Omni Talk Retail welcomes Cedric Clark, EVP of Store Operations at Walmart, for a live NRF 2025 interview from the VusionGroup Podcast Studio to discuss Walmart's latest tech innovations. From digital shelf labels to inventory accuracy solutions, Cedric explains how Walmart leverages technology to empower associates, streamline operations, and enhance the shopping experience.

Key Moments:

• 0:15 - Cedric Clark’s 22-year journey from Sporting Goods associate to EVP.
• 2:05 - Walmart’s "people-led, tech-powered" approach to retail.
• 3:45 - How digital shelf labels simplify operations and boost productivity.
• 6:00 - The key ingredients for rolling out store-level technologies successfully.
• 8:10 - Addressing inventory accuracy as the next retail frontier.
• 9:20 - Cedric’s vision for Walmart’s leadership in retail and advice for future innovators.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:00

Welcome back, everybody.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:01

This is Omnitalk retail.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:02

I'm Anne Mazinga.

Chris Walton: 00:00:03

And I'm Chris Walton.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:04

he Fusion group, booth number: 4938

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:09

Come by.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:09

It's our last day here, Chris, So if you're gonna stop by and say hello, what are you waiting for?

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:14

It's time.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:15

We'll be here again all day, except for the moment that I get to be on stage with the gentleman standing in between Chris and myself.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:24

Here we have Cedric Queen Clark.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:26

Cedric is the EVP of store operations at Walmart.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:29

Cedric, welcome to omnitalk.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:00:31

Yeah, this is kind of a fanboy moment, so, you know, I just gotta kind of throw that out there.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:00:35

And yes, excited to be on stage with you later, but I hope I don't screw it up, man.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:00:39

You won't.

Chris Walton: 00:00:41

I've been getting a lot of questions about when you guys.

Chris Walton: 00:00:43

When you guys go on stage, tell the audience.

Chris Walton: 00:00:46

Okay.

Chris Walton: 00:00:46

Yeah, a lot of people are excited to see that.

Chris Walton: 00:00:47

I've been getting a lot of questions about it on social media.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:50

So it's probably because Cedric asked me this morning.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:53

He wanted to know who my.

Anne Mazinga: 00:00:54

My X man I most wanted.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:00:56

Oh, thank you.

Chris Walton: 00:00:57

Yes, thank you.

Chris Walton: 00:00:58

Yes, I try.

Chris Walton: 00:00:59

I try really hard with those questions every week.

Chris Walton: 00:01:01

All right, well, let's get to it because I.

Chris Walton: 00:01:02

And we're going to kind of give you guys a little preview of what you can expect on stage.

Chris Walton: 00:01:05

But I imagine they're going to go even more in depth on certain topics here at nrf because there's more time than what we have here.

Chris Walton: 00:01:11

But, Cedric, let's start with the obvious question.

Chris Walton: 00:01:14

Tell us about yourself.

Chris Walton: 00:01:14

Tell us about your background and your role.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:16

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:16

So I get the fortune now to lead our 1.2 million associates in Walmart U.S.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:21

operations.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:21

I mean, just a little small job.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:23

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:23

Right.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:24

I started 22 years ago in sporting goods, man, Selling fishing licenses in the state of Washington.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:28

So my journey has been, you know, on the shop floor.

Chris Walton: 00:01:31

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:31

Starting at the entry level, supporting the business.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:34

I did a vast array of roles on there.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:36

I was in asset protection.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:38

I ran a region in Chicago.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:40

So what I love about that is I get the opportunity to bring any of those thoughts and experience.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:01:44

Experiences into decisions we make, which is going to be to put the associates in a position to be the best place to work.

Chris Walton: 00:01:50

So steeped in field leadership.

Chris Walton: 00:01:52

That's what I get from that resume.

Chris Walton: 00:01:53

That's great.

Anne Mazinga: 00:01:55

Well, we've heard from a lot of your colleagues that we've talked to here at nrf.

Anne Mazinga: 00:01:58

I've heard you say this, that Walmart is people led and tech powered.

Anne Mazinga: 00:02:02

Did I get that right?

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:03

You got it right.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:04

People led, tech powered.

Anne Mazinga: 00:02:05

Now, can you talk to us a little bit about, in your role, what technologies you're seeing that are of interest to you as you kind of go forward, trying to, you know, tech power the people in the space.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:17

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:17

And what I love about that is you got to have a North Star, you know, and our founder in 92, before he passed away, got the medal of Freedom, and he talked about this, you know, framework of making it better to live.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:27

Right.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:27

Because.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:28

And doing that in America, like that was one of his goals.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:30

And so then save money, you know, helping people save money and live better.

