Shownotes
In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five news roundup, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Ownit AI, Avalara, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, Chris and Anne took to the Windy City to discuss:
- Grabango calling it quits and what it means for the future of Just Walk Out-like tech (Source)
- Exciting new AI updates from Google Shopping (Source)
- Amazon’s decision to unify its e-commerce efforts across Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods (Source)
- JD Sports new reJD resale effort (Source)
- And closed with a look at why Amazon adding a microwarehouse to a Whole Foods in Pennsylvania could be a horrible idea for Whole Foods shoppers in the long-run (Source)
There’s all that, plus childhood career dreams, a ranking of quick-serve fried chicken restaurants, and when was the last time Anne snapped into a Slim Jim.
Music by hooksounds.com
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcripts
Yammetalk Fast five is brought to you in association with the A and M Consumer and retail group.
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Sponsor Host:For more, visit miracle.com, that's mirakl.com and ownit AI.
Sponsor Host:Ownit AI helps the world's leading retailers advance their e commerce shopping experience with AI.
Sponsor Host:To learn more, visit Ownit Co.
Sponsor Host:And finally, Ocampo Capital.
Sponsor Host:Ocampo Capital is a venture capital firm founded by retail executives with the aim of helping early stage consumer businesses succeed through investment and operational support.
Sponsor Host:Learn more@ocampocapital.com dot hello.
Ann Mazenga:You are listening to Omnitalk's retail Fast five, ranked in the top 10% of all podcasts globally and currently the only retail podcast ranked in the top 100 of all business podcasts on Apple podcasts.
Ann Mazenga:The retail Fast five is a podcast that we hope makes you feel a little smarter, but most importantly, a little happier each week, too.
Ann Mazenga:And the Fast five is just one of the many great podcasts you can find from the Omnitech Retail podcast network.
Sponsor Host:Alongside our retail day for minute, which.
Ann Mazenga:Brings you a curated selection of the most important retail headlines every morning, and our retail technology spotlight series, which goes deep each week on the latest retail technology trends.
Ann Mazenga: ,: Ann Mazenga:I'm one of your hosts, Ann Mazenga.
Chris Walton:And I'm your other host, Chris Walton.
Ann Mazenga:And we are here once again live from the Windy city to discuss all the top headlines from the past week, making waves in the world of omnichannel retail.
Ann Mazenga:Chris, we're here.
Ann Mazenga:We're in Chicago.
Ann Mazenga:We're at Shop Talk fall.
Ann Mazenga:How has the Windy City been treating you so far in the last hours?
Chris Walton:Yeah, and I'm excited for shop talk fall.
Chris Walton:Like, I'm really pumped for it, you know, it's the first time they've had the conference.
Chris Walton:And, you know, I think, you know, in general, first times, they're very exciting.
Chris Walton:They go by really quickly, you know, and I'm really thrilled to be here.
Chris Walton:I got to have dinner with the shop talk team yesterday, and, yeah, I'm looking forward to this.
Chris Walton:This is going to be a great conference.
Ann Mazenga:Yes.
Ann Mazenga:The theme is spies here, or, like, secret agents, and we are going heavy in on the theme.
Ann Mazenga:I cannot wait.
Ann Mazenga:You have to stay tuned.
Ann Mazenga:We're going to have lots of coverage from the show this week and including our takeaway session where we have a little surprise.
Ann Mazenga:So you'll have to listen or watch that to find out just what happens.
Ann Mazenga:So.
Ann Mazenga:And how fitting we are with the spy theme.
Ann Mazenga:But, Chris, one other thing.
Ann Mazenga:Every good spy has a good earpiece.
Ann Mazenga:Have you noticed, like, when they have to, like, put their hand on, like.
Ann Mazenga:Like.
Ann Mazenga:Excuse me, sir.
Ann Mazenga:Yes.
Ann Mazenga:Uh, target sighted.
Ann Mazenga:You know, like, I'm going to practice that.
Ann Mazenga:But we have some very special earpieces today.
Ann Mazenga:Also, um, we have some new Bose quiet comfort headphones that we are using, courtesy of Bose and Carrie Craig, one of our biggest fans.
Ann Mazenga:So shout out to Carrie there.
Ann Mazenga:Um, Chris, are you feeling that your.
Ann Mazenga:Your listening experience has been leveled up right now?
Chris Walton:Oh, 100%, I think.
Chris Walton:I always get a lot of.
Chris Walton:I get a lot of crap from old, old bosses of mine, particularly one about the head, the wired headphones that I typically use on these podcasts.
Chris Walton:And I recently switched to the earbuds, and now.
Chris Walton:Now I've got these bose.
Chris Walton:These bose earbuds, the quiet comfort headphones.
Chris Walton:I feel like they accentuate my lobes and I feel like they do.
Ann Mazenga:I know.
Ann Mazenga:I tried to get, like, on color scheme branding with my headphones today.
Ann Mazenga:I have, like, a lovely little lilac purple.
Ann Mazenga:So I was in inspired.
Ann Mazenga:My whole outfit was inspired by these Bose headphones.
Ann Mazenga:So thanks again to Carrie and to Bose.
Ann Mazenga:We love you.
Ann Mazenga:Thank you for getting us ready for this very secret agent shop talk fall.
Chris Walton:Nice drop of the word lilac, too.
Chris Walton:Lilac.
Chris Walton:That puts us in a very calm and soothing mode, I think, before I read the.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, yeah, lavender.
Ann Mazenga:You're thinking of lavender, maybe.
Chris Walton:Oh, lilac.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, lavender and lilac kind of go.
Chris Walton:Hand in hand, though.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, they're in the same color wheel.
Ann Mazenga:For sure.
Ann Mazenga:For sure.
Chris Walton:Definitely the same ballpark, right?
Chris Walton:All right, well, let's get to today's headlines.
Chris Walton:Today, we've got news on, and I'm pumped about today's headlines.
Chris Walton:I think this is.
Chris Walton:I've.
Chris Walton:I got really excited preparing for this podcast.
Chris Walton:So today we've got news on Google Shopping's big new transformation.
Chris Walton:Amazon bundling online shopping of food with non food items.
