Amazon's Walmart Play, AI Shopping Protocols & Drone Delivery Wars | Fast Five
In this week's Omni Talk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, Quorso, and Veloq, Chris and Anne discussed:
- Amazon's plans to build a 225,000 square foot retail store in Orland Park, Illinois (Source)
- Google's launch of a Universal Commerce Protocol with backing from major retailers (Source)
- Circle K expanding its partnership with Corso to over 7,800 US locations (Source)
- Small merchants upset over Amazon's Buy for Me AI feature listing products without permission (Source)
- Walmart and Wing scaling drone delivery to 270 stores by 2027 (Source)
And Ulta Beauty's SVP of Digital and E-Commerce, Josh Friedman, also stopped by to share five insightful minutes about Ulta's marketplace plans.
There's all that, plus banana water, birthday drone deliveries, and why Chris thinks Amazon's supercenter concept might be their last retail experiment.
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#RetailNews #GoogleUCP #AmazonRetail #WalmartDrones #AgenticCommerce #RetailPodcast #OmniTalk #CircleK #UltaBeauty #RetailTech #DroneDelivery #RetailInnovation
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Transcript
This episode of The OmniTalk Retail Fast.
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Speaker C: ,: Speaker C: k City from the end of the NR: Speaker C:I'm one of your hosts, Anne Mazinga.
Speaker A:And I'm Chris Walton.
Speaker C:And we are here once again to discuss all the headlines making waves from the past week in the world of omnichannel retailing.
Speaker C:Chris, I just mentioned we're both a little hoarse doing a lot of interviews, 20 interviews that we brought the Omnitac listeners from the Expo hall of nrf, thanks to vuion.
Speaker C:What were some of your big takeaways?
Speaker C:Let's kick it off with that.
Speaker C:Like, what did you.
Speaker C:What are you leaving this year's show thinking differently about?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:I can hear the tiredness in your voice, like, as you're doing that read.
Speaker A:I was like, oh, my God, she's so tired.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's been a long week.
Speaker A:But, you know, from my standpoint, there were a couple takeaways, one of which we're gonna talk about on the show.
Speaker A:So I'll leave that, which is the Google, all the Google news that came out of the show.
Speaker A:And then the other one for me, I keep, I keep telling everyone about a conversation that we had with Angie Brown, the CIO of Home Depot, who stopped by for an interview with us, and she put into context something that I'd never thought about before.
Speaker A:Ann.
Speaker A:And, you know, I think it's something that probably a lot of people know, but I think she articulated that out loud, which at least made me stop and go, huh, that's really interesting.
Speaker A:Which is, she said that AI is basically helping her and her teams and all of us really do things that were either previously impossible or just required too many people to get the job done.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so when you put AI in that context, I think that's a really interesting way to think about it.
Speaker A:And also in terms of where to deploy it, which we'll also probably get into with headline number three here today.
Speaker A:But those were my takeaways.
Speaker A:What were yours?
Speaker C:Yeah, I was going to say, I think that's definitely something that I think will be a thread throughout all of the announcements that we're talking about today in one, one way or another, things that just weren't possible to do before.
Speaker C:And really, I think integrations that weren't possible before because you didn't have quite the, the amount of, of compute power or processing power to serve up data for people to make quicker decisions and then, you know, things that you can do off of that, which is actually really, I think that was, that was really exciting, is kind of where this will continue to build and how that will continue to evolve over the next couple of years.
Speaker C:But I think the other couple things that were really top of mind for me, I think is one, several conversations that we had about the importance of still maintaining your own site's product data information.
Speaker C:I had several conversations with brands who were like, look, we love the ability that we have to now sell directly through some of these agents, but in reality they're still pulling all the information from our E Comm sites.
Speaker C:So we have to make sure that we've got that data in order.
Speaker C:We have to make sure that we're still serving up content on Google where 90% of shoppers are, are starting their searches for products.
Speaker C:So I think that's the, that's the cool thing about it is like it's still, there's still a lot in the fundamentals phase that needs to continue momentum.
Speaker C:And really seeing, I think agentic commerce is maybe more of another channel that retailers should be thinking about versus, like just focusing all their efforts on which, you know, you've been talking about for a while.
Speaker A:So, yeah, and we'll probably get to that in the headline too later on, I think as well.
Speaker A:I can't remember which one now at this point, but I know that's probably going to be a topic as well when we talk about Buy for me from Amazon.
Speaker A:But yeah, the other thing too, real quick, you know, and thanks to the folks at Avery Denison for showing us giving us a tour yesterday too.
Speaker A:I think we're in the next wave of rfid.
Speaker A:You know, RFID is pretty ubiquitous in apparel.
Speaker A:I think now we're going to see it kind of cross the chasm in beauty and grocery, more so than ever before, particularly following the Walmart announcement a few months ago.
Speaker A:So I think that's also something that was very clear coming out of the show.
Speaker A:All right, well, in this week's Fast 5, and we've got news on Google's new universal commerce protocol, Circle K expanding its partnership with Corso's intelligent management platform.
Speaker A:Small brands becoming furious that Amazon's Buy for Me is listing their products without permission.
