Walmart's 'Dinner Tonight,' Sephora & Lyft, Plus A New Grocery App That May Disrupt All | Fast Five
In this week’s Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand, Chris and Anne discussed:
- Walmart’s “Dinner Tonight” platform launch – The retail giant’s one-stop meal solution that lets customers type “Dinner Tonight” or “easy dinner” to access one-click baskets, recipe hubs, and shoppable lists, complete with deli and bakery delivery options. (Source)
- Amazon’s 15-minute grocery delivery partnership with GoPuff in the UK – The ultra-fast service has expanded from Birmingham and Salford to major cities including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Cardiff, Bristol and Sheffield, offering 24/7 grocery delivery through GoPuff’s micro-fulfillment network. (Source)
- Staples pivoting to services for business relevance – The office supply retailer is driving foot traffic through printing, shipping, passport services, and a new Verizon partnership to sell phones and devices in-store, with about 945 locations serving roughly 90% of the U.S. population. (Source)
- Sephora’s “Delivered to Beauty” partnership with Lyft – The beauty retailer offered $20 Lyft credits for rides to select stores in NYC, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle during July 7-10, with customers receiving in-store guidance and $10 off purchases over $50. (Source)
- Grocery Dealz app launch as the “Gas Buddy of grocery” – The new Dallas-Fort Worth based app allows shoppers to compare grocery prices across supermarkets and build carts, with plans for statewide Texas expansion and eventual national rollout. (Source)
Plus: This month’s OmniStar award goes to Tracey Brown, EVP and Chief Customer Officer at Walgreens, for becoming a licensed pharmacy tech and working weekend shifts to better understand operations and accelerate change.
There’s all that, and we even hit on spicy McMuffins, furniture eulogies, and the new dating trend called “Banksying.”
P.S. Be sure to check out all our other podcasts from the past week here, too: https://omnitalk.blog/category/podcast/
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Transcript
The Omni Tech Fast 5 is brought to you by the A and M Consumer and Retail Group.
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Speaker A:@ Infios, they unite warehousing, transportation and order management into a seamless, adaptable network.
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Speaker A:Learn more@cleardemand.com omnitalk and finally, Ocampo Capital.
Speaker A:Ocampo Capital is a venture capital firm founded by retail executives with an aim of helping early stage consumer businesses succeed through investment and operational support.
Speaker A:Learn more@ocampocapital.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 podcast the Retail Fast Five is the podcast that we hope makes you feel a little smarter, but most importantly, a little happier each week too.
Speaker A:And the Fast 5 is just one of the many great podcasts that you can find from the Omnitok 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 trends.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:I'm one of your hosts and mazinga.
Speaker B:And I'm Chris Walton and we are.
Speaker A:Here once again to discuss all the top headlines from the past week making Waves in the world of omnichannel retailing.
Speaker A:But Chris, what our listeners most definitely care most about is if you are in fact now the sausage king of Edina, Minnesota.
Speaker A:How did the brats turn out?
Speaker B:I would, I definitely was not the sausage king of Chicago.
Speaker B:And I think actually probably the most appropriate term is the gastroenteritis king of, of of Minnesota because I think I gave my wife mini food poisoning because of an uncooked bratwurst, which I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know why I can't figure out how to use a meat thermometer.
Speaker B:And I stick the meat thermometer in, it says it's well done.
Speaker B:And then they eat it and it's like raw.
Speaker B:I just, I just, I don't know.
Speaker B:I just cannot ever get a meat thermometer to work.
Speaker B:So if anyone has any meat thermometer tricks, let me know.
Speaker B:Like, am I putting it in too early?
Speaker B:Do I need to let it sit?
Speaker B:I don't, I don't know what I'm.
Speaker A:Doing, but I have no idea.
Speaker B:I cannot help you on I feel Saturday for her.
Speaker A:I feel like you need to remember that guy we interviewed from the thermometer company and outdoor thermometer.
Speaker B:Yes, I know.
Speaker B:I feel like you or whatever it is.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think you need to like send a message to him and get the, the download on like what you're missing because my, my guess is that guy can give you an answer.
Speaker B:Yeah, he probably does.
Speaker B:He probably has like a step by step technique that is, is, is very, very helpful to.
Speaker A:What about a YouTube video?
Speaker A:Did you watch a YouTube video?
Speaker B:I'm sure there, I'm sure there's things I.
Speaker B:And just a question of how much time do I want to invest in this, but I guess when the health and safety of my family is involved, I probably should.
Speaker B:How about you?
Speaker B:Were you the chicken wing king?
Speaker B:The wing.
Speaker B:The wing king of the wing Master.
Speaker A:No, I was not the wing, but I did make a wonderful burrata salad that went over very well.
Speaker A:So I think.
Speaker A:And some avocado breakfast toast.
Speaker A:So, yes, that, that went swimmingly.
Speaker A:But we had some really good.
Speaker A:Yes, yes, really good.
Speaker B:Put some sea salt on those tomatoes.
Speaker A:Sea salt.
Speaker A:Made a little like basil, olive oil.
Speaker A:Drizzle it.
Speaker A:Wonderful.
Speaker A:So, yes, we had a great, we had a great time and the, the hot sauces were great.
