Stay ConnectedOmni Talk Retail provides news, analysis, and commentary on the latest trends and issues in the retail industry. Created by a retailer, Chris Walton, for retailers, Omni Talk Retail covers a wide range of topics related to retail, including e-commerce, technology, marketing, and consumer behavior.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn – https://podcorn.com/privacy
Copyright: © All rights reserved
In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from FMI 2026 in San Diego at the Simbe booth, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Russell Zwanka, Director of the Food Marketing Program at Western Michigan University.
Russell shares insights from decades in grocery retail and merchandising, paired with his current role shaping the next generation of industry leaders. The conversation explores how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are entering the workforce, what retailers often misunderstand about younger talent, and why flexibility, culture, and in-person learning still matter.
The discussion also dives into AI, agentic commerce, GLP-1 adoption, and how grocery store formats are beginning to diverge. Russell explains why shelf intelligence, human judgment, and operational understanding remain critical, even as automation and AI accelerate across the industry.
Key Topics Covered
Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from FMI 2026, recorded live from the Simbe booth in the FMI Tech section.
#FMI2026 #GroceryRetail #FoodMarketing #RetailEducation #AIinRetail #GLP1 #FutureOfGrocery #OmniTalk
In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from FMI 2026 at the Simbe booth, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga speak with Brad Bogolea, Co-founder and CEO of Simbe, about how shelf intelligence is reshaping store execution and why real-time visibility inside the store is becoming essential for retailers.
Brad shares the thinking behind Simbe’s newly announced Tally 4.0, the company’s fourth-generation autonomous inventory robot, and how advancements in battery life, edge compute, and optical sensing are unlocking more frequent store coverage and faster time to value. He explains how real-time shelf data is evolving into predictive intelligence that supports merchandising, replenishment, and forecasting decisions across the retail enterprise.
The conversation also explores why shelf intelligence is foundational in an increasingly agentic and AI-driven retail environment, how retailers across geographies are prioritizing physical store data, and what Simbe’s first decade has revealed about building long-term retailer partnerships and scaling innovation in grocery and beyond.
Key Topics Covered
Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from FMI 2026, recorded live from the Simbe booth, #118, in the FMI Tech section.
#FMI2026 #Simbe #ShelfIntelligence #RetailAutomation #StoreExecution #RetailTechnology #AIinRetail #GroceryRetail #OmniTalk
In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from FMI 2026 at the Simbe booth, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga speak with Karen Fang Grant, Managing Director and Global Research Lead at Accenture, about how technology, health trends, and AI are reshaping the future of grocery retail.
Karen shares how forces like GLP 1 adoption, evolving definitions of health and wellness, and changing consumer expectations are influencing assortment, operations, and enterprise decision making across grocery. The conversation explores why AI is moving from experimentation to execution, how agentic AI and automation are beginning to drive real operational impact, and what retailers must do to scale these technologies responsibly.
Karen also discusses why organizational readiness, strong data foundations, and cross functional collaboration matter more than any single technology investment, and what separates retailers successfully deploying AI from those still stuck in pilot mode.
Key Topics Covered
Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from FMI 2026, recorded live from the Simbe booth in the FMI Tech section.
#FMI2026 #Accenture #GroceryRetail #RetailTechnology #ArtificialIntelligence #HealthAndWellness #RetailLeadership #DigitalTransformation #OmniTalk
In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from FMI 2026 at the Simbe booth, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga speak with Julian Mintz, VP of Sales at Albertsons Media Collective, about how retail media is evolving and what brands are looking for next.
Julian shares how Albertsons Media Collective is leveraging national scale, local banner strength, and true omnichannel reach to help brands connect with shoppers from the couch all the way to checkout. The conversation explores why in store media is moving into the spotlight, how measurement and closed loop attribution are shaping brand confidence, and what it takes to align media, merchandising, and promotion into a single strategy.