Speaker A:Walmart scaling up drone delivery with Wing to 270 stores across the US and Ulta Beauty's SVP of digital and E commerce, Josh Friedman stopped by with us at NRF to give us five insightful minutes about Ulta's approach to marketplaces.
Speaker A:But we begin today with what just may be Amazon's boldest move yet in brick and mortar retailing.
Speaker A:Ann?
Speaker C:Yeah, Surprising news, at least to me.
Speaker C:Yesterday, headline number one, Amazon plans to construct a nearly 225,000 square foot retail store in Orland Park, Illinois.
Speaker C:225,000.
Speaker C:I think that number needs reiteration.
Speaker C:Square foot retail store that will offer both groceries and general merchandise, marking Amazon's first store on par with a Walmart super center format.
Speaker C:According to Grocery Dive, the proposed store will be located right next to a Costco and will offer a broad selection of low prices across fresh groceries, household essentials and general merchandise.
Speaker C:Plans include parking dedicated for pickup orders and multiple commercial outlets for smaller businesses.
Speaker C:The site plans were approved by Orland Park's planning commission and still need approval from the village's board.
Speaker C:Amazon noted that the E tail giant regularly tests new shopping experiences, calling this quote, a new concept that we think customers will be excited about, end quote.
Speaker C:Chris, of course, A and M, this is, this is a big deal they're going to choose.
Speaker A:Yeah, it is kind of a big deal.
Speaker C:Yeah, they're going to choose this as the put you on the spot question, which I'm sure will not surprise you.
Speaker A:Oh yeah, no surprise at all.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:A and M wants to know a new Amazon store concept announcement is not exactly rare news territory, but how does this one feel different to you given the crosshairs are squarely on Walmart?
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker A:Yeah, that is a good, that is a good question to start us off here for this show.
Speaker A:I think it feels that different to me, you know?
Speaker A:You know, I think it's still, for the most part, I think it still definitely feels like an experiment.
Speaker A:And like you said when you did, the headline read, I mean, it's a big.
Speaker A:It's a big experiment, literally and figuratively.
Speaker A:I mean, 225,000 square feet, that's enormous.
Speaker A:I mean, that's almost double the size of a Target to put that in perspective for everyone out there.
Speaker A:So my fear is that I am.
Speaker A:My fear is I'm really skeptical though, that it's going to work.
Speaker A:There is no empirical evidence whatsoever and that, that Amazon knows how to merchandise this store.
Speaker A:They're much, much smaller.
Speaker A:Previous attempts, like you think of Four Star, which I had forgotten completely about.
Speaker A:Even Amazon Fresh Grocery, which is, you know, also not knocking the door, blowing the doors off anyone.
Speaker A:They've all.
Speaker A:I would all say they've kind of all failed, you know, and I hate to say it too, but they've also been pretty uninspiring and also not that easy to shop when you go into them.
Speaker A:So it's kind of like Amazon is saying to themselves, we can't do 4,000ft, but.
Speaker A:And we can't really do 40,000ft with Amazon Fresh.
Speaker A:So, sure, why don't we try five to six times that?
Speaker A:Like, you know, like, what the heck?
Speaker A:But, you know, with that said, I think, and this is something to keep in mind is the real value of any concept comes down to the overall experience, design of the concept.
Speaker A:So you got to wait and judge it until you see it.
Speaker A:Which is why I was pushing Wayfair for so many years to go into the bigger store, because I could see how that would be a valuable expression of their brand versus all the small store experiments they did.
Speaker A:And they finally did that, and it appears to be working.
Speaker A:So the big question I want to ask you and leave with the audience is, yes, it's another experiment, but will it seal the fate as Amazon's last experiment in physical retailing?
Speaker A:Or is there, is it just possibly the larger piece of a puzzle that we all can't see yet or even conceptualize?
Speaker C:So, yeah, I mean, I think, I think here, here's the caveat on this.
Speaker C:Like, we're still looking at planning documents.
Speaker C:We have no idea what is inside of the store, how that 225,000 square feet is going to be organized.
Speaker C:And we aren't dealing with Walmart, we aren't dealing with Target.
Speaker C:We're talking about Amazon.
Speaker C:And so I think it's hard to make a judgment call on whether or not this is going to be the final, whether or not it's going to be successful until we really get to understand more of, like, how the store is broken out, what Amazon intends to use this for, how much is grocery, how much is essentials, all those types of things that we really don't know.
Speaker C:All we know is the external documents, which you and I are very familiar with from our time at store of the future.
Speaker C:You only have to submit so much to the city to get the approval.
Speaker C:So I would say, though, you know, my first reaction when I read this was, you know, there are 3,999 stores behind.
Speaker C:I mean, Walmart has 4,000 of these concepts.
Speaker C:And number one, you have to get people to change their behaviors, which we talked about a lot on last week's show.
Speaker C:And so will this Amazon offering, however it ends up coming to play, you know, will it really incentivize shoppers to change their physical shopping behavior to an Amazon store when, you know, over 90% of the country lives within 10 miles of a Walmart and has established loyalty and relationships with them?
Speaker C:So I think, you know, that's that's really the big question for me.
Speaker C:This is a massive capital investment for Amazon, so I think, I don't think it's.
Speaker C:It's in a spot where we can make a true call at this point in time.
Speaker C:But I can understand why Amazon is exploring this and if it is their last effort, why they're going big or going home.
