Peloton Resale, Dollar General's Home Line & Who Knew Walmart Could Be So Sparky? | 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 new “Who knew?” advertising campaign (Source)
- Walmart’s gen AI assistant Sparky (Source)
- Dollar General’s home line with Kathy Ireland (Source)
- Amazon training humanoid robots to deliver packages (Source)
- And closed with a look at why they both think Peloton’s move into resale could be more difficult than Peloton thinks (Source)
There’s all that, plus Dutch food, Auntie Anne’s pretzels, and how much Anne needs the senior citizen features turned on within her Uber app.
P.S. Be sure to check out all our other podcasts from the past week here, too: https://omnitalk.blog/category/podcast/
P.P.S. Also be sure to check out our podcast rankings on Apple Podcasts and on Feedspot
Music by hooksounds.com
#RetailNews #RetailPodcast #Walmart #dollargeneral #amazon #peloton #RetailTech #AIinRetail #OmniTalk #RetailFastFive #whoknew #sparky #GenAI
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Transcript
The Amitak Fast5 is brought to you by the A and M Consumer and Retail Group.
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Speaker A:Learn more@cleardemand.com and finally, Ocampo Capital.
Speaker A:Ocampo Capital is a venture capital firm founded by retail executives with the aim of helping early stage consumer businesses succeed through investment and operational support.
Speaker A:Learn more@ocampo capital.com hello, you are listening to Omnitox Retail Fast Five ranked in the top 10% of all podcasts globally and currently the only retail podcast ranked in the top 100 business podcasts on Apple Podcasts.
Speaker A: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 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, Anne Mazenga.
Speaker B:And I'm Chris Walton, and we're here.
Speaker A:Once again to discuss the top headlines from the past week making waves in the world of Omnichannel Retailing.
Speaker A:We are here, Chris in Amsterdam.
Speaker A:In Amsterdam, live from the Consumer Goods Forum.
Speaker A:First timers here.
Speaker B:First timers, yes, first timers.
Speaker B:But quite a show, quite a show here.
Speaker B:Courtesy of the Viewsion Group.
Speaker B:They are, are proud partners for this event.
Speaker B:They've put us up in the, in the typical fusion booth group that we do and get with them every show that we do and it's all.
Speaker B:They always do a bang up job.
Speaker B:They, they make it.
Speaker B:They give us the Cadillac experience and don't they?
Speaker A:Yes, they give us the Cadillac experience so that we can give you the CAD experience at home who are watching and following along.
Speaker A:We've got some really great interviews lined up for you over the course of the next few days, so please stay tuned to LinkedIn or you can follow us also on YouTube.
Speaker A:Great place to get that content.
Speaker A:And of course we'll be posting all the podcasts as well, but a little bit later on those don't come out quite as.
Speaker B:Yeah, not, not as real time as the video feed, but yes, but usually within 24 hours we get the videos and we've got some really great, really great executives from the world of retail and cpg, most significantly of which is Franz Mueller, the CEO of Ajo Delez who's going to be joining us hopefully on Friday.
Speaker B:So stick around and keep an eye out for that.
Speaker B:But Ann.
Speaker B:Yes, we're in Amsterdam.
Speaker B:Sprenzie Dutch and Sprekensee Dutch.
Speaker A:Is that.
Speaker B:No, that's wrong.
Speaker A:German.
Speaker B:That's German.
Speaker A:But anyway, but anyway, I was like, wait a second, I don't, I don't know if that is the right one.
Speaker A:And no is the answer to all of those questions.
Speaker A:But, but before we get into retail headlines, I to ask, this is one of our favorite questions.
Speaker B:This is always my favorite part of the show when I have no idea what Anne's going to ask me for the day.
Speaker A:To ask each other is what's the best thing you.
Speaker A:We took a little.
Speaker A:A true holiday over the weekend.
Speaker B:We did a holiday, as they say in Europe.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker A:A summer holiday.
Speaker A:You were in Paris.
Speaker A:Yes, I was in Spain.
Speaker A:Most importantly, what's the best thing that you've eaten over the course of the last weekend on your holiday?
Speaker B:Ooh, the best thing I ate Anne.
Speaker B:So we're in Paris, me and the Mrs.
Speaker B:And we went to the Blue.
Speaker B:The Actually it's called the Oyster Club.
Speaker B:I just keep calling it the Blue Oyster Club.
