In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Quorso, Veloq, and SmartScout, Chris Walton welcomes Richard McKenzie into the guest hosting chair. The former Ocado executive and Veloq CEO brings his retail expertise, UK perspective, and plenty of back-and-forth with Chris, "bringing this week’s show to an 11."

Chris and Richard dig into five of the biggest stories in retail this week, including:

• McDonald’s piloting third-party ads on digital drive-thru menu boards at 450 company-owned U.S. restaurants as part of a new McDonald’s Media Network that it hopes could eventually become a $1 billion advertising business. (Source)

• Marks & Spencer and Sephora teaming up to launch Sephora at M&S, a new beauty shop-in-shop concept coming to 100 M&S stores and M&S.com beginning in spring 2027. (Source)

• DoorDash expanding its retail Marketplace with Macy’s, Anthropologie, The North Face, Vans, and Timberland, while also launching Dasher Returns, a $7.99 service that lets shoppers have a Dasher pick up returns right from their door. (Source)

• Walmart rolling out Shop to Light, Pick to Light, and Stock to Light digital shelf label features companywide by the holiday season, using light-up labels to help both customers and associates find products faster. (Source)

• IKEA closing three of its small-format plan and order stores in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, including a Georgetown location that opened less than a year ago, as the retailer reevaluates its U.S. footprint. (Source)

The episode wraps with a lightning round covering the UK legacy of Chariots of Fire, IKEA furniture assembly fails, and plenty more Fast Five fun.

P.S. Be sure to check out all our other podcasts from the past week here, too: https://omnitalk.blog/category/podcast/

P.P.S. Also be sure to check out our podcast rankings on Feedspot.

Music by hooksounds.