Speaker C:It sounds like, Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker A:What else you do after this.
Speaker A:After you try this, what else is there left to try?
Speaker A:I forgot, as you were talking, I was like, I forgot they did Amazon style.
Speaker A:Do you remember Amazon style back in the day?
Speaker A:I totally forgot about that.
Speaker A:And that was the big talk of the town for a year and a half.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:It'll be fun to watch, but it sounds like you're skeptical.
Speaker A:It does sound like if I was reading between the tea leaves there, it's too early to judge.
Speaker A:But you are skeptical of this, but.
Speaker C:Potentially, I wouldn't even say skeptical.
Speaker C:I just feel like I don't have enough information.
Speaker C:I think there's a lot of things that have to fall into place for this to work for them, and maybe it will.
Speaker C:I just, I think we need to get more than, than just the city planning documents.
Speaker A:All right, then, let's keep moving.
Speaker A:Headline number two.
Speaker A:Google announced a new universal commerce protocol, hoping to define a new open standard for agentic commerce and AI tools.
Speaker A:According to Google's blog, the ucp, if you like cool techie dork sounding acronyms like I do, establishes a common language for AI agents and systems to operate together across consumer services businesses and payment providers, working across the entire shopping journey from discovery to post purchase.
Speaker A:UCP is endorsed by major players including Adyen, American Express, Best Buy, Flipkart, Macy's, mastercard, Stripe, the Home Depot, Visa, and Zalando.
Speaker A:Tell them what they've won, Vanna.
Speaker A:UCP will soon power a new checkout feature on Google, product listings in AI mode and the Gemini app, allowing us shoppers to check out from eligible retailers directly while researching on Google.
Speaker A:Google also announced Business Agent, which lets shoppers chat with brands directly on search, like a virtual sales associate launching with Lowe's, Michaels, Poshmark, Reebok and others.
Speaker A:And what's your take on Google launching this universal commerce protocol with backing from all the major retailers?
Speaker C:This is a massive announcement.
Speaker C:I mean, this is, I would say this is one that, you know, I'm jotting down in my list of, you know, headlines of the year that really are going to shape how, how we are shopping.
Speaker C:And really Google's position And what many people would argue, I think they're right to win in this age of agentic commerce.
Speaker C:The biggest thing for me is one, retailers maintain the merchant of record status and they own the customer relationship through this announcement that is huge.
Speaker C:It goes back to again what we were talking about, about how brands need to maintain ownership of, you know, how their brand comes across and, and really that ownership of their customer when they're going through all these different outlets.
Speaker C:You know, brands kind of have to play the game, they have to participate in some of these agentic shopping channels but they aren't, they don't stand to benefit from, from that outside of just being discoverable on those channels.
Speaker C:They don't get to maintain and follow up with that customer.
Speaker C:So that I think is the number one part of this announcement that that brands will be, will like and secondly I think it's a better UX for customers when you look at your agentix shopping journey to be able to have the power of the Google ecosystem behind me.
Speaker C:You know, I think one key item to note is that this week Apple also announced that Gemini is going to be their AI partner.
Speaker C:So now Gemini is controlling 70% of agentic interactions for the US mobile market.
Speaker C:So that's, that's a huge moat that Google has there.
Speaker C:And as a customer if I can use Google pay to pay for things I can ask it to search.
Speaker C:It knows what I've searched previously on my go to agent for shopping everything is going to be a better, more rounded experience and I know where I need to go if I need to return a product, it's all right there for me, you know, in my Gmail account or in my Gemini daily interactions.
Speaker C:I think that is, that is going to prove to be a way better experience for the consumer and incentivizes consumers to stick with Google and with Gemini as the agent that they're going to continue to use for both shopping and everything else that they have going on in their, in their universe.
Speaker C:So I think this is, those are, those are two key things that I think are going to be very important as we continue to see brands partner up with Google.
Speaker C:As we heard from a lot of brands this time at nrf.
Speaker C:But what stands out for you Chris?
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't know if I'm buying into this as much as you are and I think there are a lot of logic leaps in there that I think have to wait to be proven out too in what you were describing.
Speaker C:Like in what sense?
Speaker A:Like just say how you were kind of thinking that the world's gonna unfold.
Speaker A:I'm just not sure I'm there yet.
Speaker A:And the reason I say that is like I think this is announcement.
Speaker A:This is kind of like whatever what I expected, you know, Google do.
Speaker A:Google's got a lot of investment in this.
Speaker A:They've got a lot of you know, built up IP around how the generative AI concept works.
Speaker A:And so like I think this is just them flexing their muscle and being like, you know what, we've been pissed off that chat GPT has gotten all the attention particularly from consumers over the last year and particularly probably the retailers as a result of that because the retailers follow the consumers.
Speaker A:So they're basically trying to say, look, hold my beer.
Speaker A:Sam Altman we're coming into this game and we're coming in strong and we're making announcements with every single retailer.
Speaker A:I mean we had it coming through our booth this week.
Speaker A:Like we had, you know, every single person we interviewed practically was saying they're doing an announcement with Gemini.
Speaker A:The question I have though is this feels, and I didn't think about this until you just said it is this feels like more of like Google protecting the turf of its current business model which is built around search.