Speaker B:Like Blue Oyster Club.
Speaker B:I went down to the Blue Oyster Club.
Speaker B:But anyway, it was.
Speaker A:Oh, I thought you were Going to go Blue Oyster Cult.
Speaker B:No, no, no, I wasn't, No, I went Blue Oyster Club, you know, and shout out to, to the secret name.
Speaker B:I checked.
Speaker B:Yes, chap.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Chapel Road.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:That I couldn't think of.
Speaker B:But anyway, I had some fresh shrimp and it was amazing.
Speaker B:So good.
Speaker B:And we also had some, some oysters and, and some, some fresh salmon, which was seasoned just to perfection.
Speaker B:But what is your bite?
Speaker B:Because I have a feel this question for a reason.
Speaker A:No, I mean, I, I, I don't know that the bite is what I would be the most like.
Speaker A:I mean, Spanish food is great, the cheese, the wine, everything.
Speaker A:But I have to say, Costa Brava.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You, you, you liking the Costa, huh?
Speaker B:You liking the Costa?
Speaker A:It's the, it's one of the most spectacular places.
Speaker A:So I'm still, I'm still in awe of the beauty that was everything around me.
Speaker A:And the food was a nice.
Speaker B:So you ate in the beauty.
Speaker B:That's what you did.
Speaker B:You ate in the beauty.
Speaker A:You consumed the beauty of the environment.
Speaker A:So that's why I had to ask you the question.
Speaker B:Yes, I was, yes.
Speaker B:And my God, is there a lot of food to eat there?
Speaker B:So many good pastries too.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:All right, well, let's get to this week's headlines.
Speaker B:In this week's Fast 5, we've got news on Walmart's new Sparky, AI assistant, Dollar General's new home line with Kathy Ireland, Amazon using humanoid robots to deliver packages.
Speaker B:Peloton launching a new resale platform.
Speaker B:But we begin with some more big news out of Walmart.
Speaker B:Who knew?
Speaker B:And who knew?
Speaker A:I love this so much.
Speaker A:I'm already giving it away.
Speaker A:Chris.
Speaker A:Headline number one, Walmart has introduced a new ad campaign featuring Walton Goggins of the White Lotus fame.
Speaker A:Under the tagline who knew?
Speaker A:According to a Walmart press release, the campaign is meant to highlight how Walmart has changed, quote, a lot.
Speaker A:The campaign highlights how Walmart now has more than half a billion items online and in its app.
Speaker A:Express delivery to your door in as little as one hour.
Speaker A:A Walmart plus membership that gives you perks beyond groceries and a digital experience that's, well, better than most people realize because, quote, the biggest surprise isn't what's changed, Chris, it's how many people don't know.
Speaker A:It's already there.
Speaker B:I love when we have to quote the press releases.
Speaker B:It's so great.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Chris, what's your assessment of Walmart's new who knew?
Speaker B:I mean, and in a nutshell, I think, I think, honestly, I love it.
Speaker B:I think it's a brilliant move, particularly from the CMO William White's mind.
Speaker B:And more on him probably later, you know, if we have a time to get to it.
Speaker B:But you know, first, I mean, first of all, I have to love anything by Walton Goggins.
Speaker B:Like shout out to the name Walton.
Speaker B:Like, that's so great.
Speaker A:That was such a perfect pick.
Speaker A:Yeah, the casting for this was Walton.
Speaker B:Cloggins, if you've seen the commercial.
Speaker B:That's so great.
Speaker B:Walton Cloggins, that's such a great little play on words.
Speaker B:But strategically, I also, I also love this because it says to Amazon shoppers, basically it says like, look, everything you can get from Amazon.
Speaker B:Yeah, you can now get from us.
Speaker B:And, and, and more so because once you cross like a half billion item threshold, like it's like, you know, having 600 million, 700 million, who cares at that point, right?
Speaker B:And, but by the same token, with Walmart plus, you get so much more benefits.
Speaker B:In Amazon prime you get the gas discounts, you get the.
Speaker B:I wrote, I wrote down everything here.
Speaker B:You get in store returns, you get express delivery.
Speaker B:So you know when.
Speaker B:And it's cheaper.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's like 50 bucks cheaper.
Speaker B:I can't remember exactly, but it's like 50 bucks cheaper.
Speaker A:So like the annual subscription.
