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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

55:33

Target SoHo, Amazon Rush & The Instacart Dynamic...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/17

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:Amazon’s planned “rush” pickup service for one-hour order collection (Source)Instacart’s AI-enabled pricing experiments that may be inflating grocery bills (Source)November’s record-breaking $12.3 billion in online grocery sales (Source)Target’s new SoHo store concept featuring curated beauty and apparel (Source)Ashley’s partnership with

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03:28

THE RETAIL 2026 PREDICTION FORECAST | Fast Five Shorts

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chris, Anne, and Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group close with bold 2026 predictions sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Chad predicts OpenAI will launch its own payment platform for agent commerce, Chris forecasts Starbucks will abandon seating for mobile-focused ghost cafes, while Anne expects agent-influenced shopping to triple during 2026 holiday season. Which prediction will prove most accurate?For the full episode head

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03:07

Most Laughable Headline - What Made No Sense? | Fast...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chris, Anne, and Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group call out 2025's most ridiculous retail headlines in this segment sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Anne demolishes Starbucks' claim that mobile pickup stores lack "warmth and connection," Chad laughs at Liquid Death's viral pit diaper incident, while Chris questions Target's small town expansion as desperate PR. Which headline showed the worst strategic thinking?For the full

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04:30

Best Partnership - Which Collaboration Won 2025? |...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chris, Anne, and Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group debate 2025's smartest retail partnerships in this segment sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Chad highlights Walmart's Rebag luxury resale partnership as perfectly timed for cross-income shopping trends, Chris praises Walmart and Avery Dennison's perishables tracking as the "holy grail" for grocery margins, while Anne champions IKEA's Best Buy kitchen installations as

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05:02

Best Strategic Turnaround - Who Pivoted Successfully?...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chris, Anne, and Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group recognize 2025's best retail turnarounds in this segment sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Both Anne and Chris praise Macy's focus on core stores, private brand investment, and Tony Spring's shoe department service improvements, while Chad celebrates Gap's viral marketing comeback with KATSEYE bringing cultural relevance. Can advertising alone save a struggling brand, or

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04:13

Best Movie Material - Which Headline Deserves...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chris, Anne, and Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group pitch their retail movie ideas in this segment sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Chris envisions "Shein: Sac le blue!!!" featuring Paris protests, Chad creates a Black Mirror-style thriller about Neo's terrifying robot servant with human controllers, while Anne wants true crime investigations of mysterious CEO departures at Kohl's and Kroger. Which retail headline belongs on

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09:14

Most Overhyped Technology - What Failed to Deliver? |...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chris, Anne, and Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group call out 2025's most overhyped retail technologies in this segment sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Anne criticizes smart carts' misleading deployment numbers and questionable ROI, while both Chad and Chris agree agentic AI commerce is overhyped despite being transformative… pointing to Target's rushed ChatGPT integration as proof retailers are moving too fast without

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05:19

CEO of the Year - Who Led Best in 2025? | Fast Five...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chris, Anne, and Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group crown their CEO of the Year in this segment sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Chad surprises with Fidji Simo's bold move from Instacart to OpenAI Applications as a signal of commerce's future direction, while both Chris and Anne recognize Doug McMillon's decade-long transformation of Walmart from legacy retailer to omnichannel powerhouse. Was 2025 about execution or

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06:13

Technology of the Year - What Innovation Won 2025? |...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chris, Anne, and Chad reveal their Technology of the Year picks in this segment sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Chad champions pricing transparency tools like Grocery Dealz that could disrupt grocery economics, Anne argues electronic shelf labels finally reached mainstream adoption after Walmart's chain-wide rollout, while Chris focuses on operational agentic AI transforming warehouses and inventory management. Which technology truly

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05:45

Headline of the Year - What Announcement Mattered...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Chris, and Anne debate 2025's most significant retail headline sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Chris picks Walmart's ChatGPT integration as a potential Amazon disruptor, Anne highlights Etsy and OpenAI's transactional partnership as commerce's pivotal moment, while Chad argues Doug McMillon's retirement marks the end of retail's post-Amazon era. Which headline will define retail's next

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06:05

Retailer of the Year - Who Dominated 2025? | Fast...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/15

Chad Lusk from A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Chris, and Anne debate Retailer of the Year in this segment sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.Chad champions Aldi's unprecedented 225-store expansion and perfect timing with value-conscious consumers, while Anne argues Walmart's technology leadership and fashion momentum earned them the crown. Chris makes the case for Costco's operational discipline and traffic growth despite stock

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01:03:24

Our 2025 Retail Awards Show!