Speaker A:And so that's where the logic leap for me comes in is like I don't know if protecting the battleground for search is the same as preparing yourself for the future of agentic and how people will want to shop.
Speaker A:And so and Google in its history has not shown how to get like become a commerce engine because that's not how its business model has been built.
Speaker A:And so that's a question, can somebody still come in in Amazon a chatgpt a perplexity and figure out how to do that?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:So that's why I'm not as, I'm not as bullish on this as like the retail headline of the year out of the gates.
Speaker A:I think it's just a natural step that Google has to do.
Speaker C:Yeah, I think the only thing I'd say in closing is that you have to look at what our human behavior or proclivity is when we have a question about anything.
Speaker C:And if 90% of the time we're still going to Google.
Speaker C:And it just so happens that commerce may pop up now as a possibility when we're asking a question.
Speaker C:I think that it's, you know, to me that's, that's Google standing a better chance than an Amazon, than an OpenAI because you're going there for more than just shopping.
Speaker C:It's really becoming.
Speaker C:I think in this world, Google really stands to be the ultimate personal assistant.
Speaker C:Whether it's shopping, scheduling doctor's appointments or meetings, you know, sending emails, scheduling events.
Speaker C:Like I think that if I was placing my bets anywhere, and that's why I think it's so worthy potentially of a headline of the year nomination, is that I just, I think that as we continue to use our own personal assistance in these, these agents, I think Google could stand to win now more than anyone.
Speaker C:And I really think it's something that we have to pay close attention to and watch because it's not just about shopping, it's about how we interact with goog Google for our entire day to day.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it just depends on like, you know, there's a lot of people now that are using even on their mobile phone.
Speaker A:ChatGPT is like their go to search engine.
Speaker A:So it just becomes a question of like, you know, do they keep, you know, chipping away?
Speaker A:Chipping away.
Speaker A:But I don't know.
Speaker A:So yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:I think the only thing that combats that is now that Gemini's replaced Apple or replaced OpenAI on Apple devices like that, that's going to be a major shift then when they're not just going to chatbots when they're asking Siri a question or they're asking their, you know, they're going into that platform if Gemini is the one that's being served up.
Speaker C:And as more people come on the platform, more people are starting to get comfortable with the news agents.
Speaker A:Like if a good defensive move.
Speaker A:Yeah, Right, Sure.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:All right, let's go on to headline number three.
Speaker C:Circle K is expanding its partnership with Corso to consolidate tasks, surveys, performance analytics and exception reporting to more than 7,800 U.S. locations.
Speaker C:According to CSP Daily News, Circle K is expanding after successfully deploying across Circle K's European network of more than 4,000 stores last year.
Speaker C:The platform creates one spot for store managers to handle tasks, surveys, performance analytics and exception reporting, eliminating siloed solutions.
Speaker C:Corso CEO Julian Mills stated that they will soon be live in over 12,000 Circle K stores across the world.
Speaker C:With the platform helping store managers, quote, save time, act on data driven insights and identify opportunities, end quote.
Speaker C:Delivering volume at stores using Corso has tripled in the last six months.
Speaker C: nered with Corso at more than: Speaker C:Chris, what else can you say about Corso, who I will caveat, is also a partner and sponsor of the show and somebody that We've long, long been watching, so this is exciting news for us.
Speaker C:But what can you say about Corso that we haven't already said?
Speaker A:That's a good way to put the question, Ed.
Speaker A:Not all that much if you're a loyal fan of the show.
Speaker A:But for that reason, we've got a lot of new fans each and every week, too.
Speaker A:So I think it's important to reiterate the importance of this announcement.
Speaker A: eir CFO, Phil Thorne, back in: Speaker A:I fell in love with conceptually what they were trying to do.
Speaker A:The tech is smart, it's low lift, it pays back immediately, both financially, but most importantly for your store employees as well, because store teams want tools to help them do their jobs better instead of just being handed down to do lists from headquarters, which oftentimes we don't even know if those to do lists are valuable.
Speaker A:You know, we had Julian Mills, the CEO of Corso, on our show at NRF talking about that very thing.
Speaker A:So I've always said leadership.
Speaker A:Leadership, to me, comes down to three things.
Speaker A:As a leader, you've got to instill three things in your employees.
Speaker A:You've got to give them complexity, so you have to make their jobs interesting.
Speaker A:That's what that means.
Speaker A:The second thing is you have to give them autonomy.
Speaker A:Like, do they feel like they're in control of their own area of responsibility?
Speaker A:And third, and finally, attachment.
Speaker A:Do they care about what they do?
Speaker A:Do they have inherent, like, care and concern about their performance?
Speaker A:Those three things, complexity, autonomy, and attachment.
Speaker A:Corso Tech drives efficiency while also giving all of those three things and making it easier for the leaders to manage their teams and make their employees happier.
Speaker A:So that's why I love it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I mean, I think the other thing to call out, like, Corso was certainly one of the darlings of this nrf.
Speaker C:I mean, I felt like they were in conversations with people.
Speaker C:They were in the Microsoft booth.
Speaker C:We had them on with Fusion.
Speaker C:And I think it gets back to what we were talking about at the very beginning, is now that AI is being deployed operationally across multiple retail organizations, what do you now have the power to do?