Speaker A:This year, like, my sister curated her own selection from the Hot Ones.
Speaker A:Highly recommend you go to that website and do the same thing.
Speaker A:It's really wonderful.
Speaker A:You don't have to Pick the box.
Speaker A:You can pick your own levels and they say like this is the 1 through 10, you can pick from these.
Speaker A:So, so the, the Thai chili and there was a Polish hot sausage inspired hot sauce that was extraordinary.
Speaker A:So those two were the clear winners.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:I wonder how many people it takes to put in, to put that sauce in that bottle.
Speaker B:Anyway, all right, and let's get to this.
Speaker B:Should we get this show going after that?
Speaker B:Which I'm Polish fans, so yes, yes.
Speaker B:I love Polish jokes.
Speaker B:All right, well, we got to get started this weekend with this month's Omni Star.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:For those new to the, new to the podcast, our Omnistar Award is the award we give out each month in partnership with Corso to recognize the top omnichannel operators out there.
Speaker B:Not the pundits, not the so called experts, but the real life retail operators making a difference in their organizations.
Speaker B:Corso's AI co pilot coaches retail leaders to optimize store performance at every level, transform retail operations from data overload into data power load.
Speaker B:And congratulations to our friends at Corso2 and for closing their series B round recently.
Speaker B:This week too, huge news for them.
Speaker B:And yeah, they're on a roll for sure.
Speaker B:But this month, Dan, we are excited to give the Omnistar Award to Tracy Brown, the EVP President and Chief Customer Officer at Walgreens.
Speaker B:Now, I'm sure some of you might be asking, why would you, why would you do this?
Speaker B:Why would you do this, Chrissy?
Speaker B:Dan?
Speaker B:Well, because Tracy is doing what we love here at Omnitok.
Speaker B:She is eating what she cooks.
Speaker B:According to a recent LinkedIn post that caught our attention, Tracy became a licensed pharmacy tech.
Speaker B:And for the past several months.
Speaker B:This is so cool.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:And for the past several months has been working in Walgreens pharmacies on the weekends as a better, as a, as a way, excuse me, to better understand and to accelerate change.
Speaker B:So I love that, man.
Speaker B:She's, she's like working in the pharmacies on the weekends.
Speaker A:That's exceptional.
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, not everyone can do that, Tracy, but wow, wow.
Speaker A:So impressed by your dedication to your teams and to really understanding what's going on.
Speaker A:I'm sure they appreciate that too.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And Tracy's a frequent liker and follow of our work too.
Speaker B:So shout out to her and congrats to her for being named this month's Omni Star.
Speaker B:All right, in this week's Fast Five, we've got news on Amazon's national UK partnership with GoPuff, how Staples has made service a key piece of its business, Sephora working with Lyft to deliver customers to its stores and a new grocery app called Grocery Deals deals with the Z. I know you like that ad that allows for real time price comparisons but we begin today with big news out of Walmart because I feel like Dinner Tonight I feel like dinner Tonight.
Speaker A:And oh my God.
Speaker A:Headline number one.
Speaker A:Walmart is attempting to answer the age old question what's for dinner?
Speaker A:If you didn't get catch that from Chris's like version of the jingle I feel like Chicken Tonight.
Speaker A:According to Progressive Grocer, Dinner Tonight, which launched in early June, is a one step platform on Walmart's website and app that aims to be a total meal solution for shoppers.
Speaker A:Customers can simply type in Dinner Tonight, easy dinner, easy meals or be routed directly to the landing page.
Speaker A:Dinner Tonight features one click baskets with everything from spaghetti and meatballs to tacos and stir fry as well as a recipe hub, shoppable lists and global meal inspiration.
Speaker A:Customers can also use the platform to shop for hot rotisserie chickens, wings and favorites like berry Chantilly cake to be delivered directly from Walmart's deli and bakery.
Speaker A:Chris, what's the verdict on Walmart's Dinner Tonight platform?
Speaker B:Chantilly I I actually love this an I don't know if you tried it out but did you try it out yesterday?
Speaker B:I tried it too.
Speaker B:Yeah and it's pretty slick.
Speaker B:Like you preload your delivery time which is kind of cool.
Speaker B:Like I wasn't expecting that to do that.
Speaker B:And then you can one click anything you want from recipes to ready made meals to heat and eat options like it's all available to you and I think that's great because it hits on a need state of what do I want to do for dinner?
Speaker B:Because you know, and it's in the moment too which is long made meal kit options kind of impractical and wasteful at the end of the day because you have to pre order all that stuff in advance.
Speaker B:Then you're like I don't, I don't want chicken Kiev for dinner tonight.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like that's just not, not something I'm in the mood for.
Speaker B:So this, this changes that.
Speaker B:And the other point I would make is I could see the way it works.
Speaker B:I could see people using it habitually.
Speaker B:But the thing I love most about it and is I go back.
Speaker B: ack to a prediction I made in: Speaker B:Because an actual grocery store is a meal kit when you think about it, when it's supercharged with technology and technology can just do it better.
Speaker B:So that's what Walmart is doing here.
Speaker B:They're taking the idea and they're making it better.