Speaker B:Yeah, the annual subscription for Walmart Plus.
Speaker B:So Walmart plus beats prime every day of the week and twice on Sundays, in my opinion.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I think this is a great campaign.
Speaker B:Super smart, super brilliant.
Speaker A:What do you think?
Speaker B:You love it too, because you already kind of showed your hand on this.
Speaker A:I just thought it was a really great, you know, coming from my advertising background, I thought this was one of the great ways to just kind of play on the obvious theme, which is like just the Walton Goggins you're talking about.
Speaker A:Who knew you're featuring the.
Speaker A:If you haven't seen the advertisement, it's so good, like just featuring every single thing in that hole, from clogs to accordions, are things that you can buy on Walmart Plus.
Speaker A:So I think it just was, it did a really great job of showing people hitting the point home.
Speaker A:But I think most importantly, in addition to what this is telling people about Walmart is that in addition to what they can get from Amazon, you also have to think about the grocery and food elements that is so significant here.
Speaker A:So all of these things in the entire universe of Walmart's marketplace.
Speaker A:But then also with a Walmart plus membership, you also have access to groceries.
Speaker A:And I think what's most significant to the people that I've been trying.
Speaker A:I've been evangelizing the Walmart plus.
Speaker B:Yeah, you're.
Speaker B:You're like the biggest probably.
Speaker A:Oh my God.
Speaker A:It's been amazing.
Speaker A:But I think the thing that's most impressive for people is that should you decide you don't ever want to step foot in a Walmart, or maybe for us, it's not convenient for as convenient for you because you have to drive a little bit further right now you can have the total Walmart experience, get all of those benefits and everything comes to you through the app, through the digital properties.
Speaker A:You can return stuff through the app.
Speaker A:Like everything that is in the Walmart system can come to you as a consumer.
Speaker A:And I think that's where you really are starting to see the significance of this new demographic coming to Walmart.
Speaker B:I 100% agree.
Speaker B:I mean, I don't think there's nothing more I would add to that.
Speaker B:I think those points are dead on.
Speaker B:It's a really smart play.
Speaker B:You know, I mentioned William White before, former colleague of ours at Target.
Speaker B:Ton of respect for him.
Speaker B:You know, he potentially, you know, if I was, if I was Target, I'd be taking a hard look at him given his background and what he's doing here to upscale Target to upscale Walmart in terms of the perception that it has across the nation as well.
Speaker B:So I'm sure the Walmart folks aren't happy to hear me say that.
Speaker B:But, but, and if I was, if I was the, if I was the Target board, I'd definitely be taking a hard look at him.
Speaker B:He might actually be my a number one choice.
Speaker B:All right, headline number two.
Speaker B:And as Beverly d' Angelo once said to Clark Griswold, hey, Sparky.
Speaker B:Because Walmart has a new AI assistant and it is called exactly that.
Speaker B:Sparky2 Walmart headlines lead off today, folks.
Speaker B:According to Chain Storage, the discount giant is now offering a smiling Ask Sparky button in its mobile app, which customers can use across all product creators, product categories to find items and synthesize reviews.
Speaker B:Customers can also conduct natural language searches to determine information such as what sports teams are playing that night or the weather at the beach they're heading to and get a custom outfit recommendation.
Speaker B:Wow, I didn't know about that.
Speaker B:That's pretty cool.
Speaker B:Sparky currently uses generative AI, but soon Walmart also says that it plans to leverage agentic AI, which goes a step beyond generative AI, as I'm sure all you Omnitalk fans are very familiar with at this point because it analyzes massive amounts of data in near real time and automatically takes action based on the results to provide more functionality from Sparky.
Speaker B:And are you buying or selling the hype around Sparky?
Speaker A:100% buying.
Speaker B:You're buying this too.
Speaker A:One again, hook, line and sicker.
Speaker A:First, because now all Walmart products will be more easily discoverable through this app through the Ask Sparky application.
Speaker A:And it also makes Walmart products more discoverable through other large language search models because their products are set up to be discovered.
Speaker A:Second to the points that we made earlier.
Speaker A:I think if you are going to truly compete with Amazon, you don't have to name it after a dog also, but Amazon has Rufus.
Speaker A:I think people are going to expect that Walmart, should they convert from Amazon to Walmart, that they're going to have a similar, similar service using something like Ask Sparky.
Speaker A:But lastly, the thing I think that I'm most excited about is where this can go in the future.
