Omni Talk Retail

This segment on the Retail Fast Five podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Infios, Clear Demand, and Ocampo Capital, breaks down Target's factory direct shipping test. Target explores factory direct shipping similar to Temu and Shein's model for apparel and home goods. Chris loves the defensive move and believes Target's brand credibility can win, while Anne q...

This segment on the Retail Fast Five podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Infios, Clear Demand, and Ocampo Capital, explores Wegmans' smart cart pilot. Wegmans pilots Instacart's AI-powered Caper Carts at their Syracuse store for seamless checkout and spending tracking. Anne remains "mid" on smart carts, seeing them as a retail media play rather than essentia...

This segment on the Retail Fast Five podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Infios, Clear Demand, and Ocampo Capital, dives into Walmart's dark store pilot program. Walmart is testing dark stores in Dallas for faster online fulfillment, with plans for Bentonville. Chris calls it a smart defensive and offensive move that could eliminate out-of-stocks online, whi...

In this 5 Insightful Minutes episode, gStore by GregyOrange’s General Manager Troy Sewek joins Omni Talk to share his tried-and-true tips on tech for the world’s smartest stores. From RFID foundations to computer vision innovations, Troy breaks down what technology is truly critical for retailers facing market uncertainty, how to build smart store pilots that actually change behavior (not just sho...

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the  A&M Consumer and Retail Group ,  Simbe ,  Mirakl ,  Ocampo Capital ,  Infios , and  ClearDemand , Chris and Anne discussed: Walmart testing dark stores ( Source ) Wegmans piloting Instacart’s smart carts ( Source ) Target exploring factory-direct shipping models similar to Shein and Temu ( Sour...

Omni Talk sits down with Krystina Gustafson, co-founder of RetailClub and former Shoptalk content chief, to talk about the new AI Deep Dive Retreat launching this September in Huntington Beach. In this candid conversation, Krystina explains how RetailClub is reinventing the retail event experience—ditching the booths and buzzwords in favor of real conversations, collaborative learning, and hands-o...

In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, our rapid-fire lightning round covers the week's quirkiest retail stories: Ollipop's 5-cent VIP boxes, Jimmy John's steamy romance novel promotion, Unilever acquiring Dr. Squatch, and Tombstone's wild French fry crust pizza experiment. Timestamps: 32:19 - Ol...

In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Amazon is testing aggressive grocery bundling by showing 100+ food items during regular checkout flows. We analyze whether this interstitial approach can change deeply ingrained shopping habits and why Walmart has a massive advantage in the grocery recommend...

In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, conservative grocery giant H-E-B surprises everyone by piloting autonomous delivery robots in Austin with Avride. We break down why this 1-mile radius test makes sense for this location but question whether robot delivery can scale beyond urban experiments....

In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, we discuss how Walmart is revolutionizing store operations with AI tools that cut shift planning from 90 to 30 minutes. We analyze why overnight stocking is the perfect testing ground for retail AI and how this technology could transform workforce productivi...

In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, we deep dive into Whatnot, the live streaming shopping app that hit $3B in sales selling trading cards, sneakers, and collectibles. We explore whether this QVC-meets-Twitch model can expand beyond niche markets and why video commerce is finally taking off in...

In this week's Fast Five Podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, we break down the massive $1.77B merger between SpartanNash and C&S Wholesale Grocers that will service 10,000+ retail locations. We analyze why wholesale consolidation is accelerating and what it means for independent grocers fighting against Walmart an...

In this exclusive interview from the CommerceNext Growth Show, Omni Talk sits down with Jeff Gerstel, CMO of B&H Photo and Video, to explore how one of New York’s most iconic retailers continues to set the bar for loyalty, service, and operational excellence—even with just one physical store. 🎯 Topics discussed: – Why service, not gimmicks, drives B&H’s customer loyalty – How livestream v...

In this candid conversation from the Mirakl Summit, Omni Talk sits down with Scott Eckert CEO of the Americas at Mirakl, to talk about his first 100 days on the job and what excites him most about Mirakl’s future. From unlocking B2B marketplaces to building seller-focused tools like Mirakl Connect and embracing retail media as the next big revenue driver, Scott shares his roadmap for accelerating...

Omni Talk sits down with Mirakl’s Chief Data & AI Officer, Anne-Claire Baschet, live from the Mirakl Summit in NYC to talk all things artificial intelligence and e-commerce. Anne-Claire explains how Mirakl is embedding AI across its platform—from catalog onboarding to media operations—and why the future lies in “agentic commerce,” where AI-powered agents help shoppers and sellers alike. With 9...

Max Tepper, Senior Brand Manager at The Sak, joins Omni Talk live from the Mirakl Summit to share how the iconic handbag and accessories brand has transformed into a marketplace powerhouse. Max discusses The Sak’s post-pandemic pivot from brick-and-mortar to DTC and marketplaces, their successful onboarding with Mirakl, and how strategic channel expansion—including Nordstrom, Amazon, QVC, and more...

Omni Talk is live from the Mirakl Summit with Joe Cano, SVP of Digital at Lowe’s, for an inside look at how Lowe’s is scaling its digital business through a newly launched Mirakl-powered marketplace. Joe breaks down how the marketplace complements Lowe’s total home strategy, empowers associates, integrates seamlessly into omnichannel operations, and connects directly with Lowe’s evolving retail me...

Live from the 2025 Mirakl Summit in New York City, Omni Talk’s Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Cotopaxi Founder and Chief Global Officer Stephan Jacob. In this powerful conversation, Stephan shares how Cotopaxi blends purpose with profit through its mission-driven marketplace expansion strategy, ensuring brand integrity and sustainable impact while scaling. Discover how the brand eval...

Tapestry’s Avinash Kaushik joins Omni Talk live from CommerceNext 2025 to discuss how AI is transforming marketing from the inside out. In this dynamic conversation, Avinash explains why he believes AI is becoming the new operating system for retail—powering personalized communications, predictive analytics, and creative testing across Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman. Learn how Tapestry is...

Live from CommerceNext 2025, Omni Talk’s Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton sit down with Lauren Price, SVP of E-Commerce and Digital Marketing at COS North America, part of the H&M Group. Lauren shares how COS is attracting new customers with creator-driven campaigns, authentic product storytelling, and a strong focus on foundational e-commerce execution. From the viral success of the Clean Cut T...

Live from CommerceNext 2025, Omni Talk’s Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Sarah Henry, Walmart's VP of Content, Influencer, and Commerce, to explore how Walmart is tapping into the creator economy and reshaping the retail experience through social commerce. From the rise of Gen Z shopping behaviors to the role of AI in simplifying creator workflows, Sarah gives an inside look at the Wa...

In the first edition of Omni Talk’s new monthly series, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga team up with AWS’s Daniele Stroppa to spotlight the Retail Tech Startup of the Month—and the inaugural winner is Botify. Learn how Botify helps brands improve discoverability across both traditional and generative search engines by going beyond SEO to optimize content visibility for bots and agents. Discover why...

In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the  A&M Consumer and Retail Group ,  Simbe ,  Mirakl ,  Ocampo Capital ,  Infios , and  ClearDemand , Chris and Anne discussed: SpartanNash’s merger with C&S Wholesale Grocers ( Source ) Whatnot, the $5 billion shopping app you probably haven’t heard of ( Source ) Walmart equipping its store as...

Join Omni Talk’s Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga as they sit down with JOOR CEO Kristin Savilia to explore how JOOR is transforming the wholesale fashion landscape. Kristin shares exclusive insights on digitizing the buyer-brand relationship, enabling smarter assortment planning, and helping independent retailers thrive globally. Learn how JOOR's Shopify integration, AI-powered prospecting, and str...

Ever wonder what retail experts actually buy at Costco or what cars they dream about driving? This lightning round reveals the personal side of our A&M retail gurus, from brisket smoking tips to the shocking number of Cheerios varieties on shelves. Brought to you by A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Simbe, Infios, Clear Demand, and Ocampo Capital. For the full episode, head here: http...