Speaker B:And so kudos to them and I love them yet again for what I think is a, is a, is a platform with a lot of potential here.
Speaker B:Just depends on how they, how they manipulate it over time.
Speaker A:I think potential is the key word here.
Speaker A:I mean, looking at it right now, there's nothing revolutionary about this.
Speaker A:It's, that's the same thing that you see on a lot of sites, with the exception of how the they're going through and you're planning your time.
Speaker A:But if you just go to dinner tonight, like, yes, there's a recipe hub.
Speaker A:Yes, yes, there's, you know, there's, you can pick heat neat meals, like a lot of retailers are doing this.
Speaker A:But I think what is interesting about this is number one, the speed.
Speaker A:No grocer can match this speed.
Speaker A:And this collection of recipes right now, like Walmart can, I mean it.
Speaker A:And, and on top of it, which I think is even better, is like when I, what I did yesterday was ordering all of these things, plus a few of essentials.
Speaker A:Like, my kid needed sunscreen, an extra bottle of sunscreen.
Speaker A:So it's like, oh, all of these things that truly make sense to happen in this one moment.
Speaker A:And what I love even more is that I think Sparky is not even integrated into this yet fully.
Speaker A:Like, you have to go to a different place to ask Sparky a question, but it is serving up the content.
Speaker A:So if you went to Walmart and you're like, what's for dinner tonight, Sparky?
Speaker A:It'll pop up.
Speaker A:The key thing here is that not only will that pop up on if you're on Walmart.
Speaker A:Com searching for it, but when more and more people are going to chatgpt asking the same question, question, what's for dinner tonight?
Speaker A:Walmart will be showing up there.
Speaker A:These recipes will be showing up there.
Speaker A:They've done all the right things to connect all the dots here so that you make sure that you're showing up and you're going to pay off that experience tenfold once people realize, oh, wow, I can, I can get this to my house in an hour or less.
Speaker A:Hitting on that that needs state that you talked about earlier.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, I wonder, I wonder if it actually isn't a more budget friendly Way to actually do your grocery shopping too.
Speaker B:Like when you're just buying your dinner in the moment every day for what you feel like you and your are going to want to eat and you're paying the fee for Walmart plus but then you get the delivery, you know, at a, at a, you know, reduced rate and so like you know, you're not wasting food anymore either.
Speaker B:So like I, I think this is, this is great for both income stratas which Walmart is killing at.
Speaker B:They're killing it, you know, the traditional customer that they have and then expanding it into people, you know, with the higher income echelons for the reasons that you, you described.
Speaker B:So yeah, I think it's great.
Speaker B:All right, headline number two.
Speaker B:Amazon has rolled out 15 minute grocery deliveries to cities across the UK after striking a national partnership with rapid delivery firm Gopuff.
Speaker B:According to a retail gazette, the ultra fast service First Child in Birmingham.
Speaker B:Birmingham, like I said, Birmingham and I do trying to pull out my Ben, my best Ben Miller impersonation and Salford in May is now available in cities including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds Green, Cardiff, Bristol and Sheffield.
Speaker B:If you're keeping score at home, Amazon customers can now order groceries, cleaning products, baby supplies and alcohol 24,7 via a retailer's website or app.
Speaker B:With delivery speeds of as little as 15 minutes in some areas.
Speaker B:The move is powered by GoPuff's network of micro fulfillment centers strategically located close to customers to enable near instant delivery.
Speaker B:The tie up adds the online giant's growing roster of grot grocery partners including Morrisons Co Op and Iceland, as the e commerce giant steps up its focus on convenience and speed in the competitive UK grocery market.
Speaker B:And my question for you, do you think Amazon's UK partnership with GoPuff says more about the state of Amazon or the state of Gopuff?
Speaker A:I mean I immediately thought like what's poor Gopuff like?
Speaker A:They must be in some dire streets here that they're just like, well we're just going to white label for Amazon now like it's a business model.
Speaker A:But it certainly is quite a departure from where they were, you know, two or three or however many grocery shops ago that was where they were on stage talking about how they were going to dominate the delivery space, especially the rapid delivery space.
Speaker A:So for me I, I question what this does for Gopuff in the long run because they are losing all the customer data to Amazon.
Speaker A:Like the, all the, all the value of this is going away.
Speaker A:And so it just seems like, can the Gopuff model still sustain itself on just being a white label delivery provider and especially when you think about who we're talking about here now with Amazon.
Speaker A:And I think that's the question that I have, like, do they get to test the logistics and the validity of 15 minute delivery and the need here without building their own network?
Speaker A:Yes, this is a huge value to them, but I have to imagine that once they figure this out, they're just going to learn everything from Gopuff, replicate it for themselves in some way and then either figure out it, A, it's not financially feasible, we're going to shut it down, or B, we'll just do this better ourselves.
Speaker A:I, I don't see this as like a lasting partnership.
Speaker A:But what do you, where do you land on it?
Speaker B:What do you think that that's interesting.
Speaker B:And one point, one point of clarification for the audience too.
Speaker B:It was a little unclear, like how this is actually from the article is a little unclear on how this actually shows up on Amazon.