Speaker C:And I think that now Corso is able to plug into a lot of the other operating systems that are already in stores, that are being superpowered by AI to be able to process data and.
Speaker C:And now give those very important and roi producing, producing, Activities for the store level employees.
Speaker C:I think one other thing that I find really interesting and especially about this being a European, you know, all over the world, especially in Europe, we had Jacob on the CEO of Strongpoint yesterday.
Speaker C:He was talking about how if you can do this in areas like Europe, like the Nordic countries, where the minimum wage is so high and you are limited to how much you can do and how much you can pay for employees to be in store, if you have something like Corsa deployed, I think now you're looking at having in that, you know, with limited employees, with limited amounts of time, the amount of things that they will be able to get done and that you'll be able to accomplish is so much more streamlined and focused now that I think retailers, you know, that are, they're testing this concept in Europe and now as it comes, you know, more where it expands across the US Market too, you know, they're really testing for the worst case scenario, the highest paid employee.
Speaker C:And now I think it'll be interesting to see as this expands through the U.S. you know, how much more efficiency they're able to drive out of these stores, and especially in Circle K stores too, as they.
Speaker C:They now have Corso in their utility belt.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, 12,000 stores is a lot of stores too.
Speaker A:Like, that's a lot of storage.
Speaker A:So of course it's going to learn a ton from this deployment.
Speaker A:100%.
Speaker A:All right, let's keep on moving and let's bring Josh onto today's program.
Speaker D:Joining us now for five insightful minutes live from the Vuzion podcast studio at NRF is Josh Friedman.
Speaker D:Josh is the SVP of digital and E commerce at Ulta Beauty, and this is the second time he's interviewing with us, and he is here to discuss Ulta's recent Marketplace initiative.
Speaker D:Josh, welcome back to omnitalk.
Speaker D:And let's start with this.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker D:Tell us why Ulta thought it was important for the business to prioritize a marketplace initiative.
Speaker E:Yeah, well, last time we talked, we were talking about this concept conceptually.
Speaker E:I remember we're here and a lot of the things that we were strategically looking at are still true.
Speaker E:We wanted a platform where we could bring more brands and more importantly, more categories to life for our customers.
Speaker E:Our guests ask us all the time if they can buy other things that are adjacent to the beauty category, especially wellness, but grooming, beauty, tech, all these other types of categories that quite honestly, we just don't have room on the quote unquote, maintenance floor of our store.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker E:So we Wanted to build what we call the digital mezzanine for all of these.
Speaker E:Digital mezzanine for all these other categories.
Speaker E:And that's what we've done.
Speaker E:We're now 150 brands strong into our journey and really seeing great results.
Speaker C:Well, your strategy for selecting marketplace sellers for that mezzanine from the outside appears to be highly strategic, Josh, and that has some nuance.
Speaker C:Can you summarize the strategy and explain why you went the route that you did?
Speaker E:Yeah, we really did.
Speaker A:I meant very curated.
Speaker E:We were only looking for adjacent categories.
Speaker E:We do also look for some up and coming brands, global brands, in our core categories, but it's really about the adjacent ones.
Speaker E:And then we are completely invite only, so we do not open up to sellers, distributors, only the ones that we reach out to.
Speaker E:And we invite, invite in.
Speaker E:And that's been working really well for us.
Speaker C:Huge in beauty.
Speaker E:We thought that was really important for us to make sure that our guests felt confident that everything we were selling@ ulta.com was authentic and exactly what they were hoping for.
Speaker E:We don't really want to play in diversion or any other types of categories like that, so.
Speaker E:So we take a lot of pride and probably could be moving a little faster if we didn't have some of those standards, but we think it's important.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's important.
Speaker D:So, Josh, my next question is, you know, your marketplace went live right before the holidays.
Speaker D:So my first question is one, are you insane?
Speaker D:And then two, how did it go?
Speaker D:What can you tell us?
Speaker E:Well, we launched it before the peak freeze, Chris.
Speaker E:Okay, Remember, that's kind of all that matters.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker E:In retail.
Speaker E:No, we are not insane.
Speaker E:We were ready for it.
Speaker E:And we even got a few things in that we weren't even necessarily planning.
Speaker E:And the team gets all the credit for this.
Speaker E:We now take returns for all of our marketplace items in every store to make sure that that's easy and convenient for our customers.
Speaker E:And that's working really well.
Speaker E:Everything's going well.
Speaker E:We're seeing results that are both quantitative beyond our expectations, and really the qualitative results, too.
Speaker E:99% of our brands are seeing SKUs actively selling and moving.
Speaker E:Our returns rates are well below our expectations so far, so we're really excited.
Speaker A:Sounds additive.
Speaker C:It sounds like just the beginning.
Speaker C:Josh, of what will be a very fruitful initiative at ulta.
Speaker C:What are you most excited about in the year ahead as you continue to see this grow?
Speaker E:Yeah, we're going to continue to grow in the categories.
Speaker E:We prioritize.
Speaker E:We've got a few new categories coming up.
Speaker E:And the other thing we're really excited about, which was always part of the agenda, was test and learn.
Speaker E:And you'll start seeing some of our marketplace sellers graduate into our brick and mortar channel this year.
Speaker E:So we're really excited about that too.