Speaker A:And Chris, you know that not only do I use Walmart plus for all of my grocery delivery, all of my essentials and pretty much everything under the.
Speaker B:Sun, I think anyone still listening to this podcast knows that at this point.
Speaker A:I also have used their travel benefits significantly.
Speaker A:I booked a car in Spain last minute.
Speaker B:You booked a rental car in Spain?
Speaker A:I booked a rental car in Spain through Walmart Plus.
Speaker A:I've done this several times now.
Speaker A:But the thing that's so interesting about this is that I think once you start to get the agentic element in here, yes, people will be coming to Ask Sparky.
Speaker A:And I hope that in the future I'm able to go to Ask Sparky and say, hey, I'm in Barcelona, I need a rental car tomorrow through the end of the weekend.
Speaker A:Can you get this done for me?
Speaker A:And that gives me a reason to go back to Walmart beyond just shopping, which I think is brilliant, but are you buying?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:No, I'm buying it too.
Speaker B:The one thing I take umbrage in what you said, and it's probably the smallest port I could possibly take umbrage with that.
Speaker B:You said Sparky is named after a dog.
Speaker B:Because if you're from Tempe, Sparky is actually the name of the Arizona State Sun Devil mascot.
Speaker B:So shout out.
Speaker B:Yes, so shout out to my friends in Tempe back home.
Speaker A:That like little devil guy.
Speaker B:Yep, Sparky the Sun Devil.
Speaker A:Oh my God, I had no idea.
Speaker A:Yes, we had a seal named Sparky at the zoo in Minnesota.
Speaker B:Feels about right.
Speaker B:I love seals at the Minnesota Zoo, but that's another topic for another Day.
Speaker B:No, but I agree with you an.
Speaker B:I mean, I think, I think you actually have to look at these two stories in, in connection with each other because if they're able to get more app downloads, get more conversions, the mobile app serves as a bedrock for them to take this in the arena of agentic AI, which is where things are going.
Speaker B:And if you step back 30,000 foot view, you have to salute Walmart for just even putting themselves in that position to be in the agentic AI conversation with Google, with Amazon, because it brings in the whole, and I hate to say it because it can be overused, but it brings Walmart squarely into the super app conversation of everything you need to do to coordinate your life.
Speaker B:Your life.
Speaker B:Talked about it.
Speaker B:But getting a rental car through the app, I wouldn't think to do that on Amazon, but now you're doing it on Walmart plus.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So Walmart is squarely in position to capitalize on that.
Speaker B:And again, we've talked about, it's just a question of who's going to end up being that interface.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And Walmart, I give as much chance as anybody in doing that, you know, provided they continue to show that they've got the tech chops to make it happen.
Speaker A:And they have.
Speaker A:Who knew, Chris?
Speaker A:Who knew?
Speaker B:Hey, it's working already, man.
Speaker B:It's working already.
Speaker A:All right, let's go on to headline number three.
Speaker A:Dollar General is teaming up with Kathy Ireland for a new celebrity homeline.
Speaker A:According to Chain Storage Again, the discount retailer is revamping its quote, Home Valley, end quote home selection with collections from celebrities, name brands and designers, including supermodel Kathy Ireland, Betsyville, Beverly Hills Polo Club and Simply Belle by Simply Southern.
Speaker A: Launching during summer of: Speaker A:Chris, what do you think of Dollar General moving into private label home goods?
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:I like this one too, Anne.
Speaker B:I'm okay on the likes.
Speaker B:So all those people that call me a hater on YouTube, you know, check us out more regularly, folks.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm hitting you trolls.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:But I like this for two reasons.
Speaker B:One, the margin on home is, is good.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like probably better than most things that Dollar General sells.
Speaker B:So that.
Speaker B:But secondly, I think strategically, as we've talked about on this show numerous times, things always move to the lowest price option.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Kathy Ireland, little background for me.
Speaker B:Kathy Ireland.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker A:Where are we Going with this.
Speaker B:Kathy island was the it girl for me.
Speaker B:Oh yeah, like, absolutely.
Speaker B:And it was funny because when I was heading up home for Target.com I would get pitched her stuff every day of the week and I'd be like, no, no.
Speaker B:As much as I wanted to meet her, I couldn't be like, like, no, I just can't because it just didn't fit with us in the brand.
