Omni Talk Retail

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern talk: – Target's murky yet still enviable competitive position heading into 2021 – One of the all-time biggest exec gaffes in history at Nike – Amazon Go coming to London – Albertsons actually going away from owned online deliveries in favor of third-parties – And, a fun story about a robot named Smiley that sells candy while you shop. To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest episode of Omni Talk’s Ask An Expert Interview Series for 2021, Chris Walton interviews Jonah Ellin, Chief Product Officer at 1010data. There is no question that 2020 was a transformative year for grocery. Consumer behavior changed, and retailers changed in response, but which of these changes are here to stay is still an important and outstanding question. So, with all that said, Chris went right to the data and asked Jonah to share his company's latest report on the state of the grocery industry for 2021. Together Chris and Jonah discuss: - The raw growth in online grocery across 2020 - The lingering power of Instacart even after stay-at-home orders have ceased - The new normal level of curbside pickup across retailers, especially the warehouse clubs - And, why the old ways of looking at grocery performance, e.g. market share and sales over LY, may no longer be enough to understand where the puck is headed next. Give this podcast a listen and one thing will become 100% clear -- curbside pickup and Instacart aren't going away anytime soon, if at all. We have reached a new normal, and the grocery winners and losers will be determined by those who embrace this new world as opposed to those who continue to cling to operating models of the past. To read the full 2021 State of Grocery Report in full, head to Omni Talk: https://omnitalk.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021_1010Data_StateofGrocery_Report_Final.pdf *Sponsored Content*This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

"Take The Leap" is the theme of this podcast, and no one has done that better than Kelly Kowal, Chief Platform Officer at Farfetch. Kelly didn't casually enter into a retail career, she dove into one. With courage and a "can-do" attitude, she began a journey in e-commerce running digital marketing at eBags.com. At the time, e-commerce was new to Kelly, so when she didn't know the acronyms people were using in the weekly status meetings, she showed up to the office at 5 AM before anyone else arrived, did her research, and figured it out. This persistence and determination took her to London and to her current role as Chief Platform Officer of Farfetch. In this podcast, Kelly shares her career story and how she and her team professionally and personally weathered the pandemic, all while refining and expanding the offerings Farfetch plans to bring to market in the coming year. You won't want to miss this interview, and be sure to stay until the end when Anne and Kelly plan their next retail conference concert escapades. Thanks to our sponsor, Parcel Pending. For more information about Parcel pending, visit ParcelPending.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern talk: – The absolute explosion in online grocery, particularly curbside pickup and third-party delivery – What to make of the rumor that Instacart is investigating warehouse automation (hint: it is not as nefarious as many people would want you to believe) – TikTok's new seller marketplace – Why Walmart's new BigCommerce partnership sounds cool but is really a big snore – And, just how ludicrous Kohl's activist investors sound when you look under the covers There's all that and more in this week's episode, including Brits pretending to be Brits in Farrelly Brothers' movies. To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest episode of the Omni Talk Spotlight Series, Indy Guha, Chief Marketing Officer at Signifyd, joins Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga to discuss the topic of fraud prevention and how to think about it not as a cost reduction activity but as a revenue generating opportunity. Together, Chris, Anne, and Indy go deep on all the ways fraud can impact the consumer shopping experience across the entire purchase funnel, from e-commerce transactions to even the final proof point in the buy online, pickup in-store process. The podcast is another great example of how network effects across data capture can make life simpler and easier for retailers, with big and quick upside. There's of course savings from manual processing costs and better fraud detection overall, but most importantly the data can also lead to better precision in understanding which digital orders are actually revenue retailers should want to earn. Of all the interviews Chris and Anne have completed over the last few years, this one is quite possibly the easiest, fastest, and most impactful win (it only takes weeks to implement!) at which every retailer should take a look right now. Plus, the anecdote of how fraudsters use Zillow data to game the system will blow your mind. To learn more about unlocking more revenue by streamlining the payments and risk management process, visit www.signifyd.com *Sponsored Content*This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern discuss: – The latest statistics on and the now burning platform that is Walmart+ – Victoria's Secret getting back into swimwear – Poshmark getting into the pets business – Amazon's acquisition of Selz – And, P&G's off-the-wall plans to open Old Spice barbershops (seriously, WTF?) It's another podcast for the ages and one chock-full of 80's references, including Remington Steele, Cagney & Lacey, with even a little Evan and Seth from Superbad and a debate on the appropriate swimwear for Generation X sprinkled in for good measure. To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