Speaker D:All right, well, thank you, Josh.
Speaker E:Thanks for having me.
Speaker C:Thanks, Josh.
Speaker A:Headline number four Small online merchants are upset after discovering their products were featured on Amazon through the Buy for Me AI feature without their permission, with brands forced to opt out after the fact.
Speaker A:According to modern retail, Amazon's Buy from Me feature, which uses agentic AI capabilities to allow customers to purchase products from third party websites without leaving Amazon's app or site, is causing, let's just call it a consternation.
Speaker A:Multiple business owners discovered that their entire Shopify catalogs were available on Amazon.com, without their knowledge or consent.
Speaker A:Brands say Amazon's opt out policy risks damaging their reputations and hurting customer experience.
Speaker A:Some received orders for products that were out of stock or no longer existed on their websites.
Speaker A:One founder was even concerned that Buy for Me could expose her wholesale pricing and create tax liability issues since Amazon pulled products from her password protected wholesale section.
Speaker A:Holy crap.
Speaker A:Amazon said businesses can opt out by emailing branddirectazon.com and stated they've received positive feedback on these programs, though many merchants disagree.
Speaker A:And what do you think about Amazon's Buy for Me approach of opting merchants into agentic AI by default?
Speaker C:I think it's a reality of how brands are going to have to prepare for where and how they show up online and in these agents.
Speaker C:Unfortunately it's not ideal, but this is what all the agents are going to continue to do, whether it's Amazon's Buy for Me agent, whether it's OpenAI, whether it's Google like this is a point that I think needs to be heavily emphasized within brands and a major focus of the resources within brands is how are you thinking about making sure that you aren't, you know, you're not putting your business in a precarious position by not having your data organized and clean and so that things like your password protected wholesale pricing is not exposed.
Speaker C:So I think this is, this is just again proving that most that brands need still need to pay attention to this because it is going to be a channel that your retailers are sorry customers are going to be coming from and you have to make sure that your foundation is in order at your own company to make sure that as these agents continue to scrape data from your site, you're prepared that Said, I do think because Amazon is a retailer and, and not just, you know, an open air or a Gemini that doesn't have their own storefront, I think that Amazon needs to make this even easier for brands to opt out of.
Speaker C:I think that it needs to be as clear as like the unsubscribe on a marketing email.
Speaker C:I think that having somebody have to email a brand site and do all these things, like, I think it has to be more, more front and center for brands.
Speaker C:And I think that that should be true also across other, other search engines down the road, but especially for Amazon because they're a retailer.
Speaker C:But that's, that's my hot take.
Speaker C:Chris, what do you think?
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't, I don't think my takes, I don't think my takes inherently that different.
Speaker A:I'd add a few pieces to it.
Speaker A:I think, I think this headline's a little salacious as I sit back here and think about it, you know, a day after picking it for this week's show.
Speaker A:But I think, I think the above, the above board thing to do.
Speaker A:Right, and the above board thing to do is to ask the, Ask the brands to opt in.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah, but opt out.
Speaker A:Is it unethical?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:Is it that fundamentally different from having a personal assistant buy something for you in today's day and age of where tech is going?
Speaker A:Not really.
Speaker A:And that's the point you're making with like, you're not going to stop this.
Speaker A:Like it's going to come.
Speaker A:So then my hunch is, my hunch is Amazon is watching the vendors who are recording sales and then gauging the opt out rates versus those staying in the program to understand how they should approach this.
Speaker A:Because while the headline is catchy, it could also just be that there's a few crabby apples complaining while many others are potentially happy with the volume increase.
Speaker A:So the whole thing, in my opinion, just needs more time, study and background information before we all get upset about it.
Speaker A:Because Amazon is smart.
Speaker A:They're going to watch this and understand the impact that it's having on the brands.
Speaker A:And there could be, you know, it could be like 99% of them love it and there's like less than 1% that feel this way and you can still opt out.
Speaker A:So freaking opt out.
Speaker A:Like, you know, I don't know.
Speaker A:That's just my take.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker C:And end of story, that's our hot take on the Amazon.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think we're pretty aligned on that one.
Speaker C:All right, let's go to Headline number five.
Speaker C: locations by: Speaker C:The expansion builds on the existing operations in Dallas, Fort Worth and Atlanta, with planned launches in Houston, Orlando, Tampa, Charlotte, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Miami.
Speaker C:Delivery volume has tripled in the past six months, with drones flying up to 60 miles per hour and traveling up to 12 miles round trip, carrying items up to five pounds.
Speaker C:Wing CEO stated, quote, the question is no longer if Wing and Walmart will deliver to your city, it's when, end quote.
Speaker C:The expansion helps Walmart compete with Amazon in the fast shipping race, with both Companies focused on 30 minutes or less delivery times.
Speaker C:Drones are designed to carry items typically requested for rapid delivery, such as eggs, bread, phone chargers, or other small essentials.
Speaker C:Chris, are you pro or con?
Speaker C:Walmart and Wing scaling drone delivery to 270 stores.
Speaker A:Oh, and I'm pro.
Speaker A:I mean, I mean, we've talked about this concept a lot on the show over the years.
Speaker A:You know, it's been a while since we've.
Speaker A:I think it's been a little bit of time since we talked about it, so it's kind of cool to see it coming back.