Speaker A:That's very good of you.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:You could have been like, come in for the meeting.
Speaker B:For sure I could have.
Speaker B:But I didn't.
Speaker B:I was because like I couldn't take myself.
Speaker A: Cover model: Speaker B:This is the whole reason I watched that movie.
Speaker B:But anyway I didn't do it.
Speaker B:And so like, and the reason was because it didn't fit in my brand ethos.
Speaker B:But I think at the time, and I don't, I don't remember exactly but like Walmart, I think she was at Walmart or she was at one of those.
Speaker A:Kmart.
Speaker B:Kmart, one of those.
Speaker B:And you know, so she has a position in the marketplace and so naturally now she's just, you know, moving, you know, down market a little bit.
Speaker B:Which again goes back to the idea of like okay, over time.
Speaker B:I think we've talked about this on the show in the past.
Speaker B:I see Dollar General becoming a one stop shop.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:For an even better, you know, at even lower prices than what Walmart or Target could potentially do.
Speaker B:Which is just basically Clayton's Clayton Christensen theory of competitive dynamics.
Speaker B:Ultimately the end of the day.
Speaker B:So, so I like this move.
Speaker B:I think it's smart and I think, you know, the devil's in the details in terms of how you execute it and how you replenish it and how you buy the inventory correctly.
Speaker B:Because there are some different dynamics there to running like the day to day, you know, things you'd find in the Dollar General.
Speaker B:But net net.
Speaker B:I think it's smart.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I, I don't mean to burst your bubble.
Speaker A:All the 90s men who were in love with Kathy Ireland and women and my brother included amongst those, he loved Kathy Ireland too.
Speaker A:But, but I don't think it with her Betsy Ville, any of these, Betsy Johnson, I don't, I don't think those brands are still relevant.
Speaker A:I think what this does, what does matter about this is that they are focusing on designing a high quality product or a, even just a high designed product.
Speaker A:I don't think it matters who the celebrity is that's attached to it because I don't think that those names have the cachet anymore that they used to back, you know, 15, 20 years ago even.
Speaker A:But I think that what we've heard both from Dollar Tree and Dollar General this week is that they are att, a higher income shopper.
Speaker A:And I think that's to your earlier point where this comes in like, yes, there is a demand for a high design quality product at a lower price point.
Speaker A:And that's why I think Dollar General and Dollar Tree here are going to really win with that higher consumer because they are investing in things like this that have smart margins behind them, like you said.
Speaker A:So I, I don't know that it's going to be that they're going to be the ones that, that are going to be drawing all the traffic.
Speaker B:Interesting.
Speaker B:Interesting.
Speaker B:I, I, I don't know.
Speaker B:I kind of disagree with that a little bit because I think everyone wants to be aspirational.
Speaker B:And there probably were people that were aspiring to some of these brands back in the day when they were at their height and they couldn't afford them.
Speaker B:And now if Dollar General plays a card drive, they can make them at an affordable price.
Speaker B:And it's always just square one, right?
Speaker B:It's, you're starting out and then it's going to evolve over time and they have to get someone to buy into this idea to begin with.
Speaker B:So, so that's why I think, you know, for the most part, if you're going to take this strategy, it seems like a, seems like a good way to go about it.
Speaker B:Okay, you want to keep moving?
Speaker A:Let's do it.
Speaker B:All right, Amazon, headline number four.
Speaker B:Amazon is reportedly.
Speaker B:Oh my God.
Speaker B:Training humanoid robots to deliver packages, folks.
Speaker B:According to the Verge, not to be confused with the criminally underrated brand band the Verge, the Verve, the verb.
Speaker B:I still screwed that up.
Speaker B:And it's my favorite line read of all time.
Speaker B:I know, and I screwed it up.
Speaker A:I know I screwed it up.
Speaker B:I look forward to every week when we get a Verge headline.
Speaker A:And I screwed it.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Sorry, folks.
Speaker B:Amazon is developing AI software that will enable robots to operate as package delivery workers that are ferried around in Rivian electric vans and will soon be ready to start real world testing at a new facility, citing a norm, citing an anonymous source that was, quote, involved in the effort, end quote.
Speaker B:The information also says that Amazon has almost finished constructing an indoor, quote, humanoid park at one of the retail giant San Francisco offices that's roughly the size of a coffee shop.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker B:The obstacle course reportedly contains one Rivian van for training purposes.