Speaker D: 00:02:34

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:34

Frame.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:34

And so then when I look at that like having 1.2 million associates, the ability to do that is how do I create and curate an opportunity to have them empowered to delight the customer.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:43

So with that, I'll go into a technology, you know, we here at the Vujin Group booth, but we're partnering with them on digital shelf labels.

Chris Walton: 00:02:50

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:02:50

When I think about, it's just not the price on there, but there's, you know, the LED light that allows an associate, when they show up on day one to where it can light up when they hit it on the device to say, oh, my goodness, that's where the item is if I have to stock it or if I have to pick it for a customer.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:03

So part of our responsibility, and my responsibility specifically, is to make sure what technology we invest in allows the associate to have a great experience with the customer.

Speaker D: 00:03:12

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:12

And so that's.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:13

That's really, you know, how I frame our North Star to kind of our operating system to make sure we deliver the best place to shop and work.

Speaker D: 00:03:19

Yeah.

Chris Walton: 00:03:20

Right.

Chris Walton: 00:03:20

And having worked in the stores ourselves, I can't imagine.

Chris Walton: 00:03:22

I can imagine that the store teams are loving the fact that there's potentially no ad takedown ever again or set up or take down, you know.

Chris Walton: 00:03:30

Right.

Chris Walton: 00:03:30

Set up, really more so than takedown.

Chris Walton: 00:03:32

But.

Chris Walton: 00:03:32

But, yeah.

Chris Walton: 00:03:33

All right, so you guys are always piloting new technology.

Chris Walton: 00:03:36

We follow you guys constantly.

Chris Walton: 00:03:37

I think you're in our fast five every single week.

Chris Walton: 00:03:40

What have you found is an ingredient to successfully roll out a technology, especially when it impacts the store level teams.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:46

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:47

I think for me is make sure you don't invest in technology.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:49

Just to invest in technology.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:51

A few things I think it has to enhance.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:53

It has to enhance the speed of what you're doing, which then equates to productivity.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:57

So if I'm thinking of being an associate.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:58

Price changes.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:03:59

For example, when we think about the partnership with Fusion Group, Man, I used to have to go in the back with a Garvey gun.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:05

I had to scan the label.

Chris Walton: 00:04:07

Right.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:07

Then I'd have to go back and get the little perforated sheet with all the things on them, rip them off, get paper cuts.

Anne Mazinga: 00:04:12

Oh, my God.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:13

And I could keep going.

Chris Walton: 00:04:15

For me, it was every Sunday.

Chris Walton: 00:04:16

It was, it was, it was, it was awful.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:19

And then to think about, now I'm going to be able to take the operating system, which is a phone in our pocket.

Speaker D: 00:04:24

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:24

Two clicks in.

Speaker D: 00:04:25

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:25

And then the price changes that we actually, you know, are rolling out to our customers, they're like that.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:30

Like that changes your life.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:32

And so I'm thinking about when I started to.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:34

Now I will remember the day when that tedious task is no longer.

Speaker D: 00:04:39

Yeah, yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:39

And that's really how I look at it and how we look at it.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:42

And you can, you can frame that to different technologies around our store.

Anne Mazinga: 00:04:45

Right.

Chris Walton: 00:04:46

And the idea, too, is ultimately, like we heard from probably Tractor Supply, too, is to give your store associates more time to spend with the customers.

Chris Walton: 00:04:52

Right.

Chris Walton: 00:04:53

That's how you measure productivity at the end of the day.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:55

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:04:55

And for us, you know, obviously, when the associate sentiment goes up and you feel like you had a good day's work and you got some things done, there's nothing like that.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:03

And, you know, turnover is important in retail.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:05

When you think of the, what I would say is the transient nature of, like, having to hire someone else in, if we're able to mitigate that and lower that and increase our retention, that's the opportunity where I don't have to retrain someone and we can continue to go on the journey of what we're doing to try to put people in a position to say, save money, live better when they come to Walmart.

Speaker D: 00:05:20

Yeah.

Chris Walton: 00:05:20

Well said.

Anne Mazinga: 00:05:21

I have a kind of a ethereal question for you, but if you, if you could find a technology to solve, like the number one challenge that your store associates are finding, are encountering right now in their day to day.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:36

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:36

Like retail.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:37

I'll take this broadly, but specifically for Walmart.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:39

So that term, when it looks at, on an app, if I'm going onto Walmart.com, your accuracy, availability allows me the opportunity.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:46

Opportunity to shop.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:47

If you walk in a store, your accuracy of availability allows me the opportunity to get to the shelf and have the best opportunity to get what we can get.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:54

So with that, that's kind of this framing of our operating system.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:05:57

And then what technologies will drive that?