Chris Walton:JD Sports new pre owned sneaker program.
Chris Walton:Amazon testing on site robotic warehouses at Whole Foods so customers can pick up other items that Whole Foods doesn't carry at checkout.
Ann Mazenga:Hmm.
Chris Walton:But we begin today with big news that leaves a little bit of a hole in our hearts and all right.
Ann Mazenga:Chris, headline number one.
Ann Mazenga:That is right.
Ann Mazenga:Grabango has called it quits.
Ann Mazenga:According to Payments Dive, Grabango, the automated checkout technology company whose software was used by Aldi and piloted in several us convenience store chains, has permanently ceased operations.
Ann Mazenga:Grabango's technology Washington, similar to Amazon just walk out tech, and that it kept track of what shoppers picked up inside the store as soon as they entered.
Ann Mazenga:And then when ready to leave, customers would scan a code in the Grabango mobile app and their payment would automatically process.
Ann Mazenga:However, unlike Amazon, Grabango's technology also did not rely on weight sensors within stores shelves and used cameras only.
Ann Mazenga:Chris Grabango shut down this week.
Ann Mazenga:Amazon called it quits on some just walk out tech, or called it's just walk out technology tech cumbersome last week.
Ann Mazenga:And so I have to ask you, is this the final nail in the coffin of fixed position camera based just walk out systems?
Chris Walton:Oh, wow.
Chris Walton:And you're starting me off hot.
Chris Walton:Um, I think, sadly, I think very, very sadly, I, I think I'm going to actually say that it is, I'm going to make.
Ann Mazenga:This is it.
Chris Walton:I think it is.
Chris Walton:I think this is the nail in the coffin quite simply for the fact that just walking out of a store, as we talked about last week, isn't that valuable of an idea to consumers as a point of differentiation and also, perhaps more importantly, all the other benefits of the cameras, specifically pricing and inventory accuracy, can all be accomplished more simply and easily and cost effectively with other systems, especially via in store robotics.
Chris Walton:Right, right.
Chris Walton:Talk about that a lot on our show.
Chris Walton:So, so the implications of all this, of all of this from this announcement from Gabango are big in my mind because Grabango was actually trying to do it in the least capital intensive way.
Chris Walton:Like you mentioned, they're doing it without shelf sensors, but yet they still had trouble getting traction.
Chris Walton: s I've said before, will make: Chris Walton:Robotic implementations are already on the rise.
Chris Walton:You're seeing them go from grocers to warehouse clubs.
Chris Walton:The trend is already heading in that direction.
Chris Walton:And this news just further intensifies that trend, in my opinion.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, I agree.
Ann Mazenga:I mean, I think that, you know, retailers, like we've talked about multiple times, they really have had to focus, you know, shifting their technology investments to things that are really impacting their core business.
Ann Mazenga:And to your point, like, this is, this is still kind of something on the roadmap that was more of a, like, very R and D heavy.
Ann Mazenga:Nice to have even some of these Grabango stores that they were piloting.
Ann Mazenga:It wasn't the only way to shop those stores either.
Ann Mazenga:So I think that's the key thing.
Ann Mazenga:Like, it was still in test mode.
Ann Mazenga:It didn't seem like they were.
Ann Mazenga:You know, these retailers were willing to, like, go all in on it, too.
Ann Mazenga:And I think that, for me, it's not a no, this technology is never going to happen again or that it's.
Ann Mazenga:We're not going to see it pop up again.
Ann Mazenga:I just think that because of the things you said, you know, there's other ways that you can achieve some of the benefits that this provides, like robotics, like controlled entry and exit and other things that don't require as much capital investment right now from retailers that they just don't have.
Ann Mazenga:They just have to focus on other things, like labor shortages shrink all these other things, and there are ways to do that more affordably than I think this technology, unfortunately, we're so big on it.
Ann Mazenga:I'm so sad to make this the final, but.
Chris Walton:But you're kind of feeling that way, too, then.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, yeah, I think, yeah.
Chris Walton:I mean, to your point, like, even though we talked about last week, Sam's club's exit setup, you know, which uses some computer vision, but uses it in a different way with scan and go or even Instacart smart card, you can still get at that in the long run in a very simpler, less capitally intensive way to do it.
Chris Walton:And, you know, you just get down to it, like, keeping all those items tracked in a store with a degree of accuracy that you need, and.
Chris Walton:And then the impact it puts on merchandising, like Amazon talked about, just seems like it's really hard.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, I agree.
Ann Mazenga:Well, we'll see.
Ann Mazenga:We'll see what happens and follow suit, but, yeah, Amazon closed some ghost stores this past week, too.
Ann Mazenga:It's not great.
Chris Walton:Yeah.
Chris Walton:And, well, and you know what, though?
Chris Walton:We'll always have Germany.
Chris Walton: 'll always have our summer of: Chris Walton:We will try out all these different stores.
Chris Walton:All right, headline number two, Google Shopping announced some big changes yesterday.
Chris Walton:According to a company blog post penned by Sean Scott, good alliterative name the VP GM of Google Shopping, a number of changes are coming, and here is how they work.
Chris Walton:Say, for example, Ann, you were to search for men's winter jacket for Seattle.
Chris Walton:And then Google will now provide an AI brief with the most important things you should know before investing in a new coat for this climate.
Chris Walton:It'll show products recommended by sources from across the web and an explanation of why they're a fit for your needs.
Chris Walton:You also see categories that give you a more organized view of the types of jackets to consider.
Chris Walton:And for those who want to research more deeply on the web, you can also easily click through to relevant articles, which is a key point.
Chris Walton:In addition, your results will also include dynamic filters that let you zero in on your preferences, like if you need a certain size or want something available near you.
Chris Walton:Also important.
Chris Walton:And finally, Ann, because I know you were curious, I know how big of a Google fan you are.
Chris Walton:What about pricing?
Chris Walton:I'm sure that's what's going on in your head.
Chris Walton:Oh, yes, I want to know shopping feature.
Chris Walton:You want to know, right?
Ann Mazenga:Yes.
Chris Walton:The new Google shopping features not only include deal finding tools like price comparison, price insights, and price tracking throughout, but also a new dedicated and personalized deal page where you can browse deals for you by just clicking the deals link at the top of your page to explore.
