Omni Talk Retail

Omni Talk Retail is live from eTail West 2026 with continued coverage powered by NetElixir.In this interview, recorded on site at eTail West, Anne Mezzenga speaks with Alex Seaman, Senior Vice President of Furniture.com, about the company’s recent relaunch and its vision for the future of furniture shopping.Furniture.com is building a unified, AI driven platform designed to simplify one of retail’s most complex and considered purchases. By partnering with trusted national furniture retailers, the platform enables shoppers to browse, compare, and check out across multiple merchants in one seamless experience, while retailers retain ownership of fulfillment and first party customer relationships.Alex explains how Furniture.com is leveraging standardized product data, conversational search, and its in house AI agent Dottie to reduce decision fatigue and bring joy back to home design. The conversation also explores why brand trust and strong retail partnerships will matter even more as AI powered discovery reshapes how consumers shop.Key Topics Covered:The recent Furniture.com relaunch and AI powered foundationAgentic checkout and multi merchant cart functionalityStandardizing and enriching product data across 75 plus retailersWhy trust and brand strength matter in an AI driven search landscapeBalancing B2B retailer partnerships with a shopper first experienceSolving decision fatigue in high consideration purchases like furnitureStay tuned for more interviews from eTail West 2026.#eTailWest #RetailInnovation #Ecommerce #AIinRetail #FurnitureRetail #OmniChannel #DigitalCommerce #RetailLeadershipThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

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 Anne were live from eTail West in Palm Springs as they discussed:Carrefour signing a sweeping strategic partnership with Vusion to digitize all of its hypermarkets and supermarkets in France by 2030 (Source)Kohl’s rolling out its new Deal Bar concept to all 1,100+ stores nationwide (Source)Walmart launching Scintilla In-Store, a new real-time mobile data platform for supplier field reps (Source)Gap Inc. officially launching Encore, a unified cross-brand loyalty program spanning Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta (Source)Burger King President Tom Curtis personally fielding calls and texts from customers at his work number (Source)There’s all that, plus mysterious ghost sightings, Thin Mints in the freezer, and a nerd laugh that Anne was not quite ready to deliver on camera.Music by hooksounds.comThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Omni Talk Retail is live from eTail West 2026 with coverage powered by NetElixir.In this interview, Anne Mezzenga speaks with Denise Incandela, EVP of Fashion at Walmart, about the ongoing transformation of Walmart Fashion.Over the past several years, Walmart has evolved from a basics driven apparel business into a modern, trend relevant fashion destination. Denise shares how the company has:Relaunched and elevated major private brandsIntroduced new brands like Free Assembly to fill key market white spaceLeveraged AI to accelerate trend analysis and product designModernized stores and e commerce to make fashion the heroUsed pop ups and influencer strategy to shift customer perceptionWalmart is also applying AI at the earliest stages of product development, using insights from runway shows, social media, and global trend data to accelerate design and deliver more trend right product to customers, faster.With 145 million weekly customers, Walmart’s opportunity to democratize fashion at scale is unmatched.#eTailWest #RetailInnovation #WalmartFashion #AIinRetail #PrivateBrands #Ecommerce #RetailLeadershipThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Omni Talk Retail is live from eTail West 2026 with coverage powered by NetElixir.In this interview, Anne Mezzenga speaks with Kristin Shane, Chief Merchandising Officer at REI, about the company’s three year “Peak 28: Ascending Together” strategy and what it means for the future of specialty retail.Kristin shares how REI is putting the customer at the center through a differentiated service model powered by its Green Vests, a culturally leading assortment designed to inspire progression into new outdoor activities, and renewed investment in retail fundamentals.The conversation also dives into:How REI is approaching AI as a workforce enablement tool, led jointly by the Chief People Officer and Chief Technology OfficerWhy agility matters more than ever in today’s tech environmentThe challenge and opportunity of partnering with brands that are also direct-to-consumer competitorsBuilding a culture centered on being connected, focused, and trailblazingWhat customers can expect from REI in 2026, including new partnerships and expanded experiential assortmentA thoughtful discussion on values driven retail, culture as strategy, and what modern merchandising leadership looks like in an AI era.#eTailWest #RetailLeadership #Merchandising #AIinRetail #SpecialtyRetail #OmniTalk #RetailStrategyThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Omni Talk Retail is live from eTail West 2026 with coverage powered by NetElixir.In this interview, Anne Mezzenga speaks with Udayan Bose, Founder and CEO of NetElixir, about how AI is shifting from theory to measurable business impact in performance marketing.A 19 year eTail veteran, Udayan shares how the conversation around AI has evolved from buzzword to accountability, with retailers now demanding tangible, quantifiable outcomes.The discussion breaks AI in marketing into two clear categories:Efficiency AI, including generative AI tools that reduce manual campaign management timePerformance AI, powered by machine learning and predictive analytics to unlock new revenue opportunitiesUdayan shares real world results, including how NetElixir’s experimentation platform helped reactivate over 1,100 dormant SKUs for CarParts.com in just four months, generating significant incremental revenue and new customer acquisition.The conversation also explores:How to approach AI experimentation without unnecessary riskWhy first party data is critical in a performance AI strategyHow to work alongside Google and Meta’s automation without losing controlWhat retailers should avoid when investing in new AI toolsFor retailers looking to move beyond AI hype and into measurable growth, this is a practical roadmap.#eTailWest #AIinRetail #PerformanceMarketing #DigitalMarketing #RetailInnovation #Ecommerce #MachineLearningThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