Speaker A:I've always liked this concept, particularly for Walmart.
Speaker A:And we talked to the man in charge, Mr. Greg Cathy at NRF, the man in charge of this program, literally the day this announcement was made.
Speaker A:And he said, he said he gave us some interesting nuggets.
Speaker A:He said they are seeing strong usage for it across four key areas.
Speaker A:When I went back and looked at the interview, he said, you know, the items that people forget, they're using drones for that they're using it for childcare essentials, especially when your kid gets sick, they're using it for pet treats, which is the one where I'm like, okay, that's random.
Speaker A:And then the last thing, which was really cool, which is like, they're using it to surprise and delight people.
Speaker A:Like, use the example of, like, your kid's birthday party where you have, like, all the presents show up via drone.
Speaker A:Or I was thinking, like, you know, if you're kind of like that type of guy, you could, like, have.
Speaker A:On Valentine's Day, you could have a drone deliver, you know, flowers and chocolates to somebody, even though that'd be kind of super lame, too.
Speaker A:I'm not, I'm gonna admit that.
Speaker A:But, like, but you can see the angles where you could take this and so, but the thing that I like most about it, and I've always liked about it, is it says to me, convenience drones are Walmart's entry point into the almost $400 billion non fuel convenience business.
Speaker A:And I'm no math Expert, Anne, but 400 is a lot of Bs and I may be rounding up there because it's probably like 3:30 ish from what I saw, but you know, it'll grow.
Speaker A:So 400, that's a lot of bees.
Speaker A:And that's, that's what's going on here.
Speaker A:That's why this is a smart move.
Speaker C:Yeah, I, I was just surprised by how quickly, I mean they're going to be in 200 and was it 270 locations in the net in one year?
Speaker C:Like coastal too?
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:So like this is coming fast and furious.
Speaker C:And I think that's the really interesting thing here.
Speaker C:I mean, ever since we interviewed Pratibha Raja Shekhar, she was, she talked to us about drones two years ago at NRF from Walmart and she was talking about the use case of this, it really I think flipped my opinion of whether or not drones are the, the future, whether we'll see them.
Speaker C:But I do really think that we've kind of crossed the chasm into like, yeah, this is coming.
Speaker C:Walmart's going to, it's kind of like the Waymo driverless taxis.
Speaker C:Like, I think it's just, it's when are we going to start to see critical mass here?
Speaker C:And this is going to bring us critical mass.
Speaker C:This is going to make drone delivery something that people are more comfortable with.
Speaker C:I think people will start to see the benefits of it.
Speaker C:Fewer cars on the road, faster delivery, being able to get to urban locations more simply.
Speaker C:So I think this is going to be kind of a cool thing that we'll start to see around the country and I'm excited for where it goes.
Speaker C:Also, if you've been watching Pluribus, I mean, I have not been watching Fluoros after the joining.
Speaker C:This is how the aliens are going to deliver all of our products.
Speaker C:They all come via drone delivery, whether it's, you know, dinner or taking our garbage out, all kinds of things.
Speaker C:So I think, yes, drones are here.
Speaker C:Really excited for Greg, Cathy and the team at Walmart.
Speaker C:And I'm excited to get my first drone delivery once this reaches Minneapolis.
Speaker A:Me too.
Speaker A:Me too.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker A:And Walmart has the infrastructure to make it work, you know, because they got the huge parking lots, you know, which is where they put these things.
Speaker A:So for the most Part.
Speaker A:So, yeah.
Speaker C:All right, let's go to the lightning round.
Speaker C:Chris.
Speaker C: to a Grocery dive article on: Speaker C:Weird.
Speaker C:Is winning in the grocery aisle.
Speaker C:So, Chris, I want to know what's the wackiest new product that you've tried at the grocery store as of late?
Speaker A:Oh, and that's easy.
Speaker A:Banana water.
Speaker A:Yeah, banana water.
Speaker A:I'm a big fan of the banana in general, and I like banana shakes.
Speaker A:I like a good just banana.
Speaker A:I very.
Speaker A:I've very, you know, very specific requirements of my bananas.
Speaker A:You know, they.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:I like them more on the greenish side than the, like, you know, the other side of it, which I think probably most people do.
Speaker A:But, yeah, big fan of the banana.
Speaker A:And I tried some banana water.
Speaker A:It's kind of like a take on coconut water.
Speaker A:That's pretty good.
Speaker A:Pretty tasty.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:So it's in a container, like coconut water?
Speaker C:Yeah, it's like, got the, like, carbonated.
Speaker C:Interesting.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Oh, it's carbonated?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Carbonated?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:It's like a can of coconut water you open up.
Speaker A:Carbonated.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's good.
Speaker A:It's a Jerry's in the.
Speaker A:In the freezer case next to the.
Speaker C:So there's bubbles in it, like carbonated, like there, like bubbles in the water?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, it tastes like an Olipop or something like that.
Speaker A:Yeah, I know.
Speaker A:Banana water.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:I've never had carbonated coconut water before, so.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:It's right next to the food service area in our local grocery store.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Try it out.
Speaker A:It's worth a dabble.
Speaker A:And it's worth a dabble in that banana.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:The creator of Dilbert, Scott Adams, unfortunately died this week.
