Omni Talk Retail

Live from Retail Technology Show 2026 in London, Omni Talk Retail’s Chris Walton sits down with Katya Denike, Chief Product Officer at Holland & Barrett, to discuss how one of Europe’s leading wellness retailers is using technology, product thinking, and AI to transform the customer experience. Katya shares why Holland & Barrett brought its mobile app in-house, how it grew from a strugglin...

How do you deliver world-class luxury service to millions of annual visitors while preserving exclusivity, personalization, and the magic of in-store retail? Live from Retail Technology Show 2026 in London, Chris Walton sits down with Mark Blundell, Chief Retail Officer at Harrods, to discuss how one of the world’s most iconic retailers continues to set the standard for customer experience, servic...

How do you scale a luxury brand without losing what made customers love it in the first place? Live from Retail Technology Show 2026 in London, Chris Walton sits down with Sebastian Picardo, CEO of Monica Vinader, to discuss the future of modern luxury retail. Sebastian shares lessons from leadership roles at Alexander McQueen, Net-a-Porter, and Burberry, plus what it takes to grow Monica Vinader...

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, recorded live from London and sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group , Mirakl , Ocampo Capital , Infios , Quorso and Veloq , Chris Walton and special guest Ben Miller of Shoptalk discussed: Walmart expanding its Better Care platform into GLP-1 weight management, connecting pharmacy, telehealth, nutrition, and same-day delivery into one ecosyst...

In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live at Retail Technology Show 2026 in London from the Vusion podcast studio, Chris Walton sits down with Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, to discuss the biggest policy and economic forces shaping UK retail today. Helen explains how the BRC is helping retailers navigate inflationary pressure tied to global supply chain di...

How do you run a global fashion marketplace serving 18 million active customers across 200 markets while keeping assortment fresh, fulfillment fast, and brand partnerships strong? Live from Retail Technology Show 2026 in London, Chris Walton sits down with Shazmeen Malik, Partner Brands and Flexible Fulfillment Director at ASOS, to discuss how ASOS is evolving its marketplace model through smarter...

In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live at Retail Technology Show 2026 in London from the Vusion podcast studio, Chris Walton sits down with Jamie Kristow, CEO of Cotswold Outdoor Group, to discuss how the company is modernizing specialty outdoor retail through service, store innovation, and retail media. Jamie shares how Cotswold Outdoor is leveraging its expertise-led store model to help...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: California's AG releases unredacted documents alleging Amazon strong-armed brands like Levi's and Hanes into pressuring Walmart, Target, and others to raise prices, adding fuel to a multi-front antitrust battle heading to trial in 2027. Party City makes a s...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Armen Mkrtchyan, CEO and co-founder of Extuitive, joins Omni Talk to tackle one of the oldest problems in advertising and to show how AI is finally cracking it. John Wanamaker famously said, "Half of my ads don't work. I just don't know which half." Nearly 200 years later, that problem hasn't gone away. It's actually gotten worse. Armen breaks down how...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Walmart is piloting store-based fulfillment of third-party marketplace orders in Dallas, using AI to route shipments and cut delivery windows from one to two days down to as little as three hours. Home Depot is exploring a $157 million, 414,000-square-foot...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Walmart expands its Better Care Services platform with five new virtual care and nutrition partners, positioning itself to own the full GLP-1 customer journey, across its nearly 4,600-pharmacy footprint. Aldi pilots a new globally unified, modularly adaptab...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five Lightning Round segment closes out the show with rapid-fire questions on pop culture, personal stories, and unexpected hot takes. Chris Walton, Jennifer Meyers, and John Benson debate Team Alex Cooper vs. Team Alex Earle, share strange DoorDash experiences, discuss the Little House on the Prairie reboot, and weigh in on the Boston Marathon. ⏩ Tune in for the full e...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores reports that Old Navy may launch a new standalone concept called Old Navy Sport focused on affordable activewear. Chris Walton, Jennifer Meyers, and John Benson debate whether Old Navy can carve out space in the crowded athleisure market and if Gap Inc. can balance Old Navy Sport with Athleta. ⏩ Tune in for the full episode here. #OldNavy #GapInc #...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Dollar General’s rollout of AI-powered in-store audio advertising to thousands of locations nationwide. Chris Walton, Jennifer Meyers, and John Benson discuss whether in-store audio could become the next major retail media channel or simply annoy shoppers. They also examine how AI is changing the way retailers monetize store traffic. ⏩ Tune in for...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Burger King’s nationwide hiring push and the momentum behind its Reclaim the Flame turnaround plan. Chris Walton, Jennifer Meyers, and John Benson discuss how leadership, remodels, operational upgrades, and franchise investments are helping Burger King regain relevance in the competitive QSR market. ⏩ Tune in for the full episode here. #BurgerKing...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Starbucks’ latest turnaround moves, including new store designs, employee bonuses, expanded tipping, and weekly pay. Chris Walton, Jennifer Meyers, and John Benson analyze whether Starbucks is successfully restoring its brand while balancing café culture, mobile ordering, and drive-thru convenience. They also debate if happier employees can lead to...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s latest shareholder letter and how the company is evolving beyond ecommerce into an AI and infrastructure powerhouse. Chris Walton, Jennifer Meyers, and John Benson discuss Amazon’s bets on robotics, logistics, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence while debating whether Amazon should still be considered a retailer at a...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Walmart announces a sweeping redesign of its Great Value private label brand, refreshing packaging across nearly 10,000 items for the first time in over a decade, starting with salty snacks. Albertsons posts anemic Q4 comps of under 1% and a $480 million ne...

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 special guests Jennifer Meyers and John Benson of the A&M Consumer and Retail Group discussed: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's sweeping 2026 annual letter to shareholders, covering robotics, drone delivery, satellite broadband, and AI as infras...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Instacart acquires international retail tech platform Instaleap, gaining grocery fulfillment technology and retailer relationships across nearly 30 countries to accelerate its global enterprise expansion. David's Bridal joins Shopify's Agentic Storefronts p...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Inflation surged to its highest level since 2022 in March, driven by a 21.2% spike in gasoline prices tied to the Iran war, while consumer sentiment plunged to its lowest recorded level since data collection began in 1952. 7-Eleven plans to close 645 North...

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl . In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses: Starbucks unveils one of its first "uplifted" Chicago stores under its Back to Starbucks restructuring plan, bringing back leather couches, cozy décor, and the third-place experience the brand was built on. Ahold Delhaize USA and Fiserv expand their pay-by-...

This Lightning Round segment of the Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, Quorso, and Veloq, closes out the show with rapid-fire questions for guest host Laura Kennedy. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy cover everything from Indianapolis fun facts and Kurt Vonnegut to the most rewatchable movies like The Sting and Jaws. ⏩ Tune...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Carrefour Israel’s $50 million deal to deploy 4,000 smart carts with Cust2Mate. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy discuss whether this is the proof point the smart cart industry has been waiting for or if it’s simply a new vehicle for retail media and couponing. They also debate the long-term ROI of AI-powered carts in the grocery aisle. ⏩ Tune in for...

This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores the "going concern" warning issued by QVC Group as it grapples with $6.6 billion in debt. Chris Walton and Laura Kennedy analyze the staggering decline from $15 billion to $10 billion in sales and a shrinking active customer base. They also debate whether the traditional home shopping model is fundamentally broken or if a pivot to live commerce can...