Hello Omni Talk Fans! This week’s Fast Five was a tour through some of the weirdest corners of retail both past and present, considering my guest host and I discussed 1,000 automated pizza kiosks, a JCPenney ad that low-key insults off-price shoppers, and a 1975 Sears catalog scandal that will leave you laughing out loud.
I was joined this week by Joe Laszlo, Head of Content and Insights at Shoptalk (and, it turns out, a very serious museum enthusiast), and who managed to find time to squeeze in his guest hosting duties amid planning two back-to-back retail conferences in September, i.e. Groceryshop and Shoptalk Fall in Nashville.
Here’s a taste of what Joe and I sunk our teeth into this week:
- Target raising its guidance (again) — Comps up 3.8%, digital up 8.7%, tariff refunds boosting the bottom line. Sounds great, right? Joe and I still can’t agree on whether Target has found its “hook” yet, or if this is just inventory finally showing back up.
- Home Depot heading towards sub-hour — Nationwide 3-hour (often under 1-hour) delivery for $7–10, no membership required. Word of caution: I tell the toilet-snake story again, so don’t say you haven’t been warned.
- JCPenney vs. off-price — A new campaign literally tells shoppers that off-price treasure hunting is a mistake. Is it a bold move, or a great way to remind people off-price exists? Joe and I go back and forth on this one, too.
- 1,000 pizza kiosks — California Pizza Kitchen wants a 90-second pizza machine in every airport in America. Believe it or not, what worries me most is satisfying the demand.
- Ann Taylor’s comeback — New campaign, new Substack (Joe’s a fan), a Fashion Week pop-up. Will it be enough to bring back a heritage brand, or does it water down what made Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor?
There’s all that, plus Joe also gives his (very passionate) take on pineapple pizza, I finally admit what my last home repair actually was (hint: it involved bats and squirrels), and Joe goes historian as he recounts a 1975 Sears catalog controversy that genuinely went viral before “viral” was even a word.
Listen to This Week’s Fast Five Podcast
Be careful out there,
— Chris and the entire Omni Talk team
P.S. I accidentally swallowed a bunch of Scrabble tiles.
I am worried my next trip to the bathroom could spell disaster.
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.