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 push their lists directly into Instacart for delivery.The conversation dives into how the platform works, how pricing data is sourced, why retailers are paying attention, and what price transparency means for the future of grocery. From over-the-counter medicine and alcohol price swings to retail media monetization and API partnerships, this episode explores how comparison shopping could reshape consumer behavior... just as it did in travel and gas.With grocery bills rivaling plane tickets in weekly spend, is price transparency the next major retail disruption?Key Topics Covered:•What Grocery Dealz is and why it exists•The 3-step user experience: search, substitute, compare•Categories covered beyond center store (including OTC meds & alcohol)•How real-time grocery pricing data is sourced•Retailers’ response to price transparency•The Instacart integration and delivery convenience factor•How Grocery Dealz makes money (affiliate + retail media model)•Consumer adoption metrics and time spent in app•What’s coming next: live coupons and national growth•Can price comparison truly change grocery shopping behavior?Connect with the Guests:Matt Goynes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-goynes-65921368/Micheal Waldroup: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheal-waldroup-3a74b82b7/#retailtech #grocerytech #pricetransparency #retailmedia #ecommerce #omnichannel #retailinnovation #retailpodcast #OmniTalkRetailThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In this episode of Confessions of Supply Chain Executives, host Chris Walton sits down with Amir Khoshniyati, Vice President at Wiliot, to break down the five supply chain trends that will actually matter in 2026. Every January, supply chain executives make bold predictions. AI will transform everything. Automation will solve labor shortages. Real-time visibility will finally arrive. And by December, most of those predictions turn out to be wildly optimistic or completely off-target.But 2026 may be different. Retail is approaching a true convergence point where Physical AI, real-time item location, generative and agentic AI, grocery e-commerce acceleration, and mounting regulatory pressure are all colliding at the same time. The result is a potential restructuring of how supply chains operate.Drawing from his work with some of the world’s largest retailers, including Walmart, Amir shares what is actually being deployed versus what is still sitting in PowerPoint decks, and why the real driver of change is not hype. It is quantified pain. This episode examines whether we are at a true inflection point and what executives must prioritize right now to avoid falling behind.Key Topics Covered:• Why 2026 could be a true supply chain inflection point• What “Physical AI” really means and how it differs from traditional IoT• Where adoption stands today, pilot purgatory or scaled deployment• The BLE vs. RFID debate and why it may not be either or• Why real-time item location is moving from nice to have to mission critical• How generative and agentic AI intersect with physical supply chain data• When AI agents may begin making autonomous inventory and fulfillment decisions• Why grocery e-commerce is a forcing function for real-time visibility• How perishability, waste, and margin pressure are reshaping tracking needs• The impact of FSMA and growing traceability mandates• Whether compliance will become a competitive advantage• The uncomfortable truth retailers may not want to hear about these trendsIf you are a supply chain executive with limited budget and bandwidth, this episode delivers a clear message. Start with your pain, quantify it, and build your visibility foundation first.🎧 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more brutally honest conversations about retail, supply chain, and the technology reshaping how work actually gets done.Music by hooksounds.com#ConfessionsOfASupplyChainExecutive #SupplyChain #RetailSupplyChain #Retail2026 #PhysicalAI #AmbientIoT #RealTimeVisibility #GroceryEcommerce #AIInSupplyChain #AgenticAI #FSMA #SupplyChainTransparency #WarehouseOperations #RetailTechnology #WiliotSponsored ContentThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Jenn Hahn, guest contributor and quick-thinker, jumps into rapid-fire takes. She weighs in on adopting structured tailoring from Fashion Week. They reminisce about a 2016 pop-culture pick to bring back. Jenn shares top Robert Duvall film choices and reacts to his iconic roles. Quick anecdotes and surprise opinions spark a lively debate about Olympic curling and Minnesota winter sports.

Jenn Hahn, retail leadership and people-management advisor, shares perspectives on implementing AI voice in stores. The conversation covers how real-time voice analytics monitor interactions and boost compliance. Jenn emphasizes coaching-first use, warns against scripted inauthenticity, and highlights simple behaviors like greetings that drive loyalty.

Jenn Hahn, retail and marketing expert who studies the creator economy, breaks down American Eagle’s new rewards-based micro-influencer community. She discusses program scale, gamification that hooks college-age creators, the trust and long-tail advantages of many small creators, cost-efficient content and affiliate upside, and how AI can lower creator startup costs.