Chris Walton:All right, ad, since you started me off hot, I'm coming in hot, and I'm going to put you on the spot this week.
Chris Walton:This is not the official a and M put you on the spot question.
Chris Walton:This is the Walton put you on the spot question.
Ann Mazenga:Junkyard version.
Ann Mazenga:The junkyard version of the a and M put you on the spot.
Ann Mazenga:Yes.
Ann Mazenga:Okay.
Chris Walton:Exactly right.
Chris Walton:Last yes, I'm going to hold your feet to the fire.
Chris Walton:And because last week you said Google's lens announcement was a headline of the year candidate, so does this week's Google shopping headline rank higher or lower in your estimation than Google Lens did last week in terms of the long term impact on retail scale?
Chris Walton:The floor is yours.
Ann Mazenga:Yes, I would say.
Ann Mazenga:Let me clarify.
Ann Mazenga:I think that the component of the headline of the year last week with Google Lens was really more about how it's going to be a key component to changing how we search.
Ann Mazenga:And that's really a combination of both using visual elements to search in conjunction with the ability to use text search in that whole search experience, to use voice to help you search.
Ann Mazenga:And so I don't think that they're mutually exclusive.
Ann Mazenga:I think this is probably the headline.
Ann Mazenga:But lens is a key component of this announcement, too, because to me, this ultimately signals Google is changing where we go to search when we're shopping for things.
Ann Mazenga:And the key thing that's differentiated between Google and Amazon here is that Google is enabling discovery and like your seek and destroy mission, as you would say, Chris, to find that product and take it home with you.
Ann Mazenga:And so I think that's what's fundamental here about what Google is doing.
Ann Mazenga:I think it's just going to keep getting better as the algorithm learns more and the product descriptions get better and companies start to feed some of the content that's in these algorithms.
Ann Mazenga:And I think lastly, this also makes a case again for own it or another platform that we've talked about on the show multiple times, because you, as the, the owner of the product, as the person selling this product, you have so much more data about that that you can start to feed into the shopping experience that will ultimately make that better for the consumer.
Ann Mazenga:So I tell go to Google shopping.com, like, go down there right now, check it out.
Ann Mazenga:It is so awesome.
Ann Mazenga:I'm so excited for this.
Ann Mazenga:Chris, it's a long answer to your question, but that's how I feel about it.
Chris Walton:So, so if I sum it up and you basically say this is the more important headline, this is the headline.
Chris Walton:My, my hunch, though, in fairness to you, my hunch was you already thinking about this in terms of when you were discussing last week's headline for sure, just assuming this was going to come too, right?
Ann Mazenga:Yes, correct, correct.
Ann Mazenga:Yes.
Ann Mazenga:And shout out to, shout out to our friends at Google shopping who are putting this on our former Target store, the future team, too.
Ann Mazenga:We got some people over there that are helping make this happen.
Ann Mazenga:So go check it out.
Ann Mazenga:Drive traffic to the site.
Chris Walton:Yes.
Chris Walton:Well, and I mean, I, I 100% agree because I actually, I actually think this, this trumps Google Lens.
Chris Walton:And the reason I say this, because Google, because it works with Google Lens, right?
Chris Walton:I mean, Google Lens is a part of it in the broader context.
Chris Walton:And it, like you said, it ultimately changes how consumers search and buy products regardless of how many people adopt Google lens for their searches.
Chris Walton:Right?
Chris Walton:So the macro impact of this is potentially bigger.
Chris Walton:But I think, I think this is, this headline is also important for a number of other reasons, because I think, like you mentioned, I think it signals and tells everyone what's coming next.
Chris Walton:And so, first of all, there's four points I'd call out.
Chris Walton:So first, you've got natural language based search, which is, we've talked about a lot.
Chris Walton:It's coming.
Chris Walton:But then the other interesting one that I alluded to when I was reading the headline, filtering searches down based on language versus preset filters divided by, decided by some random taxonomist, which has always been a crutch of e commerce.
Chris Walton:It used to frustrate me like hell when I was running e commerce, because you can't, you can't keep pace with the amount of change that's happening in consumer trends by, you know, putting that on a taxonomist to chronicle and catalog and update your website.
Chris Walton:So.
Chris Walton:So that's coming to you.
Chris Walton:The third part is, which I think this part's really interesting, it goes back to own it thing, too, the compliment, the complimenting of the searches with credible source material, which is something that Google can probably do better than anyone.
Chris Walton:And then, of course, lastly, the showing of the market availability of the products broadly, like, where can you get them across all of retail, side by side alongside, you know, with price comparisons.
Chris Walton:Like, that's pretty powerful stuff, and that's why Google here is very well positioned.
Chris Walton:So, but the implications, I think the implications of this are also really important if you're a retailer or brand listening.
Ann Mazenga:Yes.
Chris Walton:Because if you don't have your site built to operate on what people are searching Google for and the questions they are asking Google, if you don't have your product information synced up to that and other people do, you are going to lose in the long run.
Chris Walton:You are going to lose e commerce volume in the long run.
Chris Walton:So that is something you really have to think about and you've got to start developing a strategy now to compensate for it.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, 100%.
Ann Mazenga:Um, I, Chris, the other question that I have to ask you is that I think bringing Google lens into this one more time.
Chris Walton:Yeah.
Chris Walton:What do you.
Ann Mazenga:Because Amazon, they've had visual search right on the Amazon platform for how long?
Chris Walton:Like, oh, my God.
Ann Mazenga:Started doing, right?
Chris Walton:Yeah, I think, like probably ten years.
Chris Walton:Close to ten years.
Ann Mazenga:But don't you think it's interesting that Google, like, Lens was kind of the first, like, that was something that they launched?
Ann Mazenga:And I feel like Google Lens is so, so much more widely known than any other, like, individual brands visual search functions.
Ann Mazenga:So, like, this is another component of it that I think is interesting to kind of go backward into that and now, like, using our normal search language, like, we type something into Google to find products.
Ann Mazenga:I just, I think it's so much more natural to, like, human behavior to search Google in this way and the results are so much better.
Ann Mazenga:But what do you think?
Chris Walton:Yeah, I mean, I think that's your point.
Chris Walton:I mean, the statistic for me was like 20% of, what was it?
Chris Walton:20% of product searches are using Google lens in their search, like when people are searching products or using Google lens.
Chris Walton:So I think that's really powerful.
Chris Walton:But the other thing, and I think we all know at this point that you love Google lens.
Chris Walton:I think it's like, it's like you think it's the greatest thing said sliced bread.
Chris Walton:I think.
Chris Walton:I think that is clearly, clearly on the table.
Chris Walton:So I don't know, I don't think, I don't think we need.
Chris Walton:I think the audience and I are very comfortable with your, with your.
Ann Mazenga:You don't want to hear any more.
Chris Walton:Good.
Ann Mazenga:All right, let's get in to headline number three.
Ann Mazenga:Amazon is diversifying its marketplace and fulfillment centers to allow prime members to add goods from Amazon.com, amazon Fresh and Whole Foods to one cart.
Ann Mazenga:According to retail Dive, Amazon is piloting a new feature in its Phoenix market that enables prime members to shop for grocery items alongside Amazon.com products and have them delivered together.
Ann Mazenga:The trial allows Amazon prime members to shop for grocery essentials, including fresh items alongside Amazon.com goods, and have them delivered together in hours.
Ann Mazenga:The capability also gives shoppers access to the usual same day delivery speed and selection of multiple delivery windows.
Ann Mazenga:Amazon plans to extend this model to more locations as it continues to quote, test, and learn, end quote, and anticipates more customers will continue to opt for same day delivery from Amazon for grocery shopping.
Ann Mazenga:All right, Chris, where do you sit?
Ann Mazenga:Are you buying or selling this consolidated grocery shopping via Amazon?
Chris Walton:Buying or selling?
Chris Walton:I'm a hard buy on this one and.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, really?
Chris Walton:Okay.
Chris Walton:Yeah, I am.
Chris Walton:I'm a hard buy.
Chris Walton:I think it's smart.
Chris Walton:I mean, that's my first point.
Chris Walton:My second point, though, would be like, why did this take so long?
Chris Walton:That's, that's my big question here.
Chris Walton:And the other thing that, the other thing I'm going to bring to the table here is, I actually think this tells me how much Walmart is eating their lunch and e commerce.
Ann Mazenga:Grocery, yes.
Chris Walton:Because if you think back, Walmart actually had two experiences.
Chris Walton:I think it was like two or three years ago they merged them together.
Chris Walton:And ever since, they haven't looked back like they're just crushing it.
Chris Walton:Right.
Chris Walton:Which makes sense because you want to get, it's the whole idea of mass merchandise.
Chris Walton:You want to get everything in one cart delivered to you at once.
Chris Walton:You don't want to have to go through two experiences.
Chris Walton:Like, that's not good from a shopping standpoint.
Chris Walton:So Amazon is clearly playing catch up when you think about it from that angle.
Chris Walton:But swinging back around, I think ultimately it makes sense because you can get your weekly shopping list done all in one place on Amazon and you can add any other items you want to during the course of a week or during the course of building your cart.
Chris Walton:So.
Chris Walton:But, and then with that said, I think retailers like Walmart, Target, Costco, they can't be liking this announcement because I think it makes Amazon more stronger in grocery part and parcel.
Chris Walton:But my only question though, I didn't have time, maybe you had time to research this.
Chris Walton:I didn't have time to research it yesterday.
Chris Walton:My other question is, like, I mean, it's only in Phoenix, but how does it work with like, the up charges for Amazon delivery for grocery versus prime?
Chris Walton:Like, that probably gets really confusing within this flow, too.
Chris Walton:So I don't understand that either.
Chris Walton:But, but what did you think?
Chris Walton:You buying or something?
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, yeah, I don't, you know, I think I'm more leaning towards your, why did it take this so take them so long to do this?
Ann Mazenga:Because to me, this is like, from a customer perspective, this is just a slight modification to the user experience of ordering from Amazon already.
Ann Mazenga:And my hope is exactly what you hit on that it actually, the benefit to the customer here is that it gets them to that $35 daily delivery threshold faster, which seems to be like the biggest benefit because before when you were adding, like, say you wanted to, do you know your Amazon stock up trip, not only do you have multiple carts going, because some things are coming from Amazon fresh, some are coming from whole foods, and some are coming from Amazon.
Ann Mazenga:But to me, it actually seems like this is doing more benefit on Amazon's part than it is.
Ann Mazenga:Like on the customer front, the only benefit the customer gets, like, do they really care if their things are bundled?
Ann Mazenga:I don't know that that's the case.
Ann Mazenga:I think, yes, maybe the delivery window being the same is nice, but to me this is like Amazon making logistical changes, testing, putting more things in one warehouse so that they can have fewer drivers out on the road and fewer, fewer deliveries going to the same destination, more so than it's really like an enhanced customer experience.
Chris Walton:That's interesting because I don't know that's it because I don't know that I care if my deliveries are bundled, but I care that my shopping experience is bundled.
Chris Walton:Like, this is actually been, this has been a limiting factor for me, trying Amazon for grocery because I'm like, oh, I got to go to another place to do this.
Chris Walton:And that's prevented me from actually wanting to use it as much as I probably could have over these past few years.
Ann Mazenga:Right.
Chris Walton:Particularly during the pandemic, too, if you think about it.
Chris Walton:So I think the consumer side of it for shopping is fine, but delivery points are interesting.
Chris Walton:But for me as a consumer, yeah, I don't know that I care that they're bundled as long as I get them.
Chris Walton:When you say I'm going to get them and my packages from Amazon arrive at different times right now, even if I check out with one cart.
Chris Walton:So like, what's the big deal, you know?
Ann Mazenga:Yeah.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah.
Ann Mazenga:I'm really curious to see that threshold because that's what kept me from doing it before.
Ann Mazenga:Like you, I do want to put all my stuff in one grocery shopping trip.
Ann Mazenga:I can get it from Amazon, but if I can't get same day delivery because I only have two items from Whole Foods and then one item from am, like, then I'm just like, no, I'm done.
Ann Mazenga:I'll go pick it up at Target or Walmart, which I'm, I'm wondering if customers might start to do anyway.
Chris Walton:Yeah, it feels like this is, there's a lot to still figure out here on how this is going to work with all the different things they've got going on in this, this whole idea.
Chris Walton:And it doesn't seem, I don't know, it's, yeah, we're going to talk more about this.
Chris Walton:We got, we got a complimentary headline and headline five, which I cannot wait to get to.
Chris Walton:But yeah, there's, it seems like there's a lot, lot to this enchilada, and this is not a chunky yet.
Chris Walton:It's an enchilada.
Chris Walton:All right.
Chris Walton:Headline number four, it's still wet and sloppy.
Ann Mazenga:It's sloppy.
Chris Walton:Wet and sloppy enchilada.
Chris Walton:JD Sports just opened a new shopping platform called Rejd, a place for consumers to shop pre owned shoes at huge discounts according to the always in my weekly rotation.
Chris Walton:And sneaker news.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, yes, Sneaker News.
Chris Walton:Sneaker news.
Chris Walton:Yes, Sneaker News.
Chris Walton:Rejd is one of the few aftermarket platforms owned by a retailer as opposed to a sneaker brand.
Chris Walton:As a result, its selection is far more broad and isnt positioned as a hot destination for hyped up shoes, but rather under the raider styles as well as performance and casual footwear like sandals and slides.
Chris Walton:Every pair of shoes gets inspected, cleaned and repaired as needed, then assigned a condition grade so buyers know exactly what to expect.
Chris Walton:And as our resident resale maven, what do you think of JD Sports new re JD concept?
Ann Mazenga:You know, I love the, the fact that JD is doing this from like an umbrella sporting goods brand or house perspective because one, they, you know, the best part about this is that they, in theory have all the data from the original purchase because they're collecting not only pre loved, like gently worn items, but they're also taking into account returns that have come in open box product that's come in.
Ann Mazenga:And they're putting this on this RejD marketplace, which they're doing in conjunction with arrival e commerce, which is a platform Rochelle Snyder, we've talked to several times.
Ann Mazenga:I believe in that platform and I think what they're ultimately trying to do is, yes, get product back into circulation faster so it doesn't end up in landfills.
Ann Mazenga:However.
Ann Mazenga:Chris, there's a big but here for me.
Chris Walton:A big but.
Chris Walton:A big but.
Chris Walton:There's always a but.
Ann Mazenga:Bloomberg recently reported that sites like Thredup, Depop and Realreal are having a really hard time right now being profitable because they still have to hold on to product.
Ann Mazenga:And that's what I am concerned about here with this JD RejD platform because, yes, you know, you can authenticate it quickly because, you know, it came from you.
Ann Mazenga:You can have it cleaned and put out back into the, into circulation.
Ann Mazenga:But how much money are you really going to still make on that product?
Ann Mazenga:That's the big question here for me because I think that when, when you see sites that are doing this, when it's just peer to peer, there's no, you know, pulling product back in and have somebody having to own and manage that.
Ann Mazenga:I think that's where you stand to be most profitable.
Ann Mazenga:So I'm a little surprised that JD didn't go that route, especially with such adored brands that they have in their, in their stable like Nike, like new balance and others.
Ann Mazenga:But, um, but where do you, where do you land on, on the whole jdeh, like resale this Rejd site?
Chris Walton:I mean, I don't have a lot to add.
Chris Walton:I think what, the point you're bringing up is really interesting to me is right.
Chris Walton:And you're right because like even those companies are struggling, even the peer to peer sites are, you know, apparently struggling.
Ann Mazenga:Right.
Chris Walton:So, like, and so I just, I do struggle with how anyone makes money doing this in the long run.
Chris Walton:Like, it just seems like a really hard thing to make money when you're shipping, you know, shoes back and forth multiple times or holding inventory for that.
Chris Walton:So, like, I don't know.
Chris Walton:But I think with that said, the one point I take from this story is JD Sports is clearly going for it.
Chris Walton:I mean, multiple headlines where we've talked about them this year, which before, I don't even think JD Sports was in the lexicon of american retail all that much.
Chris Walton:But they're making headline after headline and taking some pretty unique approaches in the marketplace.
Chris Walton:Like we had them on talking about video commerce and everything they're doing there now.
Chris Walton:The question is they have to be careful they don't get too far out in front of things and keep their eye on the ball operationally in terms of the day to day.
Chris Walton:But, you know, we've talked to Arian, Ariane Parisi, their head of digital commerce there, and she's on top of her stuff.
Chris Walton:She gets it.
Chris Walton:And so, like, I think they're, they're just, I think they're a retailer to watch here in the US because they could be on an upswing.
Chris Walton:They're just doing some really creative things and they're entering a space that honestly, you know, needs somebody to kind of come in and be like, hey, we're going to do this differently.
Chris Walton:We're going to do it better.
Chris Walton:And so I applaud them for that.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, I agree.
Ann Mazenga:All right, let's move on to headline number five.
Ann Mazenga:Chris?
Ann Mazenga:Amazon is testing the addition of robot warehouses to Whole Foods so shoppers can pick up other orders at checkout.
Ann Mazenga:Okay, according to CNBC, Amazon is building a micro fulfillment center attached to a Whole Foods location in the Philadelphia suburb of Plymouth meeting, Pennsylvania.
Ann Mazenga:Once the facility is operational, within the next year, shoppers will be able to order items from Amazon's website and its online grocery service, Amazon Fresh, while browsing Whole Foods and pick it up in the store as they're checking out.
Ann Mazenga:The arrangement would allow shoppers to buy staple goods from brands that aren't carried at Whole Foods Markets.
Ann Mazenga:For example, the Pepsi soda and Kellogg's cereal that is on top of your kids list and may prevent some people still from going to a Whole foods to complete their trip.
Ann Mazenga:And now it taps into the vast online Amazon catalog of items.
Ann Mazenga:Chris, this is the a and M.
Ann Mazenga:The real, real, the real one.
Ann Mazenga:Put you on the spot.
Ann Mazenga:Question A and M wants to know in Amazon's play to consolidate trips and increase baskets through Whole foods.