Speaker B:With Amazon aiming to have humanoid robots Quote hitch a ride in the back of Amazon's electric Rivian vans and spring out to deliver packages.
Speaker B:End quote.
Speaker B:Humanoid robots delivering packages.
Speaker B:Ann, is this yet another sign that the apocalypse is near?
Speaker A:No, not yet.
Speaker A:Not yet, No.
Speaker A:I think that, why I think they, there's still so much experimentation to be done in the world of robots and robot delivery.
Speaker A:I mean, I think you also look at this as you're in a perfect environment.
Speaker A:You're in a San Francisco parking lot where the weather is pretty expected, we'll say, or that they, they can anticipate the conditions.
Speaker A:And robots work really well when they're in a controlled environment.
Speaker A:But unfortunately the real world, you know, apartments in the middle of urban cities like this, that's not a controlled environment.
Speaker A:Especially, I mean, even with the stuff going on in the country right now.
Speaker A:Like you do you see the Waymo taxis we're getting?
Speaker A:Like, you just, you don't know, like there's no like default button of like, we gotta get the heck out of here.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:So anyway, I think that yes, robots, drones, even like Walmart announced this week that they're testing drones in five more cities.
Speaker A:Like, I still think we're in heavy experimentation level of robotics and of drone delivery.
Speaker A:I think we're still several years out before we start actually seeing this kind of, of proliferate throughout the rest of the country.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Night night.
Speaker B:You think this is either like a PR sizzle or like a scary story designed or a headline designed to be kind of a scary, you know, I think clickbait story.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I think clickbait.
Speaker A:But I mean I do think we're get you, you have to figure this out, you have to trial and error this as much as you can before you get to the point where we can do this.
Speaker A:But I just think we're going to see robotics being used for so many other things that are in controlled environments before we start seeing them let loose on the streets of the United States.
Speaker B:Well, and it's not as a controlled environments too.
Speaker B:I mean that' part of it in terms of the testing, but it's also robots are best at doing the same thing over and over again.
Speaker B:So your point about drones is really good too, because that is the same thing over and over again.
Speaker B:And we're only seeing that.
Speaker B:We're not even seeing those quote unquote, get off the ground, for lack of a better way to put it.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, I'm with you.
Speaker B:I don't, I mean, I kind of, I kind of poo pooed the the, the arm, the arm wielding robot in the warehouse and said we're probably 10 to 20 years out from seeing that thing fully deployed.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm with you on this one.
Speaker B:The funny thing for me at is like, I can't even imagine the societal impacts of this if like I'm in, you know, a relative.
Speaker B:I just keep thinking of like the woman from like something about Mary, the old lady.
Speaker A:Magda.
Speaker B:Magda.
Speaker B:If she's sitting in her apartment and she sees like a Terminator robot coming down the hallway carrying a package.
Speaker B:Oh my God, imagine the freak out scale this would create.
Speaker A:Sort of.
Speaker A:I thought that, but then I.
Speaker A:We were at the Barcelona airport and they have autonomous wheelchairs that are driving people to gates and there is tons of elderly people sitting in those.
Speaker A:And I'm like, like, maybe they're okay with it.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:We didn't see like a bald robot.
Speaker A:That's true.
Speaker A:Oh, I, I was even thinking like the dinosaur like dog looking ones, like they'd be like those kinds of things.
Speaker B:I'd be like, okay, it's not like coming to get me.
Speaker A:Oh my God.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:Yeah, I didn't even think of the human and I actually robot, like.
Speaker B:The pictures are like humanoid, you know.
Speaker A:That's true, that's true.
Speaker A:That is not something that.
Speaker B:I don't think we're ready for that as a society.
Speaker B:No, I just, I don't.
Speaker B:There's a lot of generations that live in society.
Speaker B:But anyway, let's keep rol.
Speaker A:All right, let's go on to headline number five.
Speaker A:Chris Peloton is launching a resale market for used bikes and treadmills.
Speaker A:According to cnbc, Peloton has launched its own secondary marketplace called Repowered to get a slice of the burgeoning resale market for connected fitness equipment.
Speaker A:Beginning last Tuesday, people in select cities can now list their equipment and gear for sale and Repowered and set their own price.
Speaker A:With the help of a generative AI tool.
Speaker A:Sellers will get get 70% of the sale price and the rest will be shared between Peloton and the platform provider Archive.
