Retail Technology Spotlight Series

In this Retail Technology Spotlight series, Chris Walton sits down with Soroosh Seyhoon, Chief Revenue Officer at Zello, to explore how capturing and analyzing frontline voice data is transforming the way retailers understand and manage store operations. From AI-powered in-ear assistants to real-time operational intelligence, Soroosh explains why the conversations happening on the sales floor repr...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Chris Walton sits down with Kevin Billings, Vice President of Business Development at Sifter Solutions, to unpack how GLP-1 medications, SNAP legislation, and nutrition focused merchandising are reshaping the future of grocery retail. From state-by-state SNAP restrictions to hyper personalized shopping experiences powered by nutrition data, Kevin explai...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Judah Berger, AI Product Manager at Unframe.ai, joins Omni Talk to explore one of the biggest questions facing retail leaders today: how do you actually implement AI across an organization without creating operational chaos? Judah works directly with enterprises to turn AI from an exciting concept into scalable systems that solve real business problems,...

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...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Jeff Fish, co-CEO of Intelo.ai, and Noah Herschman, Head of Merchandise Strategy at Intello AI, join Omni Talk to tackle one of retail's most persistently under-teched problems: merchandise planning and allocation. From spreadsheet-driven chaos to agentic AI, Jeff and Noah break down why merchandise planning has been left behind by technology for nearly...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode, Chris Walton sits down with duvo.ai CEO Tomáš Čupr to explore one of the most mind-bending ideas in AI today: not just how AI can improve retail operations, but how it can actually identify what in your operations should be improved in the first place. Drawing on Tomáš Čupr’s experience building Rohlik Group, a $1.5B+ pan-European e-grocer, and n...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode from Omni Talk Retail, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga welcome back Grocery Dealz co-CEOs Matt Goynes and Micheal Waldroup to unpack the rapid national expansion of their real-time grocery price comparison app. Now live in 40 states, Grocery Dealz enables consumers to compare grocery prices across retailers in real time before they shop and even pu...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode, Chris Walton sits down with Experion Technologies' Mahesh Vijayaraghavan (VP of Retail & Consumer Goods) and Siraj Alimohamed (Global Head of Data & AI) to cut through the AI hype. From platform-first strategies to the pilot fatigue epidemic, Mahesh and Siraj break down why AI is overhyped at the dashboard level but underappreciated where...

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 shift...

Specialty retailers keep asking us: handheld scanners or overhead readers? So we settled it the only way we know how: with a knockdown, dragout debate between two RFID experts. In this Retail Technology Spotlight, Anne Mezzenga moderates as Madalynn Lauria (Team Handheld) and Pareiya Gupta (Team Overhead) from GreyOrange make their cases for the best RFID solution. From proving ROI on a tight budg...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode, Doron Hazan, Director of Data, Product, and AI at Wiliot, joins Omni Talk to discuss the concept of "physical AI" and how it ultimately improve retail operations from the ground up. From ambient IoT sensors to real-time inventory intelligence, Doron breaks down how battery-free Bluetooth pixels are creating self-aware supply chains, how retailers...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Nick Matthews, VP of Solutions and Architecture at Wiliot, joins Omni Talk to reveal how Walmart is deploying Bluetooth-enabled IoT technology across all 4,600 U.S. stores and 40 distribution centers. From wireless energy-harvesting tags to real-time pallet tracking, Nick breaks down how Wiliot's ambient IoT technology is reducing food waste by tens of...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode, Julie Haleluk, Global Head of Growth at Amazon Shopping Video, and Wayne Purboo, VP of Amazon Advertising and Amazon Shoppable Video, join Omni Talk to reveal the future of social commerce and how AI is transforming the way we shop. From the evolution of shoppable video to agentic commerce, Julie and Wayne break down why social commerce isn't goi...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode, Matt Goynes, co-founder and co-CEO of Grocery Dealz, joins Omni Talk to reveal how a Texas startup is improving grocery shopping with AI-powered price comparison. From fighting inflation fatigue to building transparent marketplaces, Matt breaks down how Grocery Dealz is becoming the "Gas Buddy for groceries," why price transparency is finally pos...

In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode, John Mabe, Product Manager at Dematic, joins Omni Talk to break down the real applications of AI in warehouse operations—separating the hype from what's actually working today. From optimization algorithms to computer vision systems and LLM-powered insights, John explains the three distinct categories of warehouse AI and where each one stands in...

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...

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...

In this Spotlight Series interview, Catherine Dummitt, VP of Marketing at Narvar, explains how the post-purchase journey is evolving from a cost center to a powerful “trust center.” With insights from over 42 billion consumer interactions annually, Narvar is helping retailers rethink shipping, returns, and communication to boost loyalty, reduce costs, and drive revenue. From AI-driven delivery con...

🎙️ In this special Omni Talk Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Bryan Chan, Senior Director at E Ink, to explore the journey of electronic shelf labels (ESLs) and why they're finally catching fire in the U.S. Key Moments: [ 01:03 ] What is E Ink? — Origins as an MIT spinout and Kindle beginnings [ 2:52 ] Why ESLs weren’t the original goal — from newsp...

In this deep-dive Omni Talk Spotlight, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga are joined by Rajat Nigam, Chief Product Officer at ClearDemand, to unpack the critical role of competitive intelligence in modern retail pricing. Formerly leading pricing innovation at Amazon, Rajat explains how engineering, data quality, and normalization are central to making pricing intelligence truly actionable — and profit...

Is microfulfillment still a viable strategy? In this new Omni Talk Spotlight, Chris and Anne sit down with Oliver Vogt, CEO of Tesco’s Transcend Retail Solutions and Danielle Dakin, Dematic's Market Development Director, to unpack everything happening with MFCs. Danielle explains how pandemic-driven hype distorted expectations ( 6:00 ), while Oliver lays out why volume and operational simplicity a...

Chris and Anne sit down with Angela Fernandez, SVP at GS1 US, to dive deep into the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the massive shifts underway in food traceability. Angela explains: ( 6:27 ) The history of FSMA and how new regulations are reshaping the food industry ( 8:40 ) The crucial role of digital traceability ( 13:12 ) Why compliance is essential but not a competitive advantage ( 1...

What’s happening with retail automation in 2025? Investment in supply chain technology appears to be flattening out as retailers shift focus from large new projects to optimizing existing infrastructure. Anne and Chris sit down with Kim Baudry from Dematic to explore what this means for AI in logistics, warehouse automation, and the future of retail distribution. ⏳ Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction...

Join Chris and Anne as they interview Simbe Robotics CEO Brad Bogolea for an in-depth discussion about how retail robotics are revolutionizing store operations. Learn how Simbe's Tally robot reduces out-of-stocks by 60%, improves inventory accuracy, why both store associates and customers are embracing the use of robotics, and discover why 2025 could be the year retail robotics go mainstream! Key...

In this episode of the Omni Talk Retail Spotlight Series Podcast, hosts Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga dive into the world of private brands with special guests Brandon Warren and Bethany Davis of the Barcode Group. Discover why private brands are crucial to retail growth, who’s winning the private label game, and how retailers like Costco, Walmart, and Target are adapting their strategies. Brando...