Épisodes

  • ChatGPT Goes Ad-Supported, Gap Goes Hollywood & Walmart Goes Upscale In Home | Fast Five

    ChatGPT Goes Ad-Supported, Gap Goes Hollywood & Walmart Goes Upscale In Home | Fast Five
    Jan 21 2026
    In this week's Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, Quorso, and Veloq, Chris and Anne discussed: ChatGPT beginning to test ads for logged-in users (Source) Kroger launching on Uber nationwide across 2,700 stores (Source) Walmart leaning into trendier, upscale home goods (Source) Fanatics launching an entertainment studio while Gap creates a Chief Entertainment Officer role (Source) Simbe unveiling Tally 4.0 with advanced AI capabilities (Source) There's all that, plus graduation speech confessions, Magic Mike on Broadway, and whether Victoria Beckham should've hijacked her son's first dance. P.S. Be sure to check out all our other podcasts from the past week here, too: https://omnitalk.blog/category/podcast/ P.P.S. Also be sure to check out our podcast rankings on Apple Podcasts and on Feedspot Music by hooksounds.com #RetailNews #ChatGPTAds #WalmartHome #RetailTech #FanaticsStudio #RetailPodcast #OmniTalk #SimbeTally #RetailInnovation #KrogerUber
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    42 min
  • Confessions Of Supply Chain Executives | Why 2025 Was A “Vanilla” Year

    Confessions Of Supply Chain Executives | Why 2025 Was A “Vanilla” Year
    Jan 20 2026
    In this episode of Confessions of Supply Chain Executives, host Chris Walton sits down with Kim Baudry, Market Development Director at Dematic, to unpack why 2025 wasn’t a year of transformation for retail. It was a year of survival. Despite continued investment in automation and analytics, many retailers are more cautious than ever. Inventory levels are rising. Capital spending is slowing. And behind the scenes, fear, not strategy, is driving decisions. Kim calls 2025 a “vanilla” year. Stable on the surface, but defined by hesitation, uncertainty, and defensive plays. This episode breaks down where retail supply chains are stalling, why flexibility has replaced scale as the priority, and how labor inefficiencies and planning blind spots are quietly draining performance across warehouses and distribution networks. Key Topics covered: • Why 2025 became a “vanilla” year for retail investment • How fear and geopolitical uncertainty are driving excess inventory • Why just in time has quietly become just in case • The hidden cost of warehouse labor tied up in spreadsheets and planning • Why big bang automation is stalling and what is getting funded • The rise of flexible, brownfield friendly automation strategies • Robots as a Service and SaaS as lower risk entry points • Why AI and agentic decisioning may impact warehouses faster than any other function • What retailers must do to move from survival mode to strategic progress 🎧 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more brutally honest conversations about retail, supply chain, and the technology reshaping how work actually gets done. Music by hooksounds.com #ConfessionsOfASupplyChainExecutive #SupplyChain #RetailSupplyChain #Retail2025 #SupplyChainStrategy #WarehouseOperations #InventoryManagement #WarehouseAutomation #AIInSupplyChain #RetailTechnology #LogisticsInnovation #Dematic #SupplyChainPodcast *Sponsored Content*
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    40 min
  • CVS Private Brands Strategy, Simplification, and Health-Led Growth with Mike Wier | NRF 2026

    CVS Private Brands Strategy, Simplification, and Health-Led Growth with Mike Wier | NRF 2026
    Jan 19 2026
    In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live from NRF 2026, Mike Wier, Vice President of Store Brands at CVS, joins Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton to discuss how CVS is rethinking private brands as a core growth engine across health, wellness, and everyday convenience. Mike explains what it means to run store brands like a “mini CEO,” overseeing product development, sourcing, branding, and growth across a 9,000-store footprint. With most CVS customers shopping quick, mission-driven trips, the conversation focuses on how simplicity, clarity, and trust at the shelf are shaping CVS’s private brand strategy. Looking ahead, Mike outlines his vision for CVS private brands evolving beyond the store, becoming trusted consumer brands that extend outside of CVS’s four walls and operate more like modern CPG companies. Key Topics Covered: -What it means to lead private brands as a “mini CEO” inside CVS -Why CVS simplified dozens of brands into a focused brand portfolio How short, mission-driven trips shape private brand strategy -Repositioning the CVS brand for health, wellness, and trust -Packaging simplification and shelf clarity as competitive advantages -Competing with national brands in wellness and everyday essentials -Why CVS private brands may expand beyond CVS stores -How private brands are becoming long-term growth platforms Thank you to Vusion for supporting Omni Talk Retail’s NRF 2026 coverage, and thank you to our listeners for following along throughout the show. #NRF2026 #CVS #PrivateBrands #StoreBrands #RetailStrategy #HealthAndWellness #RetailBranding #RetailInnovation #OmniTalkRetail
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    9 min
  • Agentic Commerce at NRF and the Real AI Takeaways Microsoft Thinks Retailers Need Now