For the latest episode of Omni Talk’s new Ask An Expert Interview Series for 2021, Chris Walton interviews Kevin Swanwick, Vice President Store Solutions at Manhattan Associates. The correlative relationship between service and margin is a fundamental axiom in business, and yet retail companies often overlook this relationship in evaluating what technologies are right for them. The flashiest answers may not be the best answers and could depend on whether your business is designed to move many units at low margin or designed for high touch service with lower turn and a higher product margin per unit sold. In this episode, Chris and Kevin explore this topic in depth and through the lens of point-of-sale technology to shine a light on all the different nuances involved in technology decision-making. Together Chris and Kevin discuss: - What it means to be an order-centric retailer vs. a customer-centric retailer (and what it implies for technology) - Why cloud commerce is essential for both setups - Which retail experiences are more suited for self-service scan-and-go style checkout versus others - And, which cloud commerce system is the most integral piece of a retailer's omnichannel engine Listen to this podcast, and one thing will stand out -- the future of in-store retail experiences will look very different from one retailer to another. No one size will fit all. Rather, the right answers will depend on who you are as a brand and how your business model actually works. *Sponsored Content*This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern discuss: -- Instacart's ever-growing dominance across 25,000+ stores across America -- Target coyly and quietly building out its own same-day marketplace with brands that neither Amazon nor Walmart may carry -- Walmart hitting another snag on its quest for TikTok -- Walgreens and Uber's new partnership on free rides for vaccinations -- And, what in the world Kohl's may be thinking with its new Eddie Bauer partnership. Flannels, cords, and fleece. We have it all in this week's show, including growing CEO adoration for Emma the Intern and Anne's utter inability to make her own Mount Rushmore of crushes without it getting tawdry. To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: https://www.alvarezandmarsal.com/industries/retail/retail To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest edition of the Omni Talk Fast Five, sponsored by A&M Consumer & Retail Group and Takeoff, Chris Walton, Anne Mezzenga, and Emma the Intern discuss: – Asos purchasing TopShop – Imagr's new checkout-free implementation in Japan and the ongoing debate on smart carts – The latest last-mile developments from Instacart and Uber – Lego making its own version of Tik Tok for kids – And, Jeff Bezos leaving Amazon and his legacies that will endure All that, plus Chris shares his latest Ginsburg update and extols the unassailable virtues of Tom Brady, while Anne and Chris also sing Natalie Imbruglia's one-hit wonder for Emma the Intern who has no idea what they are doing. Let's just say, this week's episode is all good and all bad at the same time. To view the video of the Imagr installation, click here: https://omnitalk.blog/2021/02/01/spotlight-series-live-demo-of-imagrs-new-checkout-free-installation-in-japan/ To learn more about the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, visit: www.linkedin.com/in/david-ritter/ To learn more about Takeoff, visit: www.takeoff.com/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In the latest episode of the Omni Talk Spotlight Series, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga interview Marshall Kay and JP Kamel, or as those in the know call them, the RFID Sherpas. RFID is a topic that is rightly back en vogue of late as retailers race to meet the rapidly changing needs of the consumer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Together in this podcast, Chris, Anne, and the Sherpas discuss all the ways RFID can unlock value across retail, including how it can deliver ROI through better inventory accuracy, less shrink, and overall enhanced omnichannel experiences. Plus, together with Omni Talk, Marshall and JP also developed a new quiz on the subject, called RFIQ. You can take it here and put your knowledge to the test: https://omnitalk.blog/rfid-sherpas/ Go on, everyone's doing it. What's your RFIQ?This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy