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 discussed:
- Starbucks offering delivery via DoorDash through the Starbucks app (Source)
- Amazon shutting down a secret fertility tracking project (Source)
- REI’s latest attempts to thwart “serial returners” (Source)
- Retailers, like Zara, experimenting with radio emitting threads to combat theft (Source)
- And closed with a look whether we should all by into Marc Lore’s “super app for mealtime” hype coming off Wonder’s acquisition of Grubhub (Source)
There’s all that, plus Pepsi’s “Undercover Cups” campaign, weirdly hot Santas, and home for the summer stories of when Chris last donned a pair of rollerblades.
Music by hooksounds.com
#RetailNews #Walmart #REI #Starbucks #Zara #Wonder #Grubhub #OmniTalk #RetailPodcast #RetailTrends #RetailInnovation
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcripts
The OmniTalk Fast5 is brought to you in association with the A and M Consumer and Retail Group.
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Ann Mazinga:Learn more@ocampo capital.com hello, 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.
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Ann Mazinga:And the Fast 5 is just one of the many great podcasts that you can find from the Omnitalk Retail Podcast Network alongside our Retail Daily Minute, which 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 Trend.
Ann Mazinga: ,: Ann Mazinga:I'm one of your hosts, Ann Mazinga.
Chris Walton:And I'm Chris Walton and we're here.
Ann Mazinga:Once again to discuss all the top headlines from the past week making waves in the world of omnichannel retailing.
Ann Mazinga:And Chris, we I have a feeling I know us and I have a feeling we're going to go real deep on some of these headlines today.
Ann Mazinga:So I.
Ann Mazinga:I think we need to get right to it.
Ann Mazinga:We can.
Ann Mazinga:No, no BS up front.
Ann Mazinga:We just go right to the headlines today.
Ann Mazinga:What do you say?
Chris Walton:Yep, yep.
Chris Walton:We got.
Chris Walton:We got a tight timeline at the top of the hour too and with all the content we got to produce today too.
Chris Walton:So.
Chris Walton:Yes, I agree.
Chris Walton:Let's get to the headlines.
Chris Walton:Today's headlines are brought to you by E E Palm Springs is the premier event for brands and retailers looking to Network and learn.
Chris Walton:2025's E Palm Springs will feature keynotes from companies like Skims, Zappos, H and M Haxon and more.
Chris Walton:You can join OmniTalk Retail at Etel Palm Springs this year and get 20% off this must attend event by using code etailpartner.
Chris Walton:That's E T A I L P A R T N E R All one world.
Chris Walton:And if you want to put it in caps too, Ann, all one word, put it in caps.
Chris Walton:We don't mind.
Chris Walton:We like that.
Chris Walton:It's all Good.
Chris Walton:In today's Fast5, we've got news on Amazon shutting down a secret project to develop a fertility tracker.
Chris Walton:Can't wait to get your opinion on that one.
Chris Walton:An REI changing its return policies to combat what it calls serial returners.
Chris Walton:Ooh, retailers like Zara experimenting with radio emitting threads to also combat theft.
Chris Walton:Wonder's acquisition of grubhub.
Chris Walton:I've got a lot of thoughts about that and our good friend Chad Lust from the A and M Consumer and Retail Group stops by for five insightful minutes on the state of US Consumer sentiment.
Chris Walton:But we begin today with a dash of good news and yes, that's right, a dash of good news that might help many of you to get your morning started off right and definitely see.
Ann Mazinga:What you did there yet again.
Ann Mazinga:Chris Walton Pretty blatant, yes.
Ann Mazinga:Headline number one, Starbucks has expanded DoorDash delivery within the Starbucks app.
Ann Mazinga:According to chain storage, Starbucks customers in the US And Canada, except for Quebec can now use the Starbucks app to order delivery with fulfillment provided by DoorDash.
Ann Mazinga:When customers who live within the radius of participating stores open the Starbucks app, they can now toggle the top of the page between pickup and delivery and on the store selection screen.
Ann Mazinga:DoorDash delivery within the Starbucks App leverages the online ordering solution of the DoorDash commerce platform, a recently released integrated ordering system designed to enable partner retailers like Starbucks to personalize the digital experience, capture customer specific insights and drive user engagement.
Ann Mazinga:To celebrate the launch of this new joint mobile delivery offering, customers receive $0 delivery fees on orders placed within the Starbucks app from Wednesday of last week through Sunday.
Ann Mazinga:So, Chris, one.
Ann Mazinga:Did you try this?
Ann Mazinga:And two, what do you think of ordering Starbucks via DoorDash through the Starbucks app.
Chris Walton:And I, of course, tried it.
Chris Walton:I, of course tried it.
Chris Walton:Yes.
Chris Walton:It's the first thing I did on Saturday morning.
Chris Walton:I ordered a.
Chris Walton:Ordered a Americano, a grande Americano, and a grande oat milk latte for my mom, who was staying with me.
Chris Walton:So, yeah, I tried it.
Chris Walton:I thought it was pretty good.
Chris Walton:Overall, the experience worked pretty good.
Chris Walton:It was a little clunky.
Chris Walton:It kind of felt like a mashup between DoorDash and Starbucks Experience.
Chris Walton:It didn't feel like the true Starbucks active app experience.
Chris Walton:That's one thing I would say about it.
Chris Walton:Like, for example, like, I didn't have my preloaded favorites in there, so I had to reset everything up.
Chris Walton:So that was kind of frustrating.
Chris Walton:But overall, I liked it.
Chris Walton:And in general, I absolutely love this concept.
Chris Walton:I love it for a couple of reasons.
Chris Walton:First, I think it fits right in with everything Brian Nichols trying to do to reduce wait times because, you know, who's okay with waiting longer and people who are getting their orders delivered.
Chris Walton:I probably waited 20 or 30 minutes to get my order.
Chris Walton:I didn't actually track it, but it definitely took about that long.
Chris Walton:So it built some slack time into Starbucks operations for their stores, which is great.
Chris Walton:But the other reason I love it, Ann, is the data and the visibility it gives to Starbucks.
Chris Walton:Starbucks can now better see the volume coming in through its app versus say, through DoorDash, and therefore they can divert any order to any store that has more capacity.
Chris Walton:Because as a Starbucks customer, I don't care which store my coffee comes from.
Chris Walton:I just care that the order's right and it's hot.
Ann Mazinga:Right?
Chris Walton:That's all that matters.
Chris Walton:And so for this, that's why I love this.
Chris Walton:I think for the long term, it's going to be a big win for Starbucks, and I think it's smart because it plays right in line with what Nickel's trying to do.
Chris Walton:But what do you think?
Ann Mazinga:Yeah, I mean, I think you're 100% right.
Ann Mazinga:There's definitely people who want Starbucks delivery and who are in the Starbucks app and aren't DoorDash members who now have an opportunity to get their coffee delivered to them in 20 minutes in this case.
Ann Mazinga:So I think for Starbucks, it makes a ton of sense that they're going to go forward and start to roll this out.
Ann Mazinga:I think the only question that I have is that you have Brian Nichol, who's still trying to figure out automation and how to make the order processing smoother at Starbucks, so that if you're in the Store, you're getting your coffee in a timely manner.
Ann Mazinga:If I'm ordering online and picking up in store, I'm getting it within a timely MANNER.
Ann Mazinga:Not the 20 minutes that you talked about last week.
Ann Mazinga:And so I think that's the only thing here, is that I do think there's going to be significant volume, especially at those peak times.
Ann Mazinga:And so it's just a matter of whether or not the Starbucks stores are ready to accommodate this, this influx in volume from the delivery that I think they're going to start to see increase with rolling this out.
Chris Walton:Yeah, but that's, but that's a great thing, is that they have the capacity now.
Chris Walton:They have extra capacity for whatever store they need to fulfill the order from.
Chris Walton:The other point I make too, and just because we didn't cover Walmart's news on earnings broke yesterday where they're getting significant share in $100,000 plus income earners.
Chris Walton:So there's a lot of people that actually still could find the extra.
Chris Walton:Oh.
Chris Walton:Cause the other thing I forgot to mention, you saw the tip.
Chris Walton:So even though you read it, read that announcement like it sounded like it was a free thing, you saw the tip.
Chris Walton:So it is a more expensive way, significantly more expensive way to get your Starbucks.
Chris Walton:But there's probably still plenty of people that are gonna be interested in trying this out, especially on a busy Saturday or Sunday morning, or a lazy Saturday and Sunday morning as well.
Ann Mazinga:Right.
Chris Walton:All right, headline number two.
Chris Walton:This is a headline I could not make up if I tried.
Chris Walton:And Amazon has shut down a recent secret project to develop a fertility tracker.
Chris Walton:According to cnbc, the company had been working to launch a fertility monitoring device and companion smartphone app for the past four years as a project.
Chris Walton:As part of a project codenamed Encore, I guess, said people who asked not to be named because they weren't authorized to speak to the press.
Chris Walton:No surprise there.
Ann Mazinga:Or they didn't like the name of their product project, like, right.
Ann Mazinga:I don't want to write to Project Encore.
Chris Walton:Project Encore, yes.
Chris Walton:Well, that even the naming gets even better, Anne, because the team sat within Amazon's grand challenge, which connotes all kinds of bad things for me, are also known as its Special Projects division.
Chris Walton:The sources said the project appears to have been a costly endeavor as well, and required significant upfront investments for lab research and development, in addition to the high salaries for scientists and engineers, the sources said, adding that the team's weekly overhead was roughly $1.5 million, which by my counts, Anne, is some significant cheddar.
Chris Walton:Are you pro or con?
Chris Walton:The idea of an E commerce retailer tracking your fertility, I don't think that's.
Ann Mazinga:The question to ask.
Ann Mazinga:I really don't.
Chris Walton:Oh, really?
Chris Walton:Okay.
Ann Mazinga:I think that everybody is.
Chris Walton:So you could be okay with it?
Ann Mazinga:Yeah, I mean, there's, I give my information to a tracker and it doesn't matter to me if it's Clue or it's Amazon.
Ann Mazinga:I don't think that's the story here.
Ann Mazinga:I think there, the press and media is using this as an opportunity to kind of freak people out.
Ann Mazinga:Given the current climate of like Amazon's tracking your fertility.
Ann Mazinga:Well, there's some benefits to that too.
Ann Mazinga:And I don't think it's wrong for Amazon to be doing this.
Ann Mazinga:I mean, if I can get vitamins or I can get other things, you know, because there's, it's more than fertility that you track in these apps.
Ann Mazinga:It's, how are you doing on sleep?
Ann Mazinga:Sleep, your mood, energy, all these other things.
Ann Mazinga:And so I think that if you start to look at those things and would it be convenient for me to get vitamins delivered to me in a couple of hours through my Amazon prime membership or other things like there, there could be benefits.
Ann Mazinga:So I don't, I don't think people should be hating on Amazon for trying something like this.
Ann Mazinga:What I do think we should be paying attention is to, is the fact that Jassy is really looking closely at where they can curb spending, that Amazon is in a challenging position like a lot of other retailers are now, and they need to start to look at where they can cut costs.
Ann Mazinga:And unfortunately, as we know, Chris, like innovation is some of the first places where they can cut some of that spending, especially at the burn rate that you're talking about, you know, one million something a week.
Ann Mazinga:I mean, it makes sense that this might get, get tabled for a little while so they can focus on the core business.
Ann Mazinga:So I think that's what's the real headline here.
Ann Mazinga:Not whether or not Amazon should be doing a fertility tracking program.
Ann Mazinga:But what, what, what are your thoughts?
Chris Walton:I mean, what would you do if you.
Chris Walton:So I want to make sure I understood you correctly.
Chris Walton:So you're saying that you're, you're fine with Amazon doing this if they didn't have the budget constraints that they're currently facing given their current financial performance?
Chris Walton:You are.
Chris Walton:Wow.
Chris Walton:Okay.
Ann Mazinga:This is not the area where.
Ann Mazinga:This is not Amazon's core business right now.
Ann Mazinga:This is the potential down the road to find other areas for generating revenue.
Ann Mazinga:So I don't.
Ann Mazinga:Interesting idea.
Chris Walton:Interesting.
Chris Walton:And that's why I don't like it because I think it's just outside of the core in general like that.
Chris Walton:And it shows two things to me.
Chris Walton:One, it shows to me the sheer temerity or hubris that Amazon thinks its success in selling goods via e commerce and cloud data storage allows it to do right, that it can get into fertility tracking.
Chris Walton:Because the actual tie ins with Amazon's vaunted flywheel are stretches at best.
Chris Walton:Like, oh, yeah, I can get my vitamin.
Chris Walton:I can know when to send people their vitamins.
Chris Walton:I don't, I don't know, like that, that, okay, fine, you could always make those connections, but like, come on, there's more here on this than meets the eye.
Chris Walton:And so I think he's right to pull the plug on this.
Chris Walton:I think they've gotten their skis too far ahead of them, gotten too far ahead on their skis for many projects like this.
Chris Walton:And so I think it brings them back to the core of like, what really gets Amazon's flywheel working and where do they really have a right to win now with that said, Anne, I'm going to talk out of both sides of my mouth because I will still take discounted ed drugs and hair loss drugs till the cows come home.
Chris Walton:Like they announced last week too.
Chris Walton:So.
Chris Walton:So, you know, I don't know, but I just feels different.
Chris Walton:To me, that feels like core retail and commerce.
Chris Walton:This feels like a bridge too far for me.
Chris Walton:But I don't know.
Chris Walton:You get the last word on this one.
Ann Mazinga:I see.
Ann Mazinga:I still disagree.
Ann Mazinga:I mean, it sounds like they still have one project in this grand challenge portfolio that's still in the healthcare space.
Ann Mazinga:And I do think, like, again, I think people are focusing too much on the fertility tracker part of this.
Ann Mazinga:There are so many more elements.
Ann Mazinga:There's a flywheel of once someone does get pregnant and they are already in the Amazon universe, you are able to bring them in to start offering them baby gear.
Ann Mazinga:You're starting to like get them earlier in on the cycle.
Ann Mazinga:I don't think this is any different than like some of the stuff they're doing like right now, the Amazon haul, like the TEMU competitor thing, like they're trying to find new areas for growth and I don't think that that's a terrible idea to get people attracted to.
Ann Mazinga:You used to checking an app multiple times a day and then being able to transact right within it.
Ann Mazinga:So I don't hate it and I think that people are focused a little bit too much on one particular function of it.
Ann Mazinga:So that's where I'll, that's where I'll leave it.
Chris Walton:But fair point and we agree to disagree.
Chris Walton:Anne.
Ann Mazinga:That's right.
Ann Mazinga:This is a very civilized show that we have friendly today and we're very friendly until we get further into the show.
Ann Mazinga:Don't worry people, we'll be back.
Ann Mazinga:Headline number three, Chris.
Ann Mazinga:REI wants to stop serial Returners.
Ann Mazinga:According to Retail Dive, REI is now not accepting returns from a quote, small subset of its members who have repeatedly abused its return policies.
Ann Mazinga:Normally, REI members would have up to one year to return most items, while non members have 90 days.
Ann Mazinga:However, according to REI, a limited number of people have abused the company's return policy with an average return rate of 79%.
Ann Mazinga: is particular group returned $: Ann Mazinga:A spokesperson said.
Ann Mazinga:As a result, while those members may still shop at rei, the company said they will no longer be allowed to make returns or exchanges.
Ann Mazinga:Chris, something about this headline really spoke to you this week.
Ann Mazinga:You were all in on it.
Ann Mazinga:Actually A and M was too.
Ann Mazinga:This is their Put yout On the Spot question.
Ann Mazinga:So I want to know, first of all was so intriguing to you.
Ann Mazinga:And then second, let's get hit you with A&M's question which is while on the surface this seems like a potential customer turn off policy, by the numbers given, this impacts less than 5,000 REI customers, accounting for about $12 million in returns and 3 million in non return sales.
Ann Mazinga:With that in mind, Chris, does your mind go to why bother or does it go to why not?
Chris Walton:Oh wow, 100% why not?
Chris Walton:I mean those numbers, 12 million in returns, $3 million in sales, like that's, that's, that's, that's a huge delta.
Chris Walton:Like no, I know, no, no amount of customers should be costing me that amount of money.
Chris Walton:$12 million is a lot of money for people and a lot of money they can flow back in the operation.
Chris Walton:So like, I don't know, I don't sneeze at that.
Chris Walton:But so yeah, I think I'm all for REI doing this, but the reason I like this story and if I step back 30,000 foot view of retail, I think it goes into showing us again as this is becoming a recurring theme on the show this year, it shows you the power of data by way of a membership program, because REI is a membership program.
Chris Walton:So it gives them the flexibility to take action like this because they know who those individual customers are.
Chris Walton:So that gets me thinking.
Chris Walton:Anne, we're hearing more stories about how Returns are a problem.
Chris Walton:More retailers are starting to charge for them, even.
Chris Walton:And so it makes me ask another question, which is, with all these subscription programs coming online, like Walmart plus, what angle do they start to take with returns?
Chris Walton:Like, does a Walmart plus member get an extended return policy?
Chris Walton:Do the windows get shorter for non Walmart shoppers?
Chris Walton:Or any loyalty program member, for that that matter, at any retailer?
Chris Walton:So the headline, to me just presents, ultimately, a new canvas on rich retailers can paint something we haven't seen before.
Chris Walton:And that's why I like this headline so much.
Chris Walton:It gets my mind just going in new directions.
Chris Walton:But I don't know.
Chris Walton:I hope you don't rate on my parade on this one.
Chris Walton:I kind of worried that you might, but maybe we'll just be friendly again on this show.
Chris Walton:I don't know.
Chris Walton:What's your take?
Ann Mazinga:No, I mean, I think this is a definite.
Ann Mazinga:Why not?
Ann Mazinga:I mean.
Chris Walton:Yeah.
Ann Mazinga:Okay, first, I was trying to consider, like, what are the cons here?
Ann Mazinga:You have REI that's in an increasingly competitive space with Dick's Sporting Goods, Public Lands coming online and expanding their stores, Bass Pro Shops kind of coming into favor with the next generation of customer.
Ann Mazinga:But I really don't think it's that big of a deal.
Ann Mazinga:I think this is just some bad actors who have really screwed things up.
Ann Mazinga:Like, it reminds me of being in Catholic school when one of our teachers, Sister Ann Marie, she let us chew gum, Right?
Ann Mazinga:But then some jerks in the class started putting it under church pews.
Ann Mazinga:They put it under their desks, and they put it on Sister Ann Marie's chair.
Ann Mazinga:And you know what?
Ann Mazinga:Then we couldn't chew gum anymore.
Ann Mazinga:So that's what happens.
Ann Mazinga:And if you're going to abuse a policy like this, I think that this is just.
Ann Mazinga:We're going to start to see, like you said, that we're going to start to see more retailers start to draw a hard line in the sand about their return policies.
Ann Mazinga:And I think REI is in a unique position, like, from a PR standpoint, to be like, look, you can't return any things anymore, but you can go to REI resale.
Ann Mazinga:And maybe if, like, if you're going to use these products for a year and then return them, like, here's an opportunity for you to get 10, 20, 40% back on that purchase by putting it into the resale program.
Ann Mazinga:We're done with you.
Ann Mazinga:Stop abusing our returns.
Ann Mazinga:Like, I think.
Ann Mazinga:Yeah, I think that's what we're looking at here with this story.
Chris Walton:Yeah.
Chris Walton:And for all intents and purposes.
Chris Walton:REI's return policy, when you read it, is pretty dang generous.
Chris Walton:So, like, they give you a lot of grace.
Chris Walton:So, so they're just basically saying, we caught you, your sister Ann Marie caught you, and you just got to deal with it.
Chris Walton:So, yes, any Catholic school analogy is always wonderful and nice job.
Ann Mazinga:All right.
Chris Walton:Well, I think we should bring Chad onto today's show.
Chris Walton:What do you think, Anne?
Ann Mazinga:Let's do it.
Chris Walton:Joining us now for five insightful minutes is longtime friend of the show and partner and managing director at the A and M Consumer and Retail Group, Chad Lusk.
Chris Walton:Chad will be discussing with us the results of A&M CRG's most recent biannual consumer sentiment survey report.
Chris Walton: t draws from a survey of over: Chris Walton:So, Chad, in your last two reports, you indicated some major projected pullbacks in terms of consumer confidence and future spending plans.
Chris Walton:What are consumers saying their next six months and holiday spending will look like?
Chad Lust:Yeah, Chris, while you mentioned there's been a steady erosion in consumer confidence and plans to spend for a while now, there was a major step change downward last holiday season and that behavior has held only 29% of consumers plan to spend more over the coming six months.
Chad Lust: That's down: Chad Lust:Worth calling out.
Chad Lust:We fielded the survey prior to the election, of course, now we're past it.
Chad Lust:But what consumers told us is the uncertainty of the election itself did not have a strong influence on their decisions.
Chad Lust:What they told us is that's speculative.
Chad Lust:And until I see real changes in inflation, interest rates, the job market, I'm going to continue to curtail spending.
Chad Lust:So what does that mean for holiday households plan to spend about 9% net less this holiday season compared to last.
Chad Lust:And that's expected by reducing both total gift volume, not just average spend per gift.
Ann Mazinga:And what does that mean then, Chad, for retailers when it comes to more discretionary categories?
Chad Lust:Yeah, for sure it's troublesome.
Chad Lust:But what's interesting is we may be seeing further shifts in what consumers are considering discretionary versus basic needs right before our eyes.
Chad Lust:So for instance, for the first time this cycle where consumers said they'll get more conservative, anticipated spend in fresh food went down.
Chad Lust:So normally fresh food goes up at the expense of restaurant prepared food spend and delivery.
Chad Lust:This time fresh food interest went down in favor of dry packaged grocery.
Chad Lust:So the trade offs are going one cut deeper for consumers.
Chad Lust:Another example, wellness and Fitness took a major step back too.
Chad Lust:It had been holding on pretty strong, but looks like that's falling back as well as far as a discretionary category.
Chad Lust:So it's a fine line households are straddling now.
Chad Lust:So we also ask consumers, if things do improve and you have additional income, where will you put it?
Chad Lust:So the lower household income brackets are more inclined to either bank it or put it toward groceries, which implies that they're still well below their satisfaction of basic needs, whereas upper household income brackets are ready to put it toward more discretionary purchases like dining out, delivery, travel and entertainment.
Chad Lust:So there's some hope there.
Chris Walton:So Chad, I want to go deeper into what you just said.
Chris Walton:So we'll cutting back on discretionary categories be enough for consumers or do you think consumers will also change their habits in regards to other basic needs as well?
Chad Lust:Yeah.
Chad Lust:So given the longstanding financial pressures we've been seeing this cycle, we went deeper with consumers on how they plan to cut back and in particular against basic needs like groceries and others.
Chad Lust:So an interesting insight emerged here.
Chad Lust:So consumers are more likely to change their purchase behavior than their shopping behavior.
Chad Lust:So what does that mean?
Chad Lust:Consumers were 25 to 30% more likely to switch to a cheaper brand or product at the same store than switch to a different, that is less expensive retailer.
Chad Lust:So the fascinating point there is that consumers will exhibit more retail banner loyalty over product brand loyalty when deciding how to cut back.
Chad Lust:So that's encouraging for retailers and critical to ensure that they have a proper, good, better best merchandising strategy, including private label, with clear indications of that value on shelf.
Ann Mazinga:That's interesting, Chad.
Ann Mazinga:It makes me wonder because last year we were talking about, especially around holiday, that this was going to be a much more digital forward holiday customers were going to be shopping online.
Ann Mazinga:Do you think that's going to be the case again, especially with the banner loyalty that you just mentioned?
Chad Lust:Yes, I do.
Chad Lust:And frankly that'll probably never change.
Chad Lust:38% are planning to shop even more online than in previous years.
Chad Lust:And there was a, there was already a 70% online versus in store preference for holiday shopping last year.
Chad Lust:But that's for holiday.
Chad Lust:So listen, for the past seven cycles we've done this report.
Chad Lust:Nothing's really changed here, right?
Chad Lust:In store is Preferred by about 2/3 of consumers consumer.
Chad Lust:But the general, the generational patterns are interesting.
Chad Lust:Right?
Chad Lust:Your spikes for in store preferential shopping come from ages 55 and up and under 34 with a little valley in the middle.
Chad Lust:And not surprisingly, the in store appeal is for different reasons.
Chad Lust:Right.
Chad Lust:Everyone wants the ability to touch and feel products and have immediate product availability.
Chad Lust:That's, that's common.
Chad Lust:But older demos are looking for better promos and deals in store and you know, younger demos.
Chad Lust:Talk about just wanting to get out of the house.
Chris Walton:Yeah.
Ann Mazinga:Something to do, right?
Chad Lust:So unlike other consumer trends where older shoppers are helping prop up kind of a waning consumer preference, here we see no signs of in store shopping going away.
Chad Lust:And retailers can be comfortable continuing to invest in the right set of merchandise and experiences.
Chad Lust:But going back to holiday, I mean it is a similar story with online apps loyalty.
Chad Lust:As you skew older consumers are looking for additional value out of their online searching.
Chad Lust:As you skew younger, the more they prioritize smooth and seamless user experience.
Chad Lust:So retailers really need to meet both this holiday and always.
Ann Mazinga:Thanks, Chad.
Chris Walton:Always.
Chris Walton:Great stuff, Chad.
Chris Walton:Thank you.
Chris Walton:All right, headline number four.
Chris Walton:Retailers appear to be weighing whether to put radio emitting threads into their clothes to curb theft.
Chris Walton:According to Bloomberg.
Chris Walton:Zara owner Inditex, the world's biggest publicly held clothing retailer, is among those who have studied the change.
Chris Walton:The retail giant in Spain has reportedly talked with a small Spanish technology company, Myrons, and telecommunications operator Telefort about the possible application of a system based on an anti theft alarm product so thin it's imperceptible to the naked eye, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named.
Chris Walton:Discussing private information.
Chris Walton:A lot of people discussing private information this weekend.
Chris Walton:Myron's product, which one of the people says is five times thinner than a human hair or about a thousandth of an inch, uses a conductive ink derived from cellulose to transmit signals.
Chris Walton:It can set off alarms if someone walks out of a shop with items whose woven in tags haven't been deactivated.
Chris Walton:The novel ink replaces aluminum, the main material used in most alarms.
Chris Walton:That would mean retailers wouldn't need to rely on the metal for alarms, making the devices potentially biodegradable and supporting the garment's recyclability.
Chris Walton:This is all in the name of sustainability.
Chris Walton:And but Anne, my question for you, are you buying or selling clothing made of radio emitting threads?
Ann Mazinga:I am investing in further research, Chris, so I guess that means I'm buying because but like let me just caveat this.
Ann Mazinga:If we are ever going to get YouTube comments, I think talking about Amazon fertility trackers and putting radio frequency threats that are the size of hairs, right?
Ann Mazinga:This is going to be the week that we get blasted with YouTube comments.
Ann Mazinga:But right, here's the thing from randos.
Ann Mazinga:Yes, exactly.
Ann Mazinga:So I do think that this is one of those technologies that could save retailers a lot of money.
Ann Mazinga:They're going to have to invest heavily in it.
Ann Mazinga:But I think with what we were seeing with rfid, like there are still ways, like some RFID tags are still being ripped out of products and there still is a massive return on investment though in some of this technology.
Ann Mazinga:I'm going to give you an example.
Ann Mazinga:So Lululemon, we know they have RFID in their product, right?
Chris Walton:Yep.
Ann Mazinga:I was just with my son.
Ann Mazinga:I got him a Lululemon shirt for his birthday.
Ann Mazinga:He decided he wanted to return it.
Ann Mazinga:We went through the whole rigmarole of things, but they knew exactly how much I paid for that shirt.
Ann Mazinga:I got it on sale.
Ann Mazinga:They knew exactly how much I paid for that shirt without a receipt.
Ann Mazinga:They knew this is the exact number of dollars and there are significant savings.
Ann Mazinga:You know, you think about multiplying that times thousands and thousands and thousands of products that are going through the system and that are going through customers hands all the time.
Ann Mazinga:Like there is significant money that they are saving by knowing exactly how much I paid for that and only giving the customer like that much money back.
Ann Mazinga:So I do think that this is something that could be worth investing in that is a little bit more preventative than some of the RFID tagging out there.
Ann Mazinga:But it might be down the road.
Chris Walton:Like I'm willing, I don't, I don't agree with you.
Chris Walton:In fact, I think you just made my point for me.
Chris Walton:And honestly, in fairness, like I'm selling this hard.
Chris Walton:I'm selling this hard because your Lulu exempt Lululemon example is great.
Chris Walton:Like, I mean this, why do you need this?
Chris Walton:I mean we, we had Troy Seawick of G Store on our Spotlight podcast on a few weeks ago talking about RFID and overhead readers basically approximating the same thing throughout a store.
Chris Walton:So like I don't see what value this presents.
Chris Walton:And it gets really crazy with like radio emitting threads on people, you know, like full scale on people's bodies and all that kind of stuff.
Chris Walton:I think it's a good story for a Bloomberg reporter to get some clicks, but honestly I like the offshoots.
Chris Walton:Plus there's so many more things you can do with the offshoots of, of the, the concept that, you know, RFID and overhead readers too like that get into the operations of the business too.
Chris Walton:And it's so much farther along than this too.
Chris Walton:So, so I would be maybe tangentially looking at this at best as an idea.
Chris Walton:I, I, I don't I don't like.
Ann Mazinga:But I think some of the RFID stuff selling it, the RFID stuff that you're talking about is enabled because of the hang tags on those garments.
Ann Mazinga:It's not all embedded in the garments themselves.
Ann Mazinga:So, like, if you could have the capabilities of RFID within a garment that's made from the cellulose of plants, like, I think there are some legs here that where, if you could just, if you could, this could be the replacement for RFID down the road.
Ann Mazinga:That eliminates some of the challenges that some retailers may have with RFID tagging or tags getting ripped off.
Ann Mazinga:I think, I think maybe, maybe fair.
Chris Walton:Yeah, we got to, we got to get a good friend, Marshall K back on the podcast talking about the value of RFID tags versus embedded threads.
Chris Walton:I think he'll have to solve this question for us.
Chris Walton:Hopefully he sees this podcast or listens this podcast and weighs in on that topic.
Chris Walton:But I don't know, I don't know.
Chris Walton:I'm still selling it and.
Ann Mazinga:All right, fine.
Ann Mazinga:Let's go to headline number five.
Ann Mazinga:Chris, I know you're going to have a lot to say about this.
Ann Mazinga:Wonder is acquiring Grubhub for $650 million, according to grocery Dive.
Ann Mazinga:Wonder, a company that operates delivery focused food halls and the brainchild of Mark Laurie, will acquire food delivery provider Grubhub for $650 million from just eattakeaway.com Wonder, which has 28 locations in the Northeast, also raised $250 million in capital from new investors after previously raising $700 million in March with plans to reach 90 locations by next year.
Ann Mazinga: billion in: Ann Mazinga:Quote we're excited to soon offer a curated selection of grubhub's restaurant partners directly in the Wonder app, alongside our owned and operated restaurants and meal kits.
Ann Mazinga:Bringing Wonder and grubhub together is the next step in our vision to create the super App for Meal time.
Ann Mazinga:Re envisioning the future of food delivery, end quote.
Ann Mazinga:Chris, do you agree with Wonders Mark Laurie that the world needs a super app for meal time?
Chris Walton:100%?
Chris Walton:Not at all, Ann.
Chris Walton:Not at all.
Chris Walton:No, I'm not buying this at all.
Chris Walton:And I kind of feel like I already have one and I have many options of them.
Chris Walton:Like I've got DoorDash, I've got my local grocer, I've got Walmart.
Chris Walton:Plus I've Got Amazon.
Chris Walton:So I, last time I checked.
Chris Walton:And last time I checked too.
Chris Walton:The universal truth is I want choice.
Chris Walton:I don't want to be forced to use one thing as a super app, especially in America.
Chris Walton:So.
Chris Walton:So this whole super app idea sounds like something you say to sound cool when you know you really aren't.
Chris Walton:That's what I think about this and that.
Chris Walton:That's my take here.
Chris Walton:Of course, with that said, I'm not P.T.
Chris Walton:barnum, aka Mark Laurie, aka the greatest investor showman on Earth, but I just don't see the long term play here and I really don't.
Chris Walton:The delivery space is crowded and it's consolidating already is another point I would add.
Chris Walton:It's pretty much a white label service at this point across the industry.
Chris Walton:I mean, look at what Starbucks is doing in the first headline, Blue Apron.
Chris Walton:And meal kits, those are dying as well.
Chris Walton:I tried them, I fell in love with them during the pandemic, but they jilted me.
Chris Walton:I'm not going to go back and I'm a jilted lover on the meal kit, so that's not appealing to me.
Chris Walton:So the success of this super app concept, if you get right down to it, Anne, the success of this super app concept has nothing to do with grubhub.
Chris Walton:It relies on the restaurant concept in and of itself of what Wonder is, which is supposed to be more geared toward the high end, which when I talk to people in the delivery space, customers don't want high end food delivered because it doesn't travel well.
Chris Walton:They want consistently Chinese, Mexican, pizza, all those things.
Chris Walton:But I'm sure, you know, and, but I mean, who am I?
Chris Walton:I'm just some pundit.
Chris Walton:I've been in retail 20, 25 years now.
Chris Walton:Who am I to challenge the questions of, of Mark Laurie and Tony Hoggett recently of Tesco and Amazon Fresh, who both have probably literally on their resume, no experience in the restaurant space.
Chris Walton:But who am I to question them?
Chris Walton:You know, they, they sold Mark, and especially Mark Lori.
Chris Walton:He sold two businesses that never made any money and don't exist anymore.
Chris Walton:But who am I to question them?
Chris Walton:And I mean, come on.
Chris Walton:I mean, I.
Chris Walton:So I'm probably getting something wrong.
Ann Mazinga:Well, I mean, if I'm trying to understand the thinking behind this, I mean, it was a steal of a deal if it was, you know, valued during the pandemic.
Ann Mazinga:$7 billion and now it's 650 million.
Ann Mazinga:Like, okay, it's one way to put it.
Ann Mazinga:What could Wonder do with this?
Ann Mazinga:They could get scale because of the other restaurants on the platform or people who are already going to grubhub, they could allow for people to start to see Wonder's concepts and drive traffic in a way that maybe Wonder would have to invest a lot more money on to get people, you know, over to the platform.
Ann Mazinga:And you've seen the value of using the platform.
Ann Mazinga:So maybe if you look at it as like a marketing expense, that can help this.
Ann Mazinga:The other thing that I wonder, Chris, and this again, I'm digging deep for some of the under, trying to understand this.
Chris Walton:I'm trying to find the good in this.
Ann Mazinga:I'm trying to find the good.
Ann Mazinga:I'm trying to find the good in it.
Ann Mazinga:But like, do you think that they gain information from the other grubhub restaurants on the platform?
Ann Mazinga:Like Tony Hoggett coming in here is making me ask some serious questions about like the Amazon approach to business.
Ann Mazinga:Like, do does Wonder see, like, ooh, Chinese is really popular and people really like hot pot or something like that in delivery?
Ann Mazinga:Like, do we create a Wonder concept now that delivers hot pot and undercut the competition and now they have two hot pot options and Wonder, you know, like, do they do something with the data from that?
Ann Mazinga:I don't, I don't know.
Ann Mazinga:Is there still ties to Amazon where, you know, yes, right now, part of your prime membership, you can get grubhub delivery, but do they start to use that?
Chris Walton:That's an interesting question.
Chris Walton:What happens there too?
Ann Mazinga:Yeah, like, I think that I'm trying to dig as you can tell, but I do think that there could be some, some things that they're at least going to put into practice and test with this acquisition.
Chris Walton:The other you put about the Amazon thing, if you read that, if you read the articles, they too, they said that the Amazon, the Amazon partnership did nothing to help the Grubhub business.
Chris Walton:Business, which is fascinating too.
Chris Walton:So that means you're buying a diamond.
Chris Walton:My last word on this, Anne, is my, my tell on, on how silly this idea is if the next thing Lori goes and acquires is a drone company because drones are coming for this space because they give more scale to last mile delivery.
Chris Walton:And so if he next acquires that, that means he's all in on like this super app thing and selling it and trying to get out with a big exit like he has historically done in the past.
Chris Walton:That's my tell.
Chris Walton:So, so that.
Chris Walton:Look how thrown up I, I just, I don't, I don't.
Chris Walton:I already have a super app and it's called DoorDash.
Chris Walton:It 100% is.
Chris Walton:I'm sorry, Mark.
Ann Mazinga:All right, Chris, it's time for us to go to the lightning round.
Ann Mazinga:Question number one for you, Chris.
Ann Mazinga:The home owned by the man who invented rollerblades is now up for sale in Bloomington, Minnesota, for 575,000.
Ann Mazinga:It comes complete with a silo bachelor pad.
Ann Mazinga:And atop the silo, Chris, is a rooftop observation deck.
Ann Mazinga:I feel like I'm reading the price right now.
Chris Walton:Is that a silo like a.
Chris Walton:Like a grain silver silo?
Chris Walton:Yes.
Ann Mazinga:The founder of rollerblades was inspired by silos that he saw in pastures of.
Ann Mazinga:Of fields down in northern Minnesota.
Ann Mazinga:So as one does.
Ann Mazinga:There is.
Ann Mazinga:There is an actual silo.
Ann Mazinga:Chris, I want to know when was the last time, if ever, that you rollerbladed?
Chris Walton:Oh, my God.
Chris Walton:That's such a great question, Ed.
Chris Walton:I remember the year like it was yesterday, actually.
Chris Walton:Ad very memorable experience.
Chris Walton: It was: Chris Walton:Was back home in Arizona.
Chris Walton:And I used to strap on the blades, the D pads, the elbow pads, the wrist guards.
Ann Mazinga:My God.
Chris Walton:Around the neighborhood for exercise every single day.
Chris Walton:And I will add, and usually.
Chris Walton:Usually I was alone.
Ann Mazinga:That does not surprise me.
Ann Mazinga:I really.
Ann Mazinga:I want.
Ann Mazinga:I want Mary to find us a photo of you rollerblading through the hills of Arizona.
Ann Mazinga:What color were your rollerblades?
Ann Mazinga:Were they like.
Ann Mazinga:Like hot pink?
Chris Walton:No, but they were purple.
Chris Walton:That's so good.
Chris Walton:That's so good.
Chris Walton:That's such a good thing.
Chris Walton:Yeah.
Chris Walton:Romans are always weird colors, weren't they?
Chris Walton:All right, all right, next one.
Chris Walton:Target's really hot Santa ad campaign was getting quite the buzz last week.
Chris Walton:Are you pro or con?
Chris Walton:The ad campaign or set another way, would you like to ride in Santa's sleigh tonight?
Ann Mazinga:And, I mean, Chris is kind of my type.
Ann Mazinga:I like a.
Ann Mazinga:I like a salt and peppery beard and whatever, but I don't get what the big deal is like.
Ann Mazinga:So Santa's a zaddy this year.
Ann Mazinga:That's cool, right?
Ann Mazinga:Like, I don't understand what the big deal is, I guess.
Chris Walton:I think he looks like Ryan Fitzpatrick, but, yeah, I don't know.
Chris Walton:I don't know.
Ann Mazinga:Okay, okay.
Chris Walton:Target will take all the buzz it can get this week, right?
Chris Walton:And Target will take any buzz it can get right after today's earnings announcement.
Chris Walton:Whoa.
Ann Mazinga:All right, Chris, let's go to question number three.
Ann Mazinga:Amazon said on Tuesday that it will let Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers access one audiobook per month from Audible's catalog for free.
Ann Mazinga:I want to know, will this be enough to convert you from physical books like the giant monstrosities I've seen you bring on planes into audio books.
Ann Mazinga:Chris.
Chris Walton:Absolutely not.
Chris Walton:No way.
Chris Walton:No way in hell.
Chris Walton:And nothing, nothing competes with the joy I get from reading a physical, physical book, closing it and staring at the front cover.
Chris Walton:I just love doing that.
Chris Walton:It just gives me some innate like, feeling of joy and happiness.
Chris Walton:It's like such an accomplishment when you, when you close that book, you stare at and you're like, yeah, I just read you.
Chris Walton:I took you to town.
Chris Walton:You know what I mean?
Ann Mazinga:Like, I dominated you.
Chris Walton:Yeah, I just read you.
Chris Walton:That's a, that's the type of experience I have with great American literature and.
Chris Walton:Or literature in general, I should say.
Chris Walton:All right, last one.
Chris Walton:Pepsi's latest ad campaign, undercover Cups.
Chris Walton:A send up of undercover cops has Pepsi agents barging into locations of the three largest US burger chains, McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's, to snag customers drinks and replace them with Pepsi.
Chris Walton:It's a, it's a great watch too.
Chris Walton:I watched it the other day.
Chris Walton:It's some great, some great video footage.
Chris Walton:So.
Chris Walton:And I might have asked you this question before, but I did not remember the answer.
Chris Walton:So I'm going to ask you it again.
Chris Walton:When was the last time you actually remember ordering a Pepsi?
Chris Walton:Like actually ask for a Pepsi?
Ann Mazinga:When I ordered a Diet Coke and they were like, we don't have.
Chris Walton:No, no, no, no.
Chris Walton:I'm talking like, no, no.
Ann Mazinga:And I said, I'll take a Diet Pepsi.
Chris Walton:Okay, so you ordered a Diet.
Chris Walton:No, but that's like.
Chris Walton:But you didn't want, you wanted the Diet Coke.
Chris Walton:When did you first and foremost ask for a Pepsi?
Ann Mazinga:Not only in that scenario, when I have.
Chris Walton:You've never asked for a Pepsi ever?
Ann Mazinga:Not that I can ever recall.
Ann Mazinga:I mean, I don't.
Chris Walton:Wow.
Ann Mazinga:It's never been, we've never been a Pepsi family.
Ann Mazinga:Like, we were always a Coke family.
Ann Mazinga:So.
Chris Walton:Wow.
Ann Mazinga:I couldn't even tell you the last time I asked, I asked or requested a Pepsi.
Ann Mazinga:It was only by default when they're like, we don't have Diet Coke.
Ann Mazinga:Is Diet Pepsi okay?
Ann Mazinga:And I'm like, I'll have a Diet Pepsi then.
Chris Walton:Really?
Chris Walton:Wow.
Chris Walton:Wow.
Chris Walton:So you, are you old enough to have taken the Pepsi Challenge?
Ann Mazinga:Yeah.
Ann Mazinga:Yes.
Chris Walton:You did you remember taking the Pepsi Challenge?
Ann Mazinga:I remember doing the Pepsi Challenge.
Ann Mazinga:I think it was like in grade school and they like put them out and that was like, hey, we're going to do the Pepsi Challenge.
Chris Walton:And you're like, I'm all in on Coke.
Chris Walton:You still are all in Coke.
Ann Mazinga:I Think so.
Ann Mazinga:Sorry.
Ann Mazinga:Oh, sorry.
Chris Walton:See, I went through a five year period where I was like, big into Pepsi.
Chris Walton:Like, I liked Pepsi.
Chad Lust:Really?
Chris Walton:Coke?
Chris Walton:Yeah.
Ann Mazinga:I mean, I guess, I guess there's.
Ann Mazinga:There is.
Ann Mazinga:Like, if we're going to go deep on this, I do think that I typically drink Diet Coke and I think Diet Pepsi is a substitute for Diet Coke.
Ann Mazinga:No way.
Ann Mazinga:Pepsi on its own is okay, but I just.
Ann Mazinga:That's like never a cola like that.
Ann Mazinga:I don't go to cola in that way, I guess.
Chris Walton:Yeah, Yeah.
Chris Walton:I can't remember the last time I've heard somebody order a Pepsi.
Chris Walton:Like, can I have a Pepsi like anywhere in my parland?
Chris Walton:So, so good for them for trying to go undercover cups and show the great taste that Pepsi potentially does have.
Chris Walton:All right, Happy birthday Today to Joel McHale, Kelly Thorne, and to the woman who pretended to be Rob Lowe's mother in Tommy Boy, a movie I know Anne loves very dearly.
Chris Walton:The great Bo Derek.
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Chris Walton:Excuse me, not join.
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