Speaker A:Repowered is launching first in beta in New York City, Boston and Washington D.C.
Speaker A:with plans to go nationwide in the coming months, Peloton said.
Speaker A:Chris, this is also the A and M Put yout on the Spot question A and M wants to know, is skipping the heavy lifting worth the 30% selling fee or will Peloton fanatics stick to using other places for selling their products like Facebook Marketplace?
Speaker B:Interesting, interesting question.
Speaker B:I think, yeah, I think it's probably worth it.
Speaker B:I think there's a, there's a segment of the population where if they're in this, they're going to want the extra validity that doing it through the Peloton platform provides.
Speaker A:Like a certified pre owned situation, that kind of thing.
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker B:You know, especially when you think about, you know, who the average demographic is of the current Peloton holder.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:Or owner.
Speaker B:The thing I would say about this though, as much as I think as much as you, as I think when reading the headline.
Speaker B:I wanted to like this headline.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think I'm a little cautious on this.
Speaker B:Like I think I would, my thing would be I would go very slowly with this.
Speaker B:It's only in select cities right now as you mentioned and I think the dynamics of, you know, making this successful in places like Boston and New York City are very different than a nationwide rollout which they're already saying they're going to do.
Speaker B:So that worries me a lot.
Speaker B:Especially given Peloton's operational track record.
Speaker B:Record.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Because the dynamics of delivering those cities are very different than say Yuba City, California, shout out to my friends in Yuba City, which I do have.
Speaker B:So that, that's the one caveat here.
Speaker B:I'd say, I'd say good idea.
Speaker B:But I would go slower at this than you're, you're reporting to.
Speaker B:Especially when you're dropping things like AI into this headline too.
Speaker B:It makes me think you're trying to gin up some, some excitement about anyone.
Speaker A:Anyone who's used any resale platform realizes that whether you're reselling like you know, video games or clothing, like everybody, they, it automatically uses generative AI to give you a suggested price for your product.
Speaker B:An algorithm.
Speaker A:Yes, exactly.
Speaker A:So yes, that's for sure sizzle.
Speaker A:But I do think that there's some opportunity here.
Speaker B:Yeah, you're market than I am.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:Here's the, here's the problem that I have and you called it out brilliantly.
Speaker A:They should go slow and they need to figure out exactly how this is going to work.
Speaker A:As someone who's purchasing purchased a used after aftermarket peloton.
Speaker A:Is that what you call them?
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I purchased one on Facebook Marketplace.
Speaker A:I had to get it repaired and the.
Speaker A:It was a total disaster.
Speaker A:Total disaster.
Speaker A:Peloton essentially told me that they, that I should just, that I should pay $1,400 for a repair that I needed to have a fourteen hundred dollar repair kit.
Speaker A:And I said can I get a new bike for like $1,500 brand new.
Speaker A:And they said.
Speaker A:Said, oh, yes.
Speaker A:And the guy, the help, like, so it's stuff like that.
Speaker A:The help desk guy was like, oh, yeah, I guess we'll figure out how to do this.
Speaker A:And so I would just caution Peloton to make sure that you have all of these scenarios played out and figured out.
Speaker A:But I do think in the long term, if they can do that, there's definitely money to be made with extended warranty programs with things like delivery services and keeping your bike drivers and repair people employed more and having more for them to do if they can get more of this community to get on board.
Speaker B:But yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker B:I mean, as you're saying that those are hard businesses on which to make money, the delivery of heavy, heavy goods and services and.
Speaker B:And that type of repairs, hard to make money on that consistently.
Speaker B:And you got to figure that out.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So we're both kind of like, maybe, maybe not on this one.
Speaker A:I think I.
Speaker A:I think Peloton's track record isn't giving me a lot of confidence that this is going to be able to be.
Speaker A:That it's thought through enough that they're not going to move before they're ready to, just based on how we've seen that company act over the.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:All right, Chris, let's go to the lightning round.
Speaker A:All right, question number one.
Speaker A:In commemoration of the Tesco Club Card's 30th birthday, Tesco is launching a nightclub pop up for the 55% of Brits surveyed who feel nostalgic about the 90s and early aughts.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:What club from the 90s would you most want reincarnated?
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:That's easy, Anne.
Speaker A:And the.
Speaker A:The whole, like, head bobbing SNL skit is optional.