    Agentic Commerce at NRF and the Real AI Takeaways Microsoft Thinks Retailers Need Now
    Jan 19 2026
    In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Amy Vener, Global Retail & Consumer Goods Marketing Director for Commercial Cloud & AI at Microsoft, joins Omni Talk to unpack the main takeaways from NRF and where retailers should focus next as agentic commerce moves from theory to execution. Drawing on her experience across Walmart, Pinterest, and Microsoft, Amy shares how retailers are shifting away from AI hype and toward real, measurable outcomes. From conversational shopping agents and merchandising insights to connected stores and cultural readiness, this episode breaks down how retailers can drive real return on intelligence in 2026 and beyond. If you’re trying to figure out where AI fits into your merchandising, marketing, store operations, or supply chain strategy (and how to start without boiling the ocean), this conversation is for you. Key Topics covered: • 00:03:08 – Why “what problem are you trying to solve?” still matters more than the tech • 00:07:34 – Agentic commerce use cases across marketing, merchandising, and operations • 00:15:50 – How conversational data is influencing assortment and product development • 00:10:01 – The role of connected stores and digital twins in retail decision-making • 00:09:09 / 00:19:58 – Lessons from brands like Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, and Coca-Cola • 00:23:07 – Why culture and team readiness are critical to AI adoption • 00:25:42 – How retailers should engage Microsoft to drive faster business impact 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts. #retailtech #retailAI #agenticcommerce #connectedstore #Microsoft #NRF #retailinnovation #omnitalk #retailpodcast #digitaltransformation Sponsored Content
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    28 min
  • Amazon's Walmart Play, AI Shopping Protocols & Drone Delivery Wars | Fast Five

    Amazon's Walmart Play, AI Shopping Protocols & Drone Delivery Wars | Fast Five
    Jan 14 2026
    In this week's Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, Quorso, and Veloq, Chris and Anne discussed: Amazon's plans to build a 225,000 square foot retail store in Orland Park, Illinois (Source) Google's launch of a Universal Commerce Protocol with backing from major retailers (Source) Circle K expanding its partnership with Corso to over 7,800 US locations (Source) Small merchants upset over Amazon's Buy for Me AI feature listing products without permission (Source) Walmart and Wing scaling drone delivery to 270 stores by 2027 (Source) And Ulta Beauty's SVP of Digital and E-Commerce, Josh Friedman, also stopped by to share five insightful minutes about Ulta's marketplace plans. There's all that, plus banana water, birthday drone deliveries, and why Chris thinks Amazon's supercenter concept might be their last retail experiment. Music by hooksounds.com #RetailNews #GoogleUCP #AmazonRetail #WalmartDrones #AgenticCommerce #RetailPodcast #OmniTalk #CircleK #UltaBeauty #RetailTech #DroneDelivery #RetailInnovation
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    45 min
  • StrongPoint CEO Breaks Down In-Store Order Picking, Grocery Efficiency, and Store-Based Fulfillment | NRF 2026