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:00

There are several things that we're doing, but I want to stay here with digital shelf labels.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:03

This opportunity to take the tedious task.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:05

I told you ahead of time.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:06

But now think about someone that's going to be stocking product comes in.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:10

I've only worked in a store for two days.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:12

I'm going to find cinnamon spice.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:14

And you guys have ever been in the spice aisle.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:16

There's a lot, you know, that's.

Anne Mazinga: 00:06:19

That's no man's land.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:20

Exactly.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:21

So but if I don't know that and say I'm not the shopper, but then I get close to it, I hit the button and then something lights up to tell me that experience, like, changes my life.

Speaker D: 00:06:30

Yeah.

Anne Mazinga: 00:06:31

So cream of tartar, does this go in the sea or the T's?

Anne Mazinga: 00:06:34

I don't know.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:35

So.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:35

So now.

Chris Walton: 00:06:36

Right.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:36

Able to leverage technology.

Chris Walton: 00:06:37

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:38

To be able to do that.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:38

And all we need to do is get them proximity to where it would be in an aisle, and then we're able to do.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:42

Do through views and groups.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:43

DSLs.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:44

Light it up.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:45

And then they're able to either stock it and then the people that go around digitally shopping.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:06:48

So if you show up to the store and I'm gonna put it in your trunk, that person running around doing your order, they have a better experience.

Anne Mazinga: 00:06:54

Well, I have to imagine that it comes in like the.

Anne Mazinga: 00:06:57

The inventory availability thing is so key too, I think, because that ends up being like.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:04

Right.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:04

Yes.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:04

And so that sentiment of, okay, I came into 150,000 square foot box, and I have a great point of items like that is anxiety.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:15

If I could mitigate that anxiety.

Anne Mazinga: 00:07:17

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:17

The pep in my step kind of changes.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:19

And then when I actually go get something done and it resolves in me being efficient in the time that you said that it would take, Then all of a sudden, I have a great relationship with you, the company, and then let's just repeat that thing over and over again.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:30

And then my job is to make sure I'm still listening to that team.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:33

On what things can we continue to do.

Speaker D: 00:07:35

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:35

To enhance as we go to that next experience.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:37

What else is creating that friction.

Speaker D: 00:07:39

Yeah.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:39

That you're talking about.

Chris Walton: 00:07:40

Yeah, it's a great point.

Chris Walton: 00:07:41

Inventory accuracy seems like the next frontier of retail in terms of how things are going to get done and how things are going to continue to improve.

Chris Walton: 00:07:46

All right.

Chris Walton: 00:07:47

I have to.

Chris Walton: 00:07:47

I can't let you go without asking you really both this question.

Chris Walton: 00:07:51

You're going to be on stage at noon here at nrf.

Chris Walton: 00:07:53

Cedric, what are you hoping the audience here takes away from your session?

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:07:57

Well, first off, I'm hoping that they know I know Ann.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:01

You got that?

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:02

I hope you all hear that.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:03

I met Ann and Chris, so, you know, that's, that's the framing there.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:07

But if I'm being very honest, what I want to make sure is they understand, and that's why I'm excited you're doing it.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:11

In with me is like, in a very palatable way.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:15

Walk through what as a retailer, you should be thinking about as you're investing in technology, it costs money, but if your capital is going to enable your assets to simplify the experience for the customer, to give them speed and time back, they're going to repeat it.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:28

And so if we can get that framing across and some examples of what that looks like, I'm actually excited.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:35

I love Walmart, but I'm also excited for those people young in their careers, doing different things around retail space to be able to say, hey, we're going to take this and drive this, because competition actually drives us to do better for the customer.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:47

And so that's what's exciting for me.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:48

And also, you know, I want them to understand Walmart is the best place to work.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:51

And it is a great time frame right now to be a Walmart associate.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:08:55

And we'd love you to join our teams and go on this journey with us as well.

Anne Mazinga: 00:08:58

Yeah, well, that was very well said.

Anne Mazinga: 00:09:01

I'm very excited to be on stage with you later.

Anne Mazinga: 00:09:04

g all the coverage of our NRF: 2025

Anne Mazinga: 00:09:13

Again comes up by booth: 4938

Anne Mazinga: 00:09:15

Thank you so much to Cedric for making time.

Anne Mazinga: 00:09:17

I know you have a lot.

Chris Walton: 00:09:18

Yeah, I know you're busy, man.

Chris Walton: 00:09:19

Thank you.

Anne Mazinga: 00:09:20

And thanks to all of you for following along.

Anne Mazinga: 00:09:22

So, until our next interview, we still have a couple more later to do.

Chris Walton: 00:09:26

Yes, we do.

Chris Walton: 00:09:26

Ann, we're not done yet.

Anne Mazinga: 00:09:27

No.

Chris Walton: 00:09:28

Until then, be careful out there.

Cedric Queen Clark: 00:09:30

Take care.