Omni Talk Expert Quorso CEO Julian Mills once again joins Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga for the latest installment of the Omni Talk Ask an Expert Series to delve into one simple answer that may hold the key to helping many overwhelmed stores — making the District Manager’s life simpler, easier, and more efficient.
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Women’s Retail Collective Video | Fanatics Chief Strategic Retail Officer Gina De Caro Sprenger
In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Women’s Retail Collective Podcast, Anne Mezzenga sits down with Fanatics Chief Strategic Retail Officer Gina De Caro Sprenger.
Spotlight Video | Best Buy’s 24/7 Pickup Lockers With Luxer One President Josh Middlebrooks
Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga interview Luxer One President Josh Middlebrooks about his company’s 24/7 locker pickup implementation with Best Buy.
Fast Five | 2021 Omni Talk Retail Awards
Kristin Kohler Burrows and David Ritter stop by to help Chris and Anne hand out this year’s Omni Talk Retail Awards!
Spotlight Video | Scandit CTO & Co-Founder Christian Floerkemeier
Omni Talk’s Anne Mezzenga sits down with Scandit VP of Product, CTO & Co-Founder Christian Floerkemeier to discuss how retailers can implement scanning tech to simplify store operations, like picking and packing online orders, to scanning ID’s for compliant alcohol delivery.
Spotlight Series | Building A Retail Media Network With ciValue VP of Marketing Pearl Lieberman
Anne Mezzenga sits down with ciValue VP of Marketing Pearl Lieberman to talk about Retail Media Networks and why many retailers and brands already have all the data they need to get them started.
Fast Five | Kohl’s Spinoffs, DoorDash In An Instant, & Why Wayfair Is Too Smart For Its Own Good
Chris and Anne talk Jewel-Osco’s new partnership with Takeoff, Kohl’s spinning off its e-commerce business, DoorDash doing instant delivery in NYC, the inflated marketplace trend, and why Wayfair likely will never succeed in physical retailing.
Video | A Demonstration of Best Buy’s Radical New Outdoor Pickup Locker Pilot
Omni Talk’s Chris Walton gives a step-by-step demonstration of how Best Buy’s new pickup locker pilot works.
Ask An Expert Video | The Smash And Grab Theft Retailers Don’t See With Signifyd SVP Bennett
Signifyd SVP Bennett joins Anne Mezzenga to discuss the “smash & grab” trend, along with Signifyd’s latest Pulse report outlining fraud data during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021.
Ask An Expert Video | The Now, Next, and Future Of BNPL With Sezzle President Paul Paradis
Sezzle President Paul Paradis sits down to talk BNPL trends with Omni
Talk’s Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga.
Fast Five | Toys R Us Is Back And Macy’s Does Something Out Of Character
In this week’s podcast, Chris and Anne talk the past week’s sales results, the return of TRU, Macy’s NFTs, Boxed, and how to put a stop to smash and grab retail crime.
Video | We’re In Love With Mall Of America’s New Online Shopping & Delivery Platform
Omni Talk’s Anne Mezzenga demonstrates from start to finish how customers can now shop multiple retailers at Mall of America online, with one quick seamless checkout, and have all the products delivered in one bag right to her doorstep.
Fast Five | We’re Jaded About Target But Geeked Up For Amazon Go Starbucks
In this week’s podcast, Chris and Anne discuss the many Amazon Go related announcements of the past week, get conflicted over Target’s Thanksgiving plans, examine Kroger and Google’s relationship, and throw shade at Best Buy.
Five Insightful Minutes With A&M’s Jonathan Sharp
A&M’s Jonathan Sharp gets hit with tough questions as he shares the most important insights from the A&M Consumer & Retail Group’s Fall 2021 Consumer Sentiment Survey in just five minutes!
Ask An Expert Video | Microsoft’s 5 Retail Technologies To Bet On In 2022
Microsoft’s Chris Dieringer and Ricardo Belmar sit down with Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga to discuss the Top 5 Retail Tech Trends Microsoft Would Bet On For 2022.
Fast Five Video | Amazon To Take Venmo, Bezos Flexes For Leo, & Nike Cozies Up With Dick’s
In this week’s podcast, Chris and Anne discuss Amazon taking Venmo, Sobey’s new flex store, NFTs for Singles’ Day, Nike and Dick’s, YouTube commerce, and the craziest picture of Jeff Bezos you have ever seen!
Fast Five Video | Bottoms Up To The Metaverse, Thumbs Down To Bed Bath & Kroger
In this week’s Omni Talk Fast Five podcast, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga break down the week’s top retail news, including Kroger and Bed Bath, Nike and the metaverse, Uber Eats, Amazon Fresh, and the latest checkout-free noise from Circle K.