    StrongPoint CEO Breaks Down In-Store Order Picking, Grocery Efficiency, and Store-Based Fulfillment | NRF 2026
    Jan 14 2026
    In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live from NRF 2026 at the Vusion booth, Jacob Tveraabak, Group Chief Executive Officer of StrongPoint, joins Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton to discuss how in-store order picking, grocery efficiency, and store-based fulfillment are becoming critical to profitable grocery ecommerce. Jacob explains why grocery presents a fundamentally different operational challenge than other retail categories, driven by high item velocity, low margins, and large basket sizes. Drawing on StrongPoint’s Scandinavian roots, he shares how high labor costs have forced retailers to engineer ultra-efficient picking solutions and why those lessons are increasingly relevant for U.S. grocers. Key Topics Covered: -Why grocery order picking requires a fundamentally different technology approach -How labor costs drive efficiency and innovation in Scandinavian retail -The role of in-store picking in profitable grocery ecommerce -Store-based fulfillment vs centralized fulfillment centers -Integrating order picking with shelf visibility and store data -Reducing substitution, mis-picks, and wasted labor -How connected store infrastructure improves execution at scale -Why stores are becoming the backbone of future grocery fulfillment Thank you to Vusion for supporting Omni Talk Retail’s live coverage from NRF 2026, and thank you to our listeners for tuning in throughout the week. #NRF2026 #StrongPoint #GroceryRetail #OrderPicking #StoreBasedFulfillment #RetailOperations #ConnectedStores #RetailTechnology #OmniTalkRetail
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    10 min
  • Vusion’s Martin Bailie On the Execution Gap and Why It’s Retail’s Biggest Risk | NRF 2026

    Vusion’s Martin Bailie On the Execution Gap and Why It’s Retail’s Biggest Risk | NRF 2026
    Jan 14 2026
    In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live from NRF 2026 at the Vusion booth, Martin Bailie, Senior Advisor at Vusion, joins Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton to explain why the execution gap has become the biggest risk facing retailers in 2026. As retailers invest heavily in AI, data platforms, and digital transformation, many are discovering that strategy alone does not drive results. Martin breaks down why execution at store level, not vision decks or pilot programs, determines whether technology delivers real P & L impact. From disconnected systems and poor data quality to organizational silos and change management challenges, this conversation examines why retailers struggle to move from ideas to outcomes. Key Topics Covered: • Why the execution gap is now retail’s biggest competitive risk • The difference between strategy, pilots, and scalable execution • How disconnected store systems undermine AI and analytics investments • Why data quality and real time visibility matter more than new tools • The role of connected store platforms in driving consistent execution • Organizational barriers that prevent technology from delivering value • How retailers can align store operations, IT, and leadership priorities • Turning technology investments into measurable P & L results • What retailers must do in 2026 to avoid permanent execution debt Stop by the Vusion booth #4921 to say hello! #NRF2026 #RetailExecution #ConnectedStores #RetailTechnology #RetailAI #StoreOperations #Vusion #RetailLeadership #OmniTalk
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    14 min
  • Costco’s Mark Williamson on Building Retail Media the Costco Way | NRF 2026

    Costco’s Mark Williamson on Building Retail Media the Costco Way | NRF 2026
    Jan 14 2026
    In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live from NRF 2026 at the Vusion booth, Mark Williamson, AVP of Retail Media at Costco, joins Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton to discuss how Costco is building its retail media business in a way that stays true to its culture, values, and member-first philosophy. Mark shares how Costco’s retail media organization has evolved over the past year, including major investments in people, data infrastructure, and foundational capabilities designed to support personalization at scale. Rather than prioritizing short-term monetization, Costco is intentionally building a retail media platform that serves its broader member communication and personalization strategy. Looking ahead to 2026, Mark outlines upcoming product launches including a new clean room, expanded offsite media measurement, search and shopping integrations, and a rebuilt onsite ad server designed to connect identity, data, and in-warehouse sales outcomes. The discussion closes with a look at how Costco views scan-and-go style experiences, warehouse mode, and the role of the app as a one-to-one personalization channel. Key Topics covered: -How Costco’s retail media business has evolved since NRF 2025 -What it means to build retail media “the Costco way” -Hiring from within and preserving Costco culture at scale -Why retail media is subordinated to member communication strategy -The role of AI in delivering personalization across 135 million members -Why data readiness is the foundation for scalable retail media -Balancing national brands and Kirkland Signature within retail media -Clean rooms, offsite measurement, and growing advertiser expectations -New search, shopping, and onsite ad server capabilities for 2026 -How Costco thinks about scan-and-go, warehouse mode, and the member app Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from NRF 2026, and stop by the Vusion booth #4921 to say hello. #NRF2026 #Costco #RetailMedia #RetailTechnology #Personalization #RetailAI #OmnichannelRetail #RetailLeadership #OmniTalk
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    17 min