG business. I agreed that the concept makes a lot of sense, especially in places like airports where consumers are often looking for something fast, familiar, and better than the alternatives. But we also got into the bigger question: If a pizza can be prepared in roughly two minutes, could the biggest problem eventually become too much demand rather than too little? Because if consumers repeatedly walk up to an empty kiosk, the convenience proposition disappears pretty quickly.
More broadly, the CPK story made us wonder whether the traditional restaurant experience is becoming less important for certain food categories. If consumers primarily want a good pizza that is fast, convenient, and dependable, does it really matter whether they get it from a restaurant at all?
Can Ann Taylor Really Come Back?
We ended the Fast Five with Ann Taylor, which is making its first major integrated marketing push in nearly a decade through a new campaign, its Substack newsletter, and a New York Fashion Week activation.
This was a particularly interesting one for Joe because he has spent so much time thinking about the comeback of nostalgic retail brands. He loves what Ann Taylor is doing with Substack and sees an opportunity for the brand to reconnect with younger consumers who may remember shopping there with their moms. But he also acknowledged the challenge of becoming a “mom brand” that can still feel relevant to a younger generation.
I’m similarly conflicted. The timing may actually be right as fashion swings back toward dressing up and more traditional workwear, but marketing alone isn’t going to bring Ann Taylor back. The brand still has to deliver on the fundamentals: great product, great merchandising, and great store and digital experiences. The campaign can get people to pay attention. The product has to give them a reason to stay.
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Be careful out there,
Chris and the Omni Talk team
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Omni Talk® is the retail blog for retailers, written by retailers. Chris Walton founded Omni Talk® in 2017 and have quickly turned it into one of the fastest growing blogs in retail.