Speaker B:Like I'm, I think given the allusions to Morrisons and co op and stuff, like, I think it probably shows up as like on their marketplace, like Gopuff is the vendor, but I don't, I don't know for sure.
Speaker B:So I don't know if.
Speaker A:Yeah, you know it said that you go to Amazon, right?
Speaker A:You go to Amazon.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker B:Yeah, you go to Amazon.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, so.
Speaker B:But it's hard to tell.
Speaker B:So, but I think, you know, I think it says a lot about both, but I think it says more about Amazon.
Speaker B:You know, for Gopuff, you know, it's like you're saying they can't make it alone.
Speaker B:They need, they need the scale to make their delivery model even work at a profit, from a profit perspective is my guess, which is not a surprise to anyone.
Speaker B:For Amazon though, like, I think there's some interesting angles here which I potentially disagree with you a little bit, or not disagree with you, but I think there's some extensions here that we have to think about.
Speaker B:I mean, it tells me they're definitely taking the marketplace approach in the uk, you know, which again, like we've asked on the show, like, why are the grocers signing up for this?
Speaker B:That's my number one question, like, why are you giving Amazon this position of strength?
Speaker B:But number two, why is Amazon having so much trouble going direct and establishing a grocery foothold in the market, similar to the trouble they're having over here in the States?
Speaker B:So that's the one thing where I'm like, okay, can they ever really go Direct.
Speaker B:I mean, if they're doing this, like, you know, they're, they're using the marketplace partners to help them reach the market.
Speaker B:But like the idea of going direct eventually, I don't know if that's their game because.
Speaker B:And we'll talk about this more in headline 5.
Speaker B:I'm wondering if they're actually setting this up more for like an agentic AI play where they have the stable of grocers online and then they can, you know, mix and match people and delivery times and expectations to that for them.
Speaker B:And they're kind of saying, you know what, we don't want to be in this logistics game, especially in this market, but let's start thinking about the next wave of how customers are going to interact for groceries with us and let's start to put in the infrastructure for that.
Speaker B:And we'll talk more about that in Headline five particularly.
Speaker B:But, but I think that's, that's potentially the one thing I'm like, maybe there's like a different endgame here that just isn't as obvious.
Speaker A:I hadn't thought about that.
Speaker A:So you think that Amazon.
Speaker A:So Amazon would be like taking multiple groceries orders for different things.
Speaker A:You just order it all through Amazon and then it all arrives at different times based on when they're doing the pickups.
Speaker B:Yeah, especially when you think about the value of Amazon, which is always about selection and price.
Speaker B:So you get the agentic AI agents working for you to do your grocery shopping and you can find the lowest price of whatever item you're looking for and has the selection and can get you the delivery speed that you want too.
Speaker B:Do you want 15 minutes?
Speaker B:You want next day?
Speaker B:You want, you know, two day, whatever it is?
Speaker B:I think that's potentially the idea here that I think, you know, I think it's something we need to be thinking about more consciously than we probably are when we read the headline, you know, just on its face value.
Speaker A:Right, yeah, hadn't even thought about that.
Speaker A:It's one of the beauties of doing.
Speaker B:This show, having epiphanies in the moment and having something like an epiphany in the moment.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker A:All right, well, let's go on to headline number three.
Speaker A:Maybe another epiphany will be here.
Speaker A:Not so sure, though.
Speaker A:Staples appears to be angling for new relevance with services on top of office supplies.
Speaker A:According to modern retail other than pens and computer paper, business retailer Staples says these days they derive traffic from services like printing, shipping and passports.
Speaker A:Chris.
Speaker A:Most recently this includes a pilot with Verizon to sell phones and devices in store, plus business specific services like Internet and phone plans.
Speaker A:President of Staples US Retail Marshall Warkington said that the company introduced the partnership with Verizon in five stores earlier this year and will expand it to 30 more stores later this summer.
Speaker A: e supply sales during the mid: Speaker A: ffice Depot and Office Max in: Speaker A:As a private company, Staples doesn't share revenue or profit figures, but its future relies on its ability to provide business services out of about 945 locations that are within roughly five miles of 90% of the US population.
Speaker A:Printing is still the main driver for the and they can print from the design service Canva, which allows users to pick up items store.
Speaker A: In: Speaker A:Chris, that was a lot of information.
Speaker A:Are you buying the services salvation story at staples?
Speaker B:Absolutely not.
Speaker B:100%?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:I'm not buying it one iota ann.
Speaker B:And the reason for that is pretty simple for me.
Speaker B:Like if your core business, as the article says, is still printing, that's a dying business.
Speaker B:Like at the end of the day, there's no two bones about it.
Speaker B:It's a dying business and the services that you're offering that you're purporting are helping you.
Speaker B:Passport photos, TSA pre check, and mobile phone activations particularly.
Speaker B:Those are the three that were called out the most.
Speaker B:They're all one offs and have nothing to do with printing.
Speaker B:Absolutely zero to do with printing.
Speaker B:So long term there are many competitors in all of those spaces and other options.
Speaker B:Which means the customer acquisition cost for these services will be relatively higher for Staples than it will be for other people while your printing business is still dwindling.
Speaker B:So no, I'm selling this.