Spotlight Series Video | Inventory Accuracy Got You Down? RFID Is An Easy Way to Cure What Ails You
Avery Dennison’s Kris Barton and Detego’s Umesh Cooduvalli join Chris Walton to discuss why RFID will soon be a centerpiece technology for omnichannel retailing excellence.
Cool Sh*t Alert | Amazon One Palm Demo
Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga head to Amazon 4-Star at Mall of America to try out and demonstrate Amazon One, Amazon’s new pay-with-your-palm payment system.
Fast Five Video | ‘Backup’ Target There’s A New Amazon Pickup Option In Town
In this week’s podcast, the A&M Consumer & Retail Group’s David Ritter and David Brown join Chris and Anne to talk Target’s new same-day options, Amazon Local Selling, PayPal and Pinterest, Trigo and Rewe, and much, much more!
Special Report | Live Tour Of Tesco’s New Checkout-Free Store In London Powered By Trigo
Omni Talk’s Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga get a live store demonstration of Tesco’s new checkout-free store in the High Holborn neighborhood of London directly from the man responsible for the technology that powers the experience, Trigo Co-Founder and CEO Michael Gabay.
Fast Five Video | Tesco Takes On Amazon Go While Instacart Jumps The Shark With Caper
In this week’s podcast, Chris and Anne discuss Tesco and Trigo’s new checkout-free store in London, the foolishness of Instacart’s Caper acquisition, Best Buy piloting Scan-&-Go, GoPuff in NYC, and the always unimaginative Walmart+.
Ask An Expert | Revisiting The Case For Resale With Recurate VP Brand Success Cynthia Power
Omni Talk Expert Cynthia Power, Recurate VP Brand Success, joins Anne Mezzenga to discuss all the various approaches retailers and brands can take to attack the resale market.
Fast Five Video | If Macys.com Gets Overvalued By An Irrational Investor, Does It Make A Noise?
In this week’s Fast Five, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss a Macy’s e-commerce spinoff, Simon and Klarna, Kroger making moves in the Northeast, Facebook pop-ups, and drive-thru grocery.
Ask An Expert | How To Save The Drowning Store Employee with Quorso CEO Julian Mills
Omni Talk expert Julian Mills of Quorso joins Chris Walton to discuss all the ways agile store operations can help already very overworked retail store employees.
Ask An Expert Series | Making Mall of America Shoppable Online with Jesse Michael And Grant Buntje
Jesse Michael, Managing Director at Adeptmind, returns to the Omni Talk Ask An Expert Series with Mall of America’s VP Marketing Grant Buntje to discuss all that it takes to make the Mall of America shoppable online.
Fast Five Video | Amazon Wins Black Friday Again With New Gift Giving Feature
In this week’s Fast Five video, Chris and Anne talk Target’s holiday price matching policy, Amazon’s new gift-giving feature, Gopuff’s new store concept, Aldi Nord’s new checkout-free store, and Sunbasket now on Instacart.
Fast Five Video | $1,000 for Whole Foods Delivery? Not A Chance!
In this week’s Omni Talk Fast Five, Chris and Anne look at Whole Foods delivery math, examine “instant delivery,” talk inventory scanning robots, question HomeGoods’ new e-commerce site, and also ask whether Stitch Fix can reimagine online shopping for apparel.
Fast Five Video | Groceryshop Highlights Plus Amazon Dressing Rooms & Walmart Health Labeling
Chris and Anne recap their highlights from Groceryshop and discuss the growing instant delivery wars, paying with their palms, Walmart labeling health and wellness products, Chick-fil-A’s new virtual storefront, and Amazon fitting rooms.
Spotlight Series Video | Signifyd CMO Indy Guha (Groceryshop Special Report)
Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Signifyd CMO Indy Guha to discuss all the reasons why the grocery industry is facing an unprecedented level of digital fraud and what can be done to stop it.
Spotlight Series Video | Cooler Screens Founder & CEO Arsen Avakian (Groceryshop Special Report)
Cooler Screens Founder and CEO Arsen Avakian, in a special Groceryshop edition of the Omni Talk Spotlight Series, shares with Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga how his company is radically changing marketing in-store, one cooler screen at a time.
Fast Five Video | Amazon And The War On Wages
In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, A&M’s David Ritter and Kristin Kohler Burrows join Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga to debate Amazon’s impact on wage rates, the layoffs at Casper, Thrasio’s spending spree, Peloton’s move into private label, and Beauty Pie’s $100 million equity raise.
Fast Five Video | Go Go Amazon Go In Whole Foods
Chris and Anne discuss Amazon bringing Just Walk Out technology to Whole Foods, Kroger’s expansion into Florida, Walmart and Instacart, Hy-Vee and fitness, and the departure of Target’s CIO.
