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PODCAST

Retail Fast Five

Omni Talk Retail

The Omni Talk Retail Fast Five podcast is your weekly dose of retail industry insights and trends in a quick and digestible format. Hosted by industry experts, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga, this podcast delivers the top five news stories each week that are shaping the digital and physical retail landscape. Each episode breaks down the most important developments in retail, from the latest innovations in technology to consumer behavior shifts, emerging market trends, and beyond. Whether you"re a

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All Episodes

05:20

Lightning Round: Holiday Hacks, Hot Cocoa & Dick Van...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/24

The lightning round brings holiday cheer and nostalgia to close this episode! Sponsored A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Chris reveals he'll use "Santa GPT" (ChatGPT for holiday shopping) to find gifts for his mom, though she already told him she wants a Brita water pitcher. Anne shares her family's Black Friday strategy: setting alarms for discounted ski passes rather than shopping for traditional items.Celebrating Dick Van Dyke's upcoming 100th

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04:32

Target and Starbucks Create Exclusive Frozen...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/24

Target and Starbucks have partnered to create an exclusive frozen peppermint hot chocolate available only at Starbucks cafes inside Target stores nationwide. This episode, Sponsored A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, explores why this seemingly small move could signal Target's merchandising mojo is returning.Chris loves this idea, calling it "smart merchandising that leverages a true differentiation point." Target Circle 360 members get 24-hour early

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08:09

Can Google's AI Shopping Revolution Challenge ChatGPT...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/24

Google is rolling out major AI shopping features including conversational search, agentic checkout, and an AI that calls stores for you. This episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, sparks a fascinating debate about the future of shopping search.Anne argues Google's comprehensive data ecosystem... from Gmail to Maps to Calendar, gives it an edge over ChatGPT and Perplexity. She believes Google could leapfrog competitors by leveraging

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02:54

Primark Joins the Buy Now Pay Later Revolution | Fast...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/24

Primark has introduced Buy Now Pay Later options through Klarna and Clearpay... marking a major milestone in BNPL's journey from innovation to mass adoption. This episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, explores what this means for retailers.Chris declares that BNPL has officially "crossed the chasm", seven years after it first emerged at Shop.org in 2018. When you can buy $4 shirts on installments, there's no turning back. Anne shares

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04:02

Grocery Dealz Unlocks Same-Day Delivery Through...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/24

Grocery Dealz has integrated with Instacart to power same-day delivery directly from its price comparison app. This episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, explores why this partnership could be a game-changer for consumers.Anne and Chris rate this announcement an 8 out of 10, explaining how it justifies delivery fees by maximizing savings through price comparison. Imagine shopping at three different stores for the best deals without

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06:23

The Furner Era Begins: What Walmart's CEO Transition...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/24

Doug McMillon is retiring as Walmart CEO, handing the reins to John Furner in February 2025. This episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, explores McMillon's incredible legacy... 400% stock gains, $576 billion in added market cap, and a cultural transformation that made Walmart a leader in retail innovation.Chris shares a personal story about meeting John Furner and why he believes Furner is the perfect successor. Anne highlights the

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46:19

Walmart's Got A New CEO, Google Will Call Stores For...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/19

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by theA&M Consumer and Retail Group,Mirakl,Ocampo Capital,Infios, andQuorso, Chris and Anne discussed:Doug McMillon retiring as Walmart CEO, with John Furner taking over in February (Source)Grocery Dealz integrating with Instacart’s Developer Platform for on-demand delivery (Source)Primark introducing Buy Now, Pay Later options with Klarna and Clearpay (Source)Google launching new AI shopping features including conversational search and

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04:10

Lightning Round: Ulta Discounts, Andy Garcia &...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/17

The lightning round gets personal as Kelly reveals she'd trade her data to Ulta for holiday discounts (with three sisters and multiple gift exchanges, who can blame her?), Waqas picks "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" as his favorite Andy Garcia film, and the panel mourns the potential disappearance of Italian pasta from US shelves.Plus: middle-aged men are revealed as the biggest holiday spenders, Waqas's dishwasher crisis becomes his entire holiday budget (German vs. Korean appliance

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08:05

Dollar General's AI Leadership Move | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/17

Dollar General has appointed Travis Nixon as SVP of Artificial Intelligence, tasking him with using AI to optimize supply chain, store operations, and merchandising. But how long before every retailer has a Chief AI Officer—and is this even the right approach?Waqas Khan delivers a masterclass on why standalone AI roles may follow the same fate as Chief Digital Officers, most of whom lasted less than two years before the role dissolved. The panel discusses why Dollar General's SVP approach (rather

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07:48

Target's "10-4" Service Controversy | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/17

Target's new "10-4" policy requires employees to smile and wave at customers within 10 feet, and personally greet them within 4 feet. Is this explicit instruction necessary for today's workforce, or a forced, performative approach that signals deeper cultural problems?Former Target store manager Chris Walton shares insider perspective on why this policy reveals how far store culture has declined, while Anne argues that explicit direction is needed for first-time workers entering the retail job