Speaker B:It sounds like a completely crafted narrative to make Staples sound better than it potentially is.
Speaker B:That's that's my take, and I hate to be blunt, but that's what I feel.
Speaker A:Luckily no one is holding stock in this company right now, so they don't have to be too worried about just the private investors.
Speaker A:The private investors.
Speaker A:But so I when I read this story, it reminded me of a conversation that I had with the President Of Office Depot, Kevin Moffitt back at Etail, we were talking about, you know, I asked him this question point blank and I was like what, why are you still relevant?
Speaker A:Like what's, what is, what needs are.
Speaker A:The Office Max is an Office Depots of the world still serving.
Speaker A:And while I agree with you that there will be burnout and he, he agreed that like their businesses is evolving quite a bit, he still sold me on the value that they're providing small businesses.
Speaker A:I do think that we're in, we're in a slow phase out of the mass printing like we used to see the, you know, the copying paper and all the things like that.
Speaker A:But I do when he explained to me like they have the fastest in store pickup buy online pickup in store of anyone in the world, he said, so within 20 minutes or less you can go to an Office Depot, you can get the things that you need and to be within five miles of 90% of the country, like there is still some value there.
Speaker A:For a lot of the small businesses that do depend on them as their one stop shop.
Speaker A:It's their printer, it's their, you know, shipping location, it's, it's the place that they can go and do all the things in one place.
Speaker A:But I do agree that eventually we will find new ways of doing this.
Speaker A:The, the menu example, printing off new menus every day like that will likely go by the wayside.
Speaker A:Some, something will change there.
Speaker A:So I don't, I don't think I'd be putting my money on this one for the long term.
Speaker A:But I do think it's going to be a bit more of a stock slow burn than, than most of us would expect.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's, I mean it's a smart, it's a smart pitch and a smart way to try to get extra business like get TSA pre check applications going through your store.
Speaker A:And they do get a lot like Office Depot and Office Max do that too.
Speaker A:And he said it's crazy like the amount of volume that they get.
Speaker A:But you know, I'd rather go there.
Speaker B:Than the airport for 100%, you know, I mean if I'm a retailer listening, I'm like why are, why, why not, why aren't I doing that too?
Speaker B:Like if I'm Costco or some Sam's Club or whatever, like why aren't I doing that?
Speaker B:Why am I letting this business go to go to the, go to Staples like people are in my store more often.
Speaker B:Why aren't I setting up these things right?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker A:But are people, are people buying the, you know, 500 office chair while they're there?
Speaker A:Probably not.
Speaker A:And that's the thing that you have to look at, like how much.
Speaker A:That's the, that's the business that you're making the real margins on.
Speaker A:Are you going to see people do that behavior?
Speaker A:Probably, you know, they're probably looking online for that stuff to find the best price.
Speaker A:And I don't know that Office Office Max Depot or Staples are, are going to be that for them.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:100 agree.
Speaker B:All right, headline number four.
Speaker B:This one's gonna be interesting.
Speaker B:I'm not sure where you and I are each gonna fall on this next headline.
Speaker B:Sephora taps Lyft to deliver customers to its stores according to retail Dive.
Speaker B:While several retailers are promising major discounts and speedy delivery during their July sales events, Sephora is flipping the script by delivering shoppers themselves to its retail locations for in store guidance and special pricing.
Speaker B:Sephora and Lyft Media have partnered on a promotion to literally drive potential beauty customers to a handful of its freestanding locations between July 7 and July 10, right amid all the Prime Day festivities this week.
Speaker B:Promoted as quote delivered to Beauty, the four day event provides customers with a $20 credit for one way rides on Lyft to a participating Sephora location.
Speaker B:There they will, there they will receive in store guidance and discounts of $10 on any purchase over $50.
Speaker B:Select Sephora stores in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle are participating in the promotion.
Speaker B:And do you think Sephora and Lyft's partnership is omnichannel genius amid Prime Day?
Speaker B:Or is it more just good marketing spin?
Speaker A:I, I think this is a great marketing campaign and that's what you have to look at this as.
Speaker A:I don't think this is like a future pilot where Sephora starts, you know, bringing people to their stores and offering car service.
Speaker A:But I do think that it's a worthwhile test and investment.
Speaker A:I think it's a way to provide people a luxury experience at a price point that, you know, it's a $28 bottle of lotion.
Speaker A:Maybe that's what they buy.
Speaker A:Once they get to Sephora, it still gives them that white glove service that they don't typically get from a mass retailer like a Sephora.
Speaker A:So I think it's a really cool way to establish some brand loyalty, get some advocacy and some media attention and some social media posts from people who will most definitely share this experience online.
Speaker A:But I do not think that it's something that we'll See, go beyond like, like this is, this is all coming from the marketing funding bucket.
Speaker A:This is not coming from like new story, innovation, money or R and D. Yeah, that's my perspective.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's not long term strategically differentiating in with the coming throes of E commerce.
Speaker B:That's, that's what you're telling me.
Speaker A:No, nor do I think this is like a long term play.
Speaker A:I think this is going to be an idea until other retailers start doing it and then it doesn't.
Speaker A:It's not cool and innovative anymore.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:No good.