Spotlight Series Video | The Secret To Post-Pandemic Digital Marketing: Customer First, Not Channel
There have been a lot of shifts happening as a result of the pandemic: people have new shopping behaviors, they’re… Continue Reading
Fast Five Video | An Amazon Reaffirmation, Ikea Resale, and the Allbirds IPO
Chris and Anne discuss Amazon and Affirm, Ikea’s new resale program, Allbirds’ IPO, Mercatus and Instacart, and how Leap is helping DTC brands open stores.
Fast Five Video | Chris Returns To Rant About Amazon, Walmart, and Toys R Us
After a long medical leave, Chris Walton return to talk Walmart’s GoLocal program, Amazon’s move into department stores, the silliness of Macy’s partnering with Toys R Us, Shipt’s preferred shopper program, and Warby Parker’s IPO.
Walmart Launches Sustainable Eyewear Brand
Walmart is continuing its push into the eyewear market as well as to becoming a regenerative company. The discount giant… Continue Reading
Amazon CEO Explains how Company Carries Out Same-Day Delivery
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC’s Jim Cramer how the company has been able to increasingly carry out same-day orders. Amazon changed its U.S. fulfillment… Continue Reading
Hundreds of New Stores Help Push Dollar General Sales up 2.4%
Dollar General’s Q3 net sales rose 2.4% year over year to $9.7 billion, as store comps fell 1.3%. Gross margin contracted slightly… Continue Reading
Amazon Drops Venmo Users
Users of PayPal’s Venmo peer-to-peer payment app will no longer be able to tap that tool for purchases at digital… Continue Reading
Amazon Tests Grocery Subscription Service for Prime Members
Amazon is piloting a new grocery subscription for members of its Prime program, the company said Thursday, marking the latest recalibration… Continue Reading
Fast Five Video | A Walmart Store Of The Future, A Big Get For DoorDash & NRF’s Organized Crime About Face
In the latest Omni Talk Fast Five retail news roundup, Chris and Anne discuss the NRF’s statements on Organized Retail Crime’s impact, Uber Store Pickup, Best Buy’s DoorDash sales, and Walmart Canada’s future-oriented store and its shoppable programming. They also share insights from Microsoft’s Jeff Strasser on Generative AI.
Online Q3 Grocery Sales See See Big Year-Over-Year Decrease
Online grocery sales saw a notable year-over-year (YoY) dip during the third quarter. For the 12-week period ended Sept. 20,… Continue Reading
Southern Hardware Retailer Stine Detects Out-of-Stocks with Robots
The newest stock personnel in Stine stores move on wheels. The regional hardware chain operating in Louisiana and Mississippi is… Continue Reading
Foot Locker Shares Jump 16% After Earnings Beat, More Upbeat Sales Outlook
Shares of Foot Locker rose Wednesday in premarket trading after the company posted surprise earnings and sales beats and said it saw… Continue Reading
Pinterest Opens First Pop-Up Store to Feature Its Shoppable 2024 Trends Predictions
For the fourth year in a row, PinterestPINS -1.7% has been leveraging the rich user data it has access to in order… Continue Reading
Best Buy Increases Reliance on Distribution Centers for Customer Delivery
Best Buy leaned less on its store fleet and more on its distribution centers in the third quarter to ship… Continue Reading
5 Insightful Minutes With Microsoft’s Jeff Strasser On Revolutionizing Retail With GenAI
This “5 Insightful Minutes” episode explores the transformative role of generative AI (GenAI) in the retail industry with Microsoft’s Jeff Strasser. The discussion covers how major retailers like Mars, Domino’s, and Starbucks leverage GenAI to manage supply chain disruptions, labor issues, customer expectations, improve productivity, and reinforce data privacy and security.
Revolutionizing Retail with GenAI: 5 Insightful Minutes With Microsoft’s Jeff Strasser
This “5 Insightful Minutes” episode explores the transformative role of generative AI (GenAI) in the retail industry with Microsoft’s Jeff Strasser. The discussion covers how major retailers like Mars, Domino’s, and Starbucks leverage GenAI to manage supply chain disruptions, labor issues, customer expectations, improve productivity, and reinforce data privacy and security.
Fast Five | A Walmart Store Of The Future, A Big Get For DoorDash & NRF’s Organized Crime About Face
Chris and Anne discuss NRF’s restatements about Organized Retail Crime’s impact on shrink, Uber Store Pickup, Best Buy selling on DoorDash, Walmart Canada’s store of the future, and Walmart’s foray into shoppable programming. Plus, Microsoft’s Jeff Strasser also stopped by to give 5 Insightful Minutes on Generative AI.
Camp Partners with Hotel Giant to Reinvent Family Vacations
Camp is looking to help reimagine family getaways. The family-friendly experiential retailer is teaming up with Marriott Bonvoy properties to… Continue Reading
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.