Hello Omni Talk Fans! This week’s Fast Five was a first for me. In lieu of some last minute schedule changes amid the crazy conference season, I finally did the thing I’ve always wanted to do but never dared: the solo show. Just me, Producer Ella, and a volleyball named Wilson, stranded on a retail island talking headlines.
And the theme of the week turned out to be a big one: who gets to control the customer? An AI agent, a delivery drone, or . . . a shirt? You will be amazed by how all this week’s headlines weaved together.
This week we covered:
- Amazon slamming the door on Meta’s Muse AI agent — Amazon is keeping the bots out to protect its ad empire, but I think this may be one battle Amazon struggles to win. Remember Bezos’s own line: “Your margin is my opportunity.” That’s exactly how the LLMs are thinking right now.
- Tapestry letting Google own the checkout — The same week Amazon locks the door, Coach and Kate Spade throw theirs wide open inside Gemini. I’m good with it, but I’d get agentic search working on your own site before you overinvest here.
- Kroger’s new shirts — Not a necessary condition for a turnaround, but a darn good first step. Especially for those of us, like me, who can never find someone to unlock the spirits case.
- Prime delivery on other retailers’ sites — Gift or Trojan horse? To quote the great Dan Aykroyd, it’s a dessert topping AND a floor wax.
- Lowe’s 20-minute drone delivery — Worth the test, but you have to go hunting for a dedicated “Lowe’s by Drone” storefront in DoorDash to use it, and that could lead to some false negatives, or some really incredible positive proof points. How much in between remains to be seen.
There’s all that, plus Producer Ella put me on the spot with every headline and tested my lightning round mettle with questions on everything from which retail uniform is the best of all time to whether I’d pick Nashville or Vegas for just one night.
And, finally, please let me know what you think of the solo format. The Fast Five isn’t going away, and the A&M crew will be back soon, but I’m always looking for new ways to bring you the news in ways you’ll appreciate, and you never know where today’s solo pod might lead!
Listen to This Week’s Fast Five Podcast
Be careful out there,
— Chris and the entire Omni Talk team
P.S. What is a rabbit‘s favorite kind of music?
Hip-hop.
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.