Speaker B:I'm surprised, I'm surprised we agree on this one.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I was not, I was kind of wondering if you were going to take that approach.
Speaker B:I, I 100 agree.
Speaker B:I don't think this is anything new.
Speaker B:I can remember you, I don't think I've ever told you this.
Speaker B: I can Remember back in: Speaker B:So like this is, this is not.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh God.
Speaker A:Luxury retailers have been doing this for years.
Speaker A:Like, I mean, Neiman's, Bergdorf, like they'll send a car for their good customers.
Speaker A:Like, like you always say the casino model.
Speaker A:Like we'll take you wherever you want to go.
Speaker A:You're going to come spend money, go for it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:But it's continue.
Speaker B:It's not going to stay.
Speaker B:I mean the point is it's not going to stave off the Prime Day drain in any way, shape or form, especially when you're just doing like five cities.
Speaker B:But it does make a compelling headline of like the Omnichannel strategy when you pitch it in the media that way.
Speaker B:So kudos to the Sephora marketing team for getting that hook and getting people to bite on it more so than they would if it was just the traditional things like you were just describing.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I think it's brilliant.
Speaker A:You look at their target audience.
Speaker A:I mean you have teens that don't have licenses that need to get into the, you know, getting to the store and giving them the opportunity to spend a bunch of money.
Speaker A:Like you'll, you'll make your, you'll make your marketing impressions, that's for sure.
Speaker A:Like I think this is a very worthwhile marketing investment.
Speaker A:But yes.
Speaker A:Not, not the strategy that's gonna help them take off.
Speaker B:I just laugh at our retail media peers that pick up these sound bites that the, the PR teams are throwing them.
Speaker B:Like, oh, it's, you know, an Omnichannel strategy to combat Prime Day.
Speaker B:Like, come on, like, let's be real here.
Speaker B:This has been done before.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:All right, well, I know we've got a lot to talk about on headline number five, so let's get to that.
Speaker A:The new grocery app, Grocery Deals acts as an e commerce marketplace that allows shoppers to compare costs between supermarkets and quickly build a cart.
Speaker A:According to Grocery Dive, the new app aims to be the gas buddy of the groc grocery industry, said Michael Waldrop, its CEO and one of its co founders.
Speaker A:The free app enables shoppers to compare groceries prices and then quickly build a cart.
Speaker A:Users will be able to build the cart in app and then be directed to the selected grocer's app or website with the cart already made.
Speaker A:In cases where the cart can't be carried over completely to the grocer's platform, shoppers will still be directed to their preferred grocer's website.
Speaker A:Grocery Deal's initial launch was in the Dallas Fort Worth area in mid June, and the app is slated to expand to the rest of Texas with the long term goal of reaching shoppers nationwide in May.
Speaker A:The company said its national expansion will happen region by region and state by state.
Speaker A:Chris, this is also the put you on the spot question.
Speaker A:A and M wants to know when the gas finding app Gas Buddy took off.
Speaker A:The pricing transparency to consumers put major pressure on fuel retailers to dynamically respond to the competitive pricing environment around them, but it also served to firmly establish relative pricing strategy strategies for the same retailers across the market.
Speaker A:As this kind of pricing transparency makes its way into grocery, should retailers be concerned about a race to the bottom or is there inherent benefit in there for them?
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Wow, great question.
Speaker B:I was hoping I, I was, I was kind of hoping that they would pick this headline too.
Speaker B:As we were talking to them yesterday, I was like, I think, I think I know where they're going to go this week.
Speaker B:And it turns out they did.
Speaker B:First of all, I think the analogy is a little bit different here because for a convenience store, a gas station, you still have to go to the gas station.
Speaker B:Long term, you don't necessarily need to do that to get your groceries, but you still have to go to a gas station to get gas into your car.
Speaker B:So that's, that's a fundamental difference here.
Speaker B:So, so if I'm the grocery industry and I'm super scared about this.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Not because of this app per se, but because of the whole, the whole idea that opens my eyes to you, which I alluded to in the previous Headline regarding Amazon and gopa Gentic AI is coming fast and furiously.
Speaker B:We all know that.
Speaker B:And so you can envision a world where AI agents will be able to coordinate orders from different grocers on price, which means e commerce could become unsustainable for many players in the grocery space if that is the case, because many grocers simply don't have the margin structure to move lower than where they currently are.
Speaker B:And so all told, this is the first example of increasing incredible disruption that will be coming to that end in my mind.
Speaker B:And it reminds me of the anecdote what comes to mind for me when I think about this headline.
Speaker B:Particularly it calls to mind the antidote of Doug McMillan carrying around in his pocket the top 10 retailers by decade, because this is going to upend that list big time.
Speaker B:And the retailers that should be quaking in my mind are Albertsons and Kroger because particularly they play the high low game.
Speaker B:While others like Walmart, Aldi, Amazon, they're going to win in this space.
Speaker B:And they're the ones investing and being smartly already putting as you mentioned with Sparky, they're the ones putting resources towards, yeah, agentic AI functionality on their website to capitalize on this in the long run.
Speaker B:So it's crazy to think about.
Speaker B:I know it's kind of out there and wild, but it's going to come and you've got to start wrapping your head around it and start thinking about what do I do in this situation?