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/10

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 teamed up with Chad Lusk from the Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group to hand out our 2025 Omni Awards across the following categories:Retailer of the YearHeadline of the YearRetail Technology of the YearMost Overhyped Retail TechBest Strategic Move from a Struggling RetailerAnd so much more, including 2026 predictionsThere’s all that, plus

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04:01

Lightning Round: Advent Calendars, Slop Bowls &...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/08

Advent calendars are the hot holiday trend...from Skims to fishing lures to ice cream. Chris reveals his dream: 28 days of Nikes. Sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso.In this Lightning Round:• Are slop bowls officially dead as sandwiches stage a comeback?• The White House drops 120 pounds of gingerbread• And how Mariah Carey turned one song into $60MFor the full episode head here #adventcalendar #nike #holidaytrends #specialtyretail

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04:22

Amazon Now: The 30-Minute Delivery Service | Fast...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/08

Amazon is testing "Amazon Now," a new 30-minute delivery service in Seattle and Philadelphia, repurposing former Amazon Fresh sites into rapid delivery hubs. But is this innovation or desperation? This segment, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, analyzes Amazon's grocery struggles.Chris reveals the shocking stat: Despite owning Whole Foods and having Amazon's infrastructure, Amazon's grocery share is still only 4%. He sees this as a

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05:11

Are Smart Glasses Ready for a 2026 Breakthrough? |...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/08

McKinsey and Business of Fashion report predicts smart glasses are set for a breakthrough year in 2026, with Ray-Ban Meta glasses already the top-selling product in 60% of EMEA stores. But Chris and Anne aren't buying it. This segment, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, questions the hype around smart eyewear.Anne argues that smart glasses are too visible and fashion-forward for mass adoption—unlike discrete smartwatches and rings. Chris,

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05:43

Walmart's Brilliant Move: Bringing Ads to AI Shopping...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/08

Walmart is quietly testing a new ad format called "sponsored prompts" inside its Sparky AI shopping engine and both Chris and Anne agree this is exactly the right move. This segment, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, breaks down why retailer-owned AI is the smart play.According to Wall Street Journal reporting, Walmart's new ad format integrates sponsored content directly into Sparky conversations with click-to-buy options. Anne loves it

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05:01

ChatGPT Shopping Research: Revolution or Just Better...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/08

ChatGPT just launched shopping research that does the product hunting for you, but should retailers be worried or relieved? This segment, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, explores the real implications of AI-powered shopping tools.Anne is bullish, arguing that AI shopping tools provide unprecedented price transparency and will change how consumers shop for everything from snacks to electronics. Chris pushes back hard: only 30% of

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05:36

Black Friday Hits RECORD $11.8 Billion in Online...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/08

Black Friday 2025 just hit $11.8 billion in online sales... up 9.1% from last year. But Chris questions whether AI's 805% traffic surge is actually impressive or concerningly slow compared to other tech adoption curves. This segment, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, dives deep into what the numbers really mean.Anne argues that 25% of purchases involving AI agents shows tremendous growth potential, especially since we can't even transact

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42:35

AI Hits Black Friday, Amazon Tests 30-Minute...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/03

In this Fast Five episode, sponsored by theA&M Consumer and Retail Group,Mirakl,Ocampo Capital,Infios, andQuorso, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga break down the biggest retail stories from Black Friday 2025, including record-breaking online sales, AI's growing influence on shopping, and what it all means for the future of retail.From ChatGPT's new shopping research tool to Walmart's bold move to monetize Sparky with ads, Chris and Anne debate where retailers should focus their AI investments

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04:24

Lightning Round: Turkey Day Hot Takes, Black Friday...

Retail Fast Five ·

2025/12/01

This Lightning Round segment from the Omni Talk Retail Fast Five podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, gets personal with the Omni Talk crew's Thanksgiving and Black Friday plans!Anne and producer Ella gang up on Chris's love of jarred gravy (spoiler: they're both anti-gravy). The team shares their Black Friday shopping strategies from Banana Republic to luxury consignment pop-ups. Plus, Anne weighs in on Bianca Censori's

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283 results

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