Speaker A:Yeah, the Chris Kattan, Will Ferrell.
Speaker B:I can't do it.
Speaker B:I can.
Speaker B:For me, it's easy.
Speaker B:It's Light at the Bellagio.
Speaker B:Ann.
Speaker B:Because I had many nights at the Bellagio, many good nights at Light in the Bellagio.
Speaker B:And that's actually where I met Mrs.
Speaker B:Omnitok.
Speaker B:Was on the dance floor, you know, rolled up to her, said, hey, how you doing?
Speaker B:All right, next one.
Speaker B:Last month, Uber said it will soon roll out new accounts for senior citizens with a larger typeface, fewer buttons, and easier to follow instructions.
Speaker B:Be honest.
Speaker B:And when you heard this story, how much did you want this feature for yourself?
Speaker A:I mean, I don't think I need all the features.
Speaker A:However, I will say I do like the photo Scavenger hunt that they give you from, like, some of the airports will, like, post pictures.
Speaker A:I think it was in Paris last year where they, like had the photos that guide you.
Speaker A:Like, look for this elevator, look for this street sign.
Speaker A:Like that help lead you that way.
Speaker A:I would definitely take that every single time.
Speaker A:So if that comes with the senior citizen Uber, sign me up.
Speaker B:Good to go.
Speaker A:All right, nice.
Speaker A:All right, Chris, Auntie Anne's is rolling out a brand new layout to appeal to Gen Z.
Speaker A:Coming to a mall near you.
Speaker A:I have to know, is there any mall treat that you can think of that is better than an Auntie Ann's pretzel?
Speaker B:Yeah, pretty much everything.
Speaker B:I hate Auntie Ann's pretzels.
Speaker B:Yeah, I do.
Speaker B:And this is hard because I actually have an Aunt Anne and.
Speaker B:And so shout out to her, too.
Speaker B:I'm doing lots of shout outs on this.
Speaker B:No, I hate them.
Speaker B:They don't have the right butter to salt to texture ratio.
Speaker B:No, I go.
Speaker B:I go full on Bavarian with my pretzels.
Speaker A:And have you tried the nuggets, too?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:Oh, those might be better for you.
Speaker A:They're not like, not.
Speaker A:Definitely not better for you.
Speaker A:They are not good for you.
Speaker B:But I'm pretzel particular and pretzel particular.
Speaker A:Oh, they're so.
Speaker B:No, I totally disagree with you.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:And we are in Amsterdam.
Speaker B:What Dutch food.
Speaker B:Food.
Speaker B:Are you most excited to try?
Speaker A:Cheese.
Speaker A:Always cheese.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I didn't know.
Speaker A:I love their cheese.
Speaker B:Do you love their Gouda?
Speaker A:The Gouda is unreal.
Speaker A:Like, so good.
Speaker A:So good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:What are you.
Speaker B:I've been told to try the.
Speaker B:I think it's the bitter ball or something like that.
Speaker B:It's like a ball.
Speaker B:It's like a.
Speaker B:It's like a hush puppy, but of meat, I think.
Speaker B:So I gotta try that.
Speaker B:Okay, I probably didn't say that right.
Speaker B:Sorry, Elvira and Rachel.
Speaker B:But you know, I'm trying my best, but yeah, that's what I'm going to try.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And the fries.
Speaker B:The fries are amazing.
Speaker A:Oh, the French fries.
Speaker A:Yes, of course.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:Happy birthday today to Peter Dinklage.
Speaker A:Oh, my God, who's your Dinklage?
Speaker B:And you're going to like the next one, too.
Speaker B:And Joshua Jackson.
Speaker A:Oh, God, yeah.
Speaker B:Percy Mighty Ducks.
Speaker B:And to the woman I would have loved to be her swamp thing, Adrienne Barbeau.
Speaker B:And remember, if you can only read or listen to one retail blog, you have no idea who that is, do you?
Speaker B:Nope.
Speaker B:If you could only later listen to one retail blog for business.
Speaker B:Make it Omnitok, the 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 take a lot of pride in doing just for you.
Speaker B:Thanks as always for listening in.
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Speaker B:You can follow us today by simply going to YouTube.com omnietalkretail yes, check it out because all of our coverage from the Consumer Goods Forum will be available as soon as it goes live.
Speaker B:All right, so until next week, and on behalf of all of us at Omnitalk, as always, be careful out there.