Speaker B:What is my, what is my digital strategy as a grocer now as I go forward, how am I going to differentiate on price?
Speaker B:How do I want my prices to show up in online vs stores?
Speaker B:Whole host of questions to think about.
Speaker B:And man, the grocery industry is so fascinating but God damn, their jobs are hard.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it, it makes me think even more now than ever, like you need to have a pricing platform in place because you're, now that you have this visibility across the board too.
Speaker A:You're, you can no longer rely on manual price changes like things like that.
Speaker A:Like you have to make sure you're in competition with an app like this.
Speaker A:And I think the other to the other part of A&M's question too, Chris.
Speaker A:You know, I think retailers, I tried this app out yesterday and I ordered, I like put items in my cart and kind of shifted it around.
Speaker A:Oh, you could get it.
Speaker B:Oh, did you tell them you were in Dallas or something?
Speaker A:I tried it, yeah.
Speaker A:You can use like a, I just used a Dallas zip code but.
Speaker B:Oh cool.
Speaker A:The, the app Itself is still not like super user friendly.
Speaker A:For example, like I put in eggs, milk and ground beef as like three categories now.
Speaker A:It can't transfer over.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:Because the brands are different.
Speaker A:Like, there's still some stuff that, that would.
Speaker A:I think if I was a legacy grocer, I might be like, oh, that's not.
Speaker A:People aren't gonna do this.
Speaker A:They're not gonna, like, this is a hassle.
Speaker A:It's easy just to dismiss.
Speaker A:But I think what's going to be so important is that that's.
Speaker A:Those are easy problems to fix.
Speaker A:This is like phase one in one market.
Speaker A:And this is why as a retailer, you can't just pass off a technology like it's not ready.
Speaker A:This is going to come fast and furious for you grocery industry.
Speaker A:And those kind of kinks will be worked out quickly because there's so much to gain from the consumer perspective here.
Speaker A:So I think it is a big concern, I agree with you.
Speaker A:For members of the grocery industry to be paying attention to.
Speaker B:Yeah, you could dismiss the app, but you can't necessarily dismiss the idea.
Speaker B:The fundamental idea that it's predicated upon.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And that, and that's why we do this show quite honestly, is to go beyond the headlines and talk about, you know, the implications here for the long term.
Speaker A:So, yeah, and there isn't even loyalty played into this yet either.
Speaker A:Like, that's the other thing that I think makes a big difference.
Speaker A:If you look at, you know, this July shopping week that's been instigated by Prime Week.
Speaker A:I mean, I was shocked at some of the loyalty plays that were happening.
Speaker A:Like, you know, you, you're comparing prices on an espresso coffee machine, Right.
Speaker A:But if you go to Walmart, like I got an ext extra $10 cash back for that.
Speaker A:Or at Target they were giving a certain deal.
Speaker A:Like the loyalty parts haven't even come into this app yet either.
Speaker A:So I think there's even more potential for this app once you start to think about like fetch rewards or an upside getting involved in this too.
Speaker A:And then being able to show like, okay, but with your loyalty you can also get these things here.
Speaker A:So there's a lot for grocers to be paying attention to.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I, and remember we had David Doer.
Speaker B:I think it was David Dorff of aws.
Speaker B:I'm thinking it was him who told us about, you know, what does loyalty mean in the agentic AI world?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Like how important is that?
Speaker B:Or do you just start caring about price?
Speaker B:Like you just want to get everything coordinated to you and delivered for you.
Speaker B:And, yeah, maybe the loyalty schemes work in the background, but do you even pay attention to them anymore?
Speaker B:Who the hell knows, right?
Speaker B:That's why this is important.
Speaker A:All right, well, let's go to the lightning round.
Speaker A:Chris, question number one.
Speaker A:Grocery deals.
Speaker A:Who we just mentioned.
Speaker A:The new gas app for groceries is the free app that helps visitors compare the cost of groceries at a variety of nearby outlets and then builds virtual carts for them to save money on their groceries.
Speaker A:I'm curious, what three grocery items you would use this app for?
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker B:And, you know, God, I gotta think about this.
Speaker B:So when I think about, like, what are my grocery staples?
Speaker B:The things I'm going to the grocery store.
Speaker B:I go to the grocery store a lot.
Speaker B:I go almost every day.
Speaker B:And I think the three things that are in my cart the most are.
Speaker B:This is gonna.
Speaker B:It's gonna crack you up.
Speaker B:Red Vines.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker B:Dried dates, pitted dried dates, and coconut milk.
Speaker B:Those are the three things that I'm purchasing the most often.
Speaker B:So if I could get a good deal on those and just, you know, I. I'd be all for it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:100.
Speaker A:You're messing the algorithm, man.
Speaker A:That algorithm is like, we don't know what to make of this guy.
Speaker A:He's maybe healthy, but then also still consumes Red number five on a regular basis.
Speaker A:What's happening?
Speaker A:What is going on?
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm an enigma.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Word on the street is that McDonald's is turning up the heat on breakfast this summer.
Speaker B:And starting July 8, you can add some kick.
Speaker B:Oh, this might be up your alley.