Speaker A:How should we pay homage?
Speaker C:I'm going to put this back on you.
Speaker C:I don't really know.
Speaker C:I mean, I know the Dilbert cartoon, but I've never really read it or followed it.
Speaker C:He's like an Office Space kind of character.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:He was like.
Speaker A:Yeah, like a cartoon on Office Politics.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:How should we pay?
Speaker C:What would you do?
Speaker A:If I was doing something, I think I'd maybe make a little caricature drawing of myself because I think, you know, that's kind of how it originated, too.
Speaker A:So that would be my play.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:You would make a caricature drawing of yourself to pay homage to Dilbert?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Okay, let's go on to question number three.
Speaker C:Dry January is back, and according to several news outlets, so are the sales of Dirty Sodas and sugary non alcoholic drinks.
Speaker C:In your mind, Chris, what do you think is worse?
Speaker C:A glass of wine or beer?
Speaker C:Like, worse for you?
Speaker C:Let's.
Speaker A:Oh, worse for you.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:What do you think is worse for you?
Speaker C:A glass of wine or beer or a Big Gulp sized dirty soda?
Speaker C:Because I, I have, I take, I take issue with this significantly, but what is your opinion?
Speaker A:Like, you take issue with the dirty soda trend?
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, it's got to be the dirty soda, right?
Speaker A:I mean, I mean, beer's not, I mean, beer's definitely not good for you either, but, you know, wine is debatably good for you.
Speaker A:It's potentially cardio protective.
Speaker A:Although people are coming against that now.
Speaker A:So, like, I think, you know, wine, wine, I think we could probably say is like relatively better for you than the other two.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:Yeah, I, I don't know, I just.
Speaker C:I just can't imagine like a 32 or 64 ounce Big Gulp sized dirty soda compared to a 6 ounce glass of wine.
Speaker C:Like, to me, it's like, I think.
Speaker A:Anything with high fructose corn syrup or one of the artificial and sweet sweeteners has to be at the bottom of that list.
Speaker A:I gotta think.
Speaker A:But all right.
Speaker A:And Nikki, this is a good one.
Speaker A:Nikki Glazier hosted the Golden Globes again this past weekend.
Speaker A: r worse than her monologue in: Speaker C:I was working all weekend, so I did not catch her monologue.
Speaker C:I did not catch the Golden Globes.
Speaker C:I still have to watch it.
Speaker C:But she was really, I mean, she did an outstanding job last year.
Speaker C:So I can't, I can't imagine.
Speaker C:I mean, I don't know.
Speaker C:How do you top that?
Speaker C:Do people expect to, like, was it more expected?
Speaker C:Did you see it?
Speaker C:Like, what did, what was your thought on this?
Speaker A:Yeah, I actually, I thought, I thought she did as well, if not better, just because the bar was so high last year.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, and she, she did, I thought, equally well.
Speaker A:And so, you know, I'd give her major kudos and props.
Speaker A:Yeah, and she, and she took Leo to task in a pretty fun way.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:All right, well, today's podcast was produced, of course, with the help of Ella Seward.
Speaker A:So let's bring Ella back in here to talk about which headline won today's show.
Speaker F:Ella, for me, it's Walmart's drone delivery.
Speaker F:Much like you guys.
Speaker F:Now, I know this is technically about convenience and logistics, but I'm like geeking out over the fact that drones can deliver us things.
Speaker F: Like it's: Speaker F:It's feeling very futuristic and I feel like, to Greg, Kathy's point about the birthday parties, like I'm a nerd about drones and photo and video and stuff.
Speaker F:So if someone came to my, if a drone came to my birthday party, I would freak out.
Speaker A:Okay, so if a guy was, if you were like, if you were on the dating scene and a guy like, was like, he, I'm gonna deliver you like something really special via drone, like as I arrive for my date, would that be, that would, that would hook you.
Speaker A:That's what you're saying?
Speaker F:See, Chris, I think a date that would be a little over the top.
Speaker A:A little over the top?
Speaker A:What about somebody that you were in a longer term relationship with as a surprise and delight effort, possibly because they.
Speaker F:Would know my love for drones.
Speaker F:But if I was out in public.
Speaker F:No.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like you're sitting at a table at a cafe or something.
Speaker A:Absolutely not.
Speaker A:Drops a diamond ring, asks you to get stunned on one knee.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:Well, a diamond ring maybe now we're talking, right?
Speaker A:Oh man, that's awesome.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:Alright, well, happy birthday today to Holland Taylor, Kerry Green of Goonies, and to the man who I actually do get, which is a Golden Globes joke, Jason Bateman.
Speaker A:And remember, if you can only read or listen to one retail blog in the business, Make It Omnitok the only retail media outlet run by two former executives from the current top 10 US retailer.
Speaker A:Our Fast Five podcast is the quickest, fastest rundown of all the weeks of top news.
Speaker A: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 A:Thanks as always for listening in.
Speaker A:Please remember to like and leave us a review wherever you happen to listen to your podcast or on YouTube.
Speaker A:You can follow us today by simply going to YouTube.com omnietalkretail so until next week, on behalf of all of us here@omnitalk Ritos and and I rush out to the airport to fly back home.
Speaker A:As always, be careful out.