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05:32

Bath & Body Works Scents the Holidays | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/17

Bath & Body Works is bringing Fresh Balsam to Grand Central Terminal, movie theaters, and interactive mall kiosks in what beauty expert Kelly Carey calls "my favorite marketing campaign of the year." But is piping fragrance into public spaces genius brand awareness or an invasive marketing tactic?Kelly breaks down why this campaign is perfectly timed to recapture awareness in a booming fragrance market, while the panel debates the opt-in vs. opt-out question when scent is thrust upon consumers

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09:51

Amazon vs. Perplexity Legal Showdown | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/17

Amazon is suing Perplexity AI over its Comet shopping agent, claiming it "covertly accesses Amazon customer accounts" and interferes with the curated shopping experience Amazon built over decades. But is this defensive move from the e-commerce giant actually a sign of things to come?Waqas Khan from A&M breaks down the technology protocols at stake, why this feels like a classic incumbent vs. disruptor battle, and how advertising revenue is driving Amazon's aggressive response. Chris argues this

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07:33

AI Shopping Hits Critical Mass | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/17

Adobe's October data reveals a game-changing milestone: generative AI traffic is now converting 16% BETTER than traditional sources—a complete 180 from three months ago when AI traffic converted 9% WORSE. This episode breaks down what Kelly Carey and Waqas Khan from the A&M Consumer and Retail Group think retailers need to know about this inflection point. With AI traffic up 1,200% year-over-year and shoppers spending 44% longer on sites when arriving from AI sources, the experts discuss why

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55:32

AI Commerce Surges, Amazon Sues Perplexity & We Are...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/12

In this Retail Fast Five episode, sponsored by theA&M Consumer and Retail Group,Mirakl,Ocampo Capital,Infios, andQuorso, Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton are joined by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group's Managing Director Waqas Khan and Director Kelly Carey to unpack the biggest retail headlines of the week—from the AI commerce inflection point to Amazon's legal battle with Perplexity.With Adobe data revealing that AI-driven traffic now converts 16% better than traditional channels, the panel

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03:10

Lightning Round: Chat GPT Coaching, Sexiest Man Alive...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/10

The Lightning Round gets wild this week! From a soccer coach using Chat GPT to devise winning defensive strategies, to Jonathan Bailey's Sexiest Man Alive title, to John Lewis offering hand massages for loyalty members, and Carly Rae Jepsen's baby naming dilemma... Chris and Anne tackle the most entertaining retail and culture moments.Plus, hear their personal Chat GPT success stories and debate whether hand massages at a department store would actually drive traffic. It's retail meets pop culture

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03:17

GrubHub Partners with Instacart | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/10

In a surprising move, GrubHub (owned by Mark Lore's Wonder super app) is partnering with Instacart to enable grocery delivery directly through the GrubHub platform. But this partnership raises major strategic questions: Why would Instacart help a potential future competitor?Chris breaks down the "Greeks bearing gifts" dynamics at play and questions whether this is Mark Lore's chess move toward building the ultimate meal-time super app. Is Instacart making a strategic mistake, or is there a bigger

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04:58

Kroger & Uber Eats Restaurant Integration | Fast Five...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/10

Kroger is making history as the first retailer to integrate restaurant delivery directly into their grocery app through an expanded partnership with Uber Eats. Now customers can order their weekly groceries AND dinner from local restaurants in one seamless experience, with special benefits for Kroger Boost members.Chris and Anne discuss why this integration is brilliant for the subscription wars and predict when Walmart will respond with a similar Door Dash partnership. Is this the future of grocery

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04:43

Mondelēz's $40M AI Advertising Bet | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/10

Mondelēz (maker of Oreo and Chips Ahoy) is investing over $40 million in a custom generative AI tool to slash marketing costs by 30-50% and create TV-ready ads for the 2027 Super Bowl. But is building proprietary AI technology the right move, or should CPG brands partner with specialized providers?Chris and Anne debate whether this massive investment will pay off or become a costly sunk cost trap as AI technology rapidly evolves. Anne shares insights from cutting-edge AI advertising demos that are

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04:11

Starbucks' Billion-Dollar Delivery Business | Fast...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/10

Starbucks just revealed that delivery has become a $1 billion annual business, growing 30% year-over-year—and it's changing everything about how we think about coffee shops. With 40% of delivery orders including food, this massive revenue stream raises critical questions about Brian Nichol's turnaround strategy.Should Starbucks double down on automation and dark cafes, or invest in improving the in-store experience? Chris and Anne debate the future of Starbucks as delivery continues to

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06:15

The Amazonification of Whole Foods | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/11/10

Amazon is shaking up Whole Foods with a controversial transformation that has retail experts divided. From robot-powered "ShopBots" in the back room fetching Tide Pods and Pepsi, to a massive 3,800 square foot Amazon Grocery kiosk replacing the coffee shop in Chicago's flagship location, Amazon is testing whether Whole Foods shoppers want mainstream brands alongside their organic kale.Chris and Anne debate whether this move will destroy Whole Foods' brand identity or unlock new value for Amazon's

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