Speaker B:You can add some kick to your morning routine with the sizzling debut of the spicy McMuffin breakfast sandwich.
Speaker B:The limited time glow up includes everything you already love about the iconic Egg McMuffin, plus a fiery delicious twist, a shot of McDonald's signature spicy pepper sauce, and will you or anyone in your family give a spicy McMuffin a whirl?
Speaker A:What's the signature spicy pepper sauce?
Speaker A:Does this exist already?
Speaker B:No idea.
Speaker A:This is Chick Fil a sauce that McDonald's has, and I just don't know about it.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker B:No idea.
Speaker B:It doesn't hook me at all.
Speaker A:We are, I would say our family is pretty exclusively Starbucks breakfast eaters because it's just more convenient.
Speaker A:Like, I couldn't tell you the last time I had a McDonald's breakfast, but, I mean, I'm intrigued.
Speaker A:I love.
Speaker A:Who doesn't love a spicy sausage breakfast sandwich?
Speaker A:That sounds interesting.
Speaker B:You might give it a shot.
Speaker B:You might give it a shot.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Maybe.
Speaker A:I just.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:We don't have a McDonald's that we are frequenting ever.
Speaker A:So I don't know.
Speaker A:I'd have to be the right time and place.
Speaker B:There isn't a real.
Speaker B:There isn't a McDonald's that's really close by to us.
Speaker B:That's a good point.
Speaker B:Which is kind of odd when you think about there aren't a lot of fast food restaurants in our neighborhood.
Speaker A:Actually, no.
Speaker A:Not a bad thing, though.
Speaker A:I'll take it.
Speaker A:Okay, question three, Chris.
Speaker A:Bob's Discount Furniture is starting a new series of social programming, including one segment called Furniture Eulogies, which will give heartfelt shout outs to questionable design choices within your home.
Speaker A:Which design element or item in your house needs to be eulogized?
Speaker A:Chris.
Speaker B:Oh, my God.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That is such a wonderful question.
Speaker B:And I know the exact answer.
Speaker B:For me in my house, it's our dining room table.
Speaker B:I freaking hate the thing.
Speaker B:It's huge.
Speaker B:It's wooden.
Speaker B:I. I got.
Speaker B:I got a tip for you all, okay?
Speaker B:Never, ever buy a table that you can't write on with a paper and pen.
Speaker B:Like, it's so frustrating.
Speaker B:It's so annoying.
Speaker B:I want to get rid of it since the day I got it.
Speaker B:And that's my advice for anyone listening.
Speaker B:And it's just.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's such a bad move.
Speaker B:You don't want to do it.
Speaker B:Even if it looks cool, don't do it.
Speaker A:Okay, Noted.
Speaker A:So the dining room table.
Speaker A:No, like, art or anything that.
Speaker A:You gotta be a flat couch.
Speaker B:Got to be a flat pad.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:No, I'm ready to burn that thing in effigy and.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:A new dating trend known as banksying involves slowly withdrawing emotionally from your partner without telling them that that's what you're doing when the time comes to finally break up the Banks year.
Speaker B:Not the Banksy.
Speaker B:Banksy.
Speaker B:E. The Banksy er Often feels better having mentally checked out of the relationship long ago, while the other partner is left blindsided and confused.
Speaker B:The is so great.
Speaker B:Have you or have.
Speaker B:Have you or have you ever been banked?
Speaker A:I have Banksy Somebody.
Speaker B:You bank.
Speaker A:My first real boyfriend, Phil.
Speaker A:I still feel so bad about it.
Speaker A:Like, I still have dreams where I feel bad that.
Speaker A:But I was at college, and I found I was like, whoa, college is great.
Speaker A:My high school boyfriend.
Speaker A:Are we hanging on to this?
Speaker A:I don't think so.
Speaker A:I want to explore the world here at college.
Speaker A:And I was a real jerk, and he was the most kind person.
Speaker A:So, Phil, if you're listening, I'm Real sorry.
Speaker B:I guess we have a name for it.
Speaker B:Like, it's not anything new, but it's like, kind of interesting that we have a name for it now, right?
Speaker B:Like it's something that probably everybody's done, I guess.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'm not sure I love the name, but we'll go with it, I guess.
Speaker A:Like, yeah, Bank Seed.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:The connection.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I agree.
Speaker B:All right, well, happy birthday to it sounds like a stretch.
Speaker B:Yeah, it does sound like a stretch to me, too.
Speaker B:But it sounds like something that could catch on.
Speaker B:To Happy birthday today to Tom Hanks, Kelly McGillis, and to Victor so Fuentes himself of LA Law, the great Jimmy Smith.
Speaker B:And remember, if you can only read or listen to one retail blog in the business, make it Omnitong only retail media outlet run by two former executives from a current top 10 US retailer.
Speaker B:Our Fast Five podcast is 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.
Speaker B:Thanks as always for listening in.
Speaker B:Please remember to like and leave us a review wherever you have to listen to your podcast or on YouTube.
Speaker B:You can pause today by simply going to YouTube.com omnitalkretail so until next week, on behalf of all of us at Omnitalk Reads, on behalf of half of Anne and myself, as always, be careful out there.