Ann Mazenga:Will the end of.
Ann Mazenga:Will the end consumer impact here be more trips to Whole foods from non Whole foods shoppers or just fewer trips by whole food shopper to other grocery retailers?
Chris Walton:Oh, man.
Chris Walton:Oh, Jesus.
Chris Walton:That.
Chris Walton:That might be my favorite question all time from a and M.
Chris Walton:Yeah, but before I answer that question, I gotta give a shout out to Plymouth meeting, Pennsylvania.
Chris Walton:Did you know there was a Plymouth meeting, Pennsylvania?
Ann Mazenga:I didn't, but I didn't question it.
Ann Mazenga:When I read it, I was like, sure, this makes sense.
Ann Mazenga:Like, Plymouth meeting feels like where all the Pilgrims came and had.
Ann Mazenga:Would you like to know where the.
Chris Walton:Town created their name?
Chris Walton:Like, I would love to abandon that route.
Chris Walton:What should we call ourselves?
Chris Walton:Well, we're meeting.
Chris Walton:We're near Plymouth.
Ann Mazenga:Plymouth here.
Chris Walton:Let's call ourselves Plymouth meeting.
Chris Walton:I don't know.
Chris Walton:But anyway.
Chris Walton:All right, back to the question.
Chris Walton:So.
Chris Walton:So will the end consumer impact here be more chips to Whole foods from non Whole foods shoppers or just fewer trips by whole food shoppers to other grocery stores?
Chris Walton:It's amazing question.
Chris Walton:I'm going to go.
Chris Walton:I'm going to go bold on this answer, and I'm going to actually say that.
Chris Walton:That when you combine this with what's going on in headline three and where Amazon is potentially heading, I think the answer is actually c.
Chris Walton:I think it's going to mean, yes, fewer trips by whole food shoppers to other grocery retailers.
Chris Walton:But if these headlines both play out as intended, it will also mean less trips to whole food stores by whole food shoppers as well.
Ann Mazenga:Okay.
Chris Walton:Because how come?
Chris Walton:And I say that for a couple reasons.
Chris Walton:First, the use case is just freaking silly.
Chris Walton:Like, I can't stand the use case.
Chris Walton:I'm standing in a Whole Foods and I'm going to go on my phone and order Pepsi.
Chris Walton:No, it's not going to happen.
Chris Walton:I can do that much easier from my couch based on what you're trying to put forward in headline number three.
Chris Walton:So if you believe the consolidated idea, people are going to gravitate towards that which ultimately leads, if you play this out, which ultimately means you're going to have less shoppers in Whole foods, which is going to mean less margin for Whole Foods over time, less long term investment in whole Foods in store experience.
Chris Walton:And here's the thing, and this is where I'm getting bold, which ultimately is the eventual death of Whole Foods as we know it today and love it.
Ann Mazenga:Wow.
Ann Mazenga:Okay.
Chris Walton:Which brings up an interesting.
Chris Walton:And here's why I say that, which brings up an interesting question.
Chris Walton:If Amazon were to sell Whole Foods right now, would it be worth more or less than they originally paid for it?
Ann Mazenga:Oh, God, I have no.
Ann Mazenga:What do you think?
Chris Walton:I don't know.
Chris Walton:My guess is it would actually be worth less because Amazon has done nothing with it.
Chris Walton:And now I think this headline, if they keep playing this out the way they are, this is essentially going to kill it because Amazon's mass market dominance is so strong in e commerce, that's going to pull people out of the actual store, which is going to create the death of Whole Foods down the line.
Chris Walton:That's, that's my prediction here.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, man, you've given me so much to think about in this.
Chris Walton:That's why I love this show.
Chris Walton:I got, I got, went down a big rabbit hole on this.
Chris Walton:I kind of think it's gonna happen.
Chris Walton:Like, if this is how it's gonna play out, like, if you're trying to get people to buy Pepsi while they're in Whole foods, like, what are you doing here?
Ann Mazenga:I don't disagree with you.
Ann Mazenga:I mean, I think that that's what I was thinking.
Ann Mazenga:Like, my biggest concern here is, like, these are mini warehouses right now, and how much product can you actually fit?
Ann Mazenga:Like, yes, we know Coca Cola and Pepsi and, you know, Doritos.
Ann Mazenga:You can't buy in a whole foods.
Ann Mazenga:But then, like, what?
Ann Mazenga:So then I'm like, well, does it just make sense to start carrying these products inside of a Whole Foods if you know that that's what it is?
Ann Mazenga:Like, why are you going to put this to a mini warehouse and put the friction point on the consumer then to have to, like, order that separately?
Ann Mazenga:Like, why wouldn't you just start carrying it in your store?
Ann Mazenga:But then you defeat the purpose of Whole Foods as a concept to begin with.
Ann Mazenga:So, like, that, to me, that brings up a really interesting point.
Ann Mazenga:You know, I will say that this does kind of put some clarification to what Claire Peters was talking about last week at grocery shop when she said they were trying to consolidate trips and make shopping easier.
Ann Mazenga:I wish we knew about this when she was talking because I think that would have straightened things out a little bit, at least under, given us an example of what to expect of what they're trying to do.
Ann Mazenga:But ultimately, I just keep getting back to how much can they fit in there?
Ann Mazenga:And are you still going to force me as a consumer to do another trip?
Ann Mazenga:Because I don't know that, you know, in your mini warehouse, you're going to have all the things on my list that I could just let to your point, walk into a target or walk into a Walmart and check all off my list in one, in one trip and be home and not have to do anything else.
Chris Walton:But here's the thing.
Chris Walton:You will from home because of number three, you will from home.
Chris Walton:You will be able to get that delivered to your house from home because of the consolidation effort.
Chris Walton:So see, I actually, I actually disagree with the point on Claire Peters too.
Chris Walton:Like I actually think this is just further emphasizing the fact that I have no idea what their grocery strategy is.
Chris Walton:When you look at everything they have under their banners, like they have Amazon fresh, they have the Amazon website, they have, they have whole foods, they have these other retailers that are, the other part of this too is the other retailers that are selling through Amazon as well that I'm assuming will be part of this consolidated effort.
Chris Walton:So if you have all of those happening, Amazon's going to pull a hell of a lot of e commerce volume from consumers over time.
Chris Walton:But I don't think those same consumers are going to be the ones going into stores anymore to the same degree.
Chris Walton:And so that means that the stores they used to frequent are going to struggle and Whole Foods is going to be the prime one in my mind that struggles.
Ann Mazenga:Right.
Ann Mazenga:And again, like, you just made me think of something else.
Ann Mazenga:So the other part of this is still the stores issue that Amazon has.
Ann Mazenga:And like the whole like problem with what the shopping experience is going to be like in the whole food store because I think this also takes out like you're still not having the discovery that happens product in.
Ann Mazenga:Like, it shows you that Amazon's not thinking about the merchandising of that disc.
Ann Mazenga:Like how are they going to put sock, are they going to put socks on display?
Ann Mazenga:Is there going to be signage for Pepsi that you can order?
Ann Mazenga:Like how do you have that?
Ann Mazenga:Those moments happen in a physical environment.
Ann Mazenga:Fine.
Ann Mazenga:That you know how to do it in a digital environment like you said, and you'd order all that stuff to your house.
Ann Mazenga:But like, what's this going?
Ann Mazenga:How are they thinking still about what their groceries footprint strategy?
Chris Walton:That's a great point because my biggest lesson leading the store, the future project at Target is the last thing I wanted was a consumer to be on their phone looking for a product.
Chris Walton:They can't get inside my store.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah.
Chris Walton:Because then they're missing all the merchandising that I am making the effort to put in front of them in the store.
Chris Walton:Right.
Chris Walton:So yeah, that's a big disconnect when you get right down.
Ann Mazenga:So what do you think is going to happen?
Ann Mazenga:Like, do you think that they're going to, like one?
Ann Mazenga:Do they have enough product to test this in those mini, like, I still go back to like, what's in the mini warehouses, how many?
Chris Walton:I just don't think it's there.
Ann Mazenga:You don't think so you think this will be, like, killed as a test and it's not?
Chris Walton:I think it's a fun thing to talk about.
Chris Walton:I don't think consumers will actually do it.
Chris Walton:I think they'll either do it, they'll either coordinate the order before they get there, or they'll just order from home and never leave their house.
Chris Walton:Like, that's what going to happen.
Chris Walton:Like, I'm not going to be standing in the chips aisle and go, oh, you know what?
Chris Walton:I can pull out my phone now and I'm going to order a bag of tostitos for the party I'm going to have.
Chris Walton:Like, it's just not going to happen that way because it's maybe as a one off, but that's not going to move anything.
Chris Walton:So ultimately what I think is going to happen here is I think Whole Foods is either going to go struggle or it's actually going to get sold, which is why I thought of the question of, like, how much is it worth right now?
Chris Walton:Is it worth more or less since Amazon took it over?
Ann Mazenga:Right?
Ann Mazenga:No, it's a great point.
Chris Walton:Maybe it could be worth more to somebody because they could probably do something creative with it.
Chris Walton:I don't know.
Ann Mazenga:All right, people, we want to hear.
Ann Mazenga:Send us your.
Ann Mazenga:Send us.
Ann Mazenga:Slide into the DM's and tell us what you think about this one.
Chris Walton:I always love when we get thinking in real time.
Chris Walton:We never know which way the conversation is going to go.
Chris Walton:And we start thinking in real time.
Chris Walton:It's always dangerous.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, my God.
Ann Mazenga:All right, let's close this out with the lightning round.
Ann Mazenga:Chris, question number one goes to you.
Ann Mazenga:Walmart just posted a job and hired a full time meteorologist, which would have been my dream job as a five year old.
Ann Mazenga:What did you want to be when you were little?
Chris Walton:Really?
Chris Walton:You wanted to be a meteorologist?
Chris Walton:Wow.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, I wanted to be a meteorologist because I was terrified of storms and I love retail.
Ann Mazenga:So, like, this would be the marriage of my two favorite things.
Ann Mazenga:Wow.
Chris Walton:I had no idea the meteorology history with you.
Chris Walton:All right.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, yeah.
Chris Walton:Well, funny story for me to answer that question, I remember the day like it was yesterday.
Chris Walton:I was outside shooting hoops in my driveway in Phoenix, and my grandmother came out.
Chris Walton:She was visiting, and she's like, I don't know how it started, but she's like, Chris, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Chris Walton:And I was like, you know what I want to be?
Chris Walton:I want to be Mike Royko, grandma and Mike Royco.
Chris Walton:Mike Royco was an editorialist, famous editorialist for the Chicago Tribune and other Chicago papers as well.
Chris Walton:And I'd read his column, like, every week.
Chris Walton:It would get syndicated to the Tempe Tribune, where I grew up.
Chris Walton:And I always liked it.
Chris Walton:And I was like, yeah, that's what I want to do.
Chris Walton:And so, so, and basically the cool thing is that that is kind of what I do now, you know?
Chris Walton:And I'm not at his stature by any means, but you got to start somewhere and.
Chris Walton:Right.
Chris Walton:I mean, so, yeah, so that's amazing.
Ann Mazenga:How old were you?
Ann Mazenga:How old were you reading Mike Royco?
Ann Mazenga:Some kids peanuts.
Chris Walton:Chris reads like twelve or 13.
Chris Walton:I got twelve or 13, but I remember that conversation vividly.
Chris Walton:Yeah.
Chris Walton:I wanted to be a.
Chris Walton:I want to be a columnist, you know?
Chris Walton:And that's kind of how it played out, you know?
Chris Walton:All right, second one.
Chris Walton:KFC is issuing a battle cry to its fast food rivals with the launch of an integrated ad campaign for its new original recipe.
Chris Walton:Tenders rank the following fried chicken restaurants in order of your preference, and KFC, Popeyes, chick fil a, and raising canes.
Ann Mazenga:Okay.
Ann Mazenga:Without question, Popeyes is the number one.
Ann Mazenga:This should not even be a question.
Ann Mazenga:It is the best.
Chris Walton:I never had Popeyes ever.
Ann Mazenga:Oh, my God.
Ann Mazenga:Chris, do yourself a favor.
Ann Mazenga:And popeyes love that chicken from Popeyes.
Ann Mazenga:Okay, num.
Ann Mazenga:Then I would say raising canes.
Ann Mazenga:And then I would say I would pick McDonald's chicken nuggets, which he didn't even put in the running because I would take those over any of the other ones.
Ann Mazenga:Chick fil a, KFC.
Ann Mazenga:No thanks.
Ann Mazenga:Not my.
Chris Walton:You went out on your own on that one.
Chris Walton:Wow.
Ann Mazenga:Okay.
Ann Mazenga:I did.
Ann Mazenga:I threw in.
Ann Mazenga:I threw in a dark horse with the McDonald's chicken nuggethe.
Chris Walton:Maybe I can.
Chris Walton:Donald's chicken.
Chris Walton:Big Mac.
Chris Walton:Right?
Ann Mazenga:I was just going to say.
Ann Mazenga:I forgot about that.
Ann Mazenga:I forgot about that.
Ann Mazenga:That would be my next thing to try, probably.
Ann Mazenga:All right, Chris.
Ann Mazenga:Target announced an exclusive Taylor Swift Black Friday release, the official Taylor Swift the eras tour book, and the tortured poets department, the anthology in hopes to drive more shoppers to target during this high holy day of shopping.
Ann Mazenga:What deeply discounted product would be worth waiting in Black Friday lines if not the t.
Ann Mazenga:Swift eras tour book?
Chris Walton:Oh, wow.
Chris Walton:Yeah, that's easy.
Chris Walton:I mean, my son and I were in target on the weekend, and he spied this bumblebee transformer Lego, and it was like, over $100.
Chris Walton:So I was like, no, we're not getting that.
Chris Walton:And so he's like, maybe it'll go on sale for Black Friday.
Chris Walton:I was like, yes, maybe it will.
Chris Walton:Or maybe it won't.
Ann Mazenga:You've taught him well.
Ann Mazenga:You've taught him well.
Ann Mazenga:Yes.
Chris Walton:Oh, yeah.
Chris Walton:The discerning shopper.
Chris Walton:All right.
Chris Walton:And this one's a fun one.
Chris Walton:Meat stick maker.
Chris Walton:Meat stick maker.
Chris Walton:Chops is, believe it or not, now the fastest growing snack in the United States.
Chris Walton:When was the last time you snapped into a slim gym or something similar?
Ann Mazenga:Not high on my list of things that I like to snack on, but I did do a two star cycle ride.
Ann Mazenga:We are getting a new thing.
Ann Mazenga:It's like a soulcycle esque place.
Ann Mazenga:We did a ride last week, and they had bison jerky sticks that were being given away as samples.
Ann Mazenga:So I tried it.
Ann Mazenga:My thing is, I used to love dried meat, but then I went to the bodies exhibit.
Ann Mazenga:You know, the body, like, the bodies where they had, like.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, I went to the bodies exhibit at the science museum, and I had a hard time going back to dried meats after that.
Ann Mazenga:So maybe.
Ann Mazenga:Maybe I'll.
Ann Mazenga:Because of the texture, the way it.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, the muscle.
Ann Mazenga:Seeing the muscles and the texture of the jerky was a hard.
Chris Walton:See, I'm gonna.
Chris Walton:I'm gonna call B's on that.
Chris Walton:And because I swear to God, I've been on conference trips with you.
Chris Walton:And the beef stick is, quite frankly, an overused, like, sample that gets put in, like, the conference bags.
Chris Walton:And I have seen you.
Chris Walton:Because I avoid those.
Chris Walton:I have seen you eat those pretty regularly over the years.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, pretty regularly.
Ann Mazenga:I would say, like, I have eaten one, but I'm trying to remember, like, the last time.
Ann Mazenga:I mean, that would be, like, an extreme case, you know?
Ann Mazenga:I know there is a moment that.
Chris Walton:I know is in both our heads where you ate one of those.
Chris Walton:I think that's what you're trying to grab right now.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah.
Chris Walton:But, yeah, I can't do the stick.
Chris Walton:I can do the jerky.
Chris Walton:I can't do the stick.
Chris Walton:You know, I just can't do it.
Ann Mazenga:Yeah.
Chris Walton:Are you more of a bloody jerk because of the bodies exhibit?
Ann Mazenga:Yeah, I think so.
Ann Mazenga:I think this.
Ann Mazenga:It depends.
Ann Mazenga:I don't know.
Ann Mazenga:I'm very discerning about my meat sticks.
Ann Mazenga:They gotta be a certain.
Ann Mazenga:They can't be a certain texture.
Ann Mazenga:Like, they can't have any, like, chewy bits in them?
Ann Mazenga:I don't know.
Ann Mazenga:So, yes.
Ann Mazenga:I mean, I'll take a bite, but it's not gonna be my go to snack, for sure.
Chris Walton:Yeah, I feel the same way about meat sticks that I do about hot dogs.
Chris Walton:Like, just.
Chris Walton:They didn't neither water going in my mouth unless I have it, if I got anything to say about it.
Chris Walton:All right, happy birthday today, Roberts.
Chris Walton:Before this show goes completely off the rails, Kelly Martin.
Chris Walton:And to the man who played general Behringer of NORAD during a time of eminent global thermonuclear war, the great Barry Corbin of war games.
Chris Walton:And remember, if you can only read or listen to one retail blog in the business, make it Omniton, the only retail media outlet run by two former executives from the current top ten Us retailer.
Chris Walton:Our Fast Buy podcast, the quickest, fastest rundown of all the week's top news, and our daily newsletter, the retail daily minute tells you all you need to know each day to stay on top of your game as a retail executive, and also regularly feature special content that is exclusive to us and that Ann and I take a lot of pride in doing just for you.
Chris Walton:Thanks, as always, for listening in.
Chris Walton:Please remember to like and leave us a review wherever you happen to listen to your podcast or on YouTube.
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Chris Walton:We are gaining, gaining subscribers like it's our job.
Chris Walton:Because in a way, it is.
Chris Walton:But until next week, on behalf of all of us at Omnitalk, be careful out there.