Julian also discusses how Albertsons works with CPG partners to break down silos between traditional media, shopper marketing, and retail media, and why education and internal collaboration are critical to driving unit sales and long term growth.
Key Topics Covered
Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from FMI 2026, recorded live from the Simbe booth in the FMI Tech section.
#FMI2026 #AlbertsonsMediaCollective #RetailMedia #InStoreMedia #GroceryRetail #RetailTechnology #Omnichannel #RetailLeadership #OmniTalk
In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from FMI 2026 at the Simbe booth, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Brian Monahan, SVP of Albertsons Media Collective, to discuss how retail media is evolving and why in store media is emerging as the next major growth frontier.
Brian shares his background across Walmart, Pinterest, Dentsu, and now Albertsons, and explains why retail media is far from a bubble. The conversation explores how first party data, authenticated shoppers, and trip based insights are reshaping how brands measure performance and drive growth across grocery retail.
The discussion also dives into Albertsons Media Collective approach to collective growth, the competitive realities of operating as a challenger retail media network, and why local banner equity creates differentiated value for brand partners. Brian outlines why in store media represents the third leg of the retail media stool and how connecting the shopper journey from couch to checkout will define the next phase of retail media innovation heading into 2026.
Key Topics Covered
Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from FMI 2026, and be sure to visit the Simbe booth, #118, in the FMI Tech section.
#FMI2026 #Albertsons #RetailMedia #InStoreMedia #GroceryRetail #RetailTechnology #RetailLeadership #OmniTalk
In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from FMI 2026 at the Simbe booth, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Tim Horton, Vice President of Center Store at Schnucks, to discuss how center store strategy is evolving as consumer health trends, technology, and store execution continue to collide.
Tim shares his personal journey growing up in the grocery business and why center store remains a critical frontier for physical retail. The conversation explores how trends like GLP 1 adoption, higher protein demand, and changing definitions of health and wellness are reshaping assortment decisions, space allocation, and the in store experience.
The discussion also dives into Schnucks approach to store technology, including electronic shelf labels and robotic scanning, and how these tools are being used to improve execution, compliance, and customer facing service without removing labor from stores. Tim outlines how data, digital engagement, and shelf level personalization will play a growing role as Schnucks looks ahead to 2026.
Key Topics Covered
Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from FMI 2026, and be sure to visit the Simbe booth, #118, in the FMI Tech section.
#FMI2026 #Schnucks #CenterStore #GroceryRetail #RetailTechnology #HealthAndWellness #StoreExecution #RetailLeadership #OmniTalk
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:
There's all that, plus graduation speech confessions, Magic Mike on Broadway, and whether Victoria Beckham should've hijacked her son's first dance.
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 #ChatGPTAds #WalmartHome #RetailTech #FanaticsStudio #RetailPodcast #OmniTalk #SimbeTally #RetailInnovation #KrogerUber
In this episode of Confessions of Supply Chain Executives, host Chris Walton sits down with Kim Baudry, Market Development Director at Dematic, to unpack why 2025 wasn’t a year of transformation for retail. It was a year of survival.
Despite continued investment in automation and analytics, many retailers are more cautious than ever. Inventory levels are rising. Capital spending is slowing. And behind the scenes, fear, not strategy, is driving decisions. Kim calls 2025 a “vanilla” year. Stable on the surface, but defined by hesitation, uncertainty, and defensive plays.
This episode breaks down where retail supply chains are stalling, why flexibility has replaced scale as the priority, and how labor inefficiencies and planning blind spots are quietly draining performance across warehouses and distribution networks.
Key Topics covered:
• Why 2025 became a “vanilla” year for retail investment
• How fear and geopolitical uncertainty are driving excess inventory
• Why just in time has quietly become just in case
• The hidden cost of warehouse labor tied up in spreadsheets and planning
• Why big bang automation is stalling and what is getting funded
• The rise of flexible, brownfield friendly automation strategies
• Robots as a Service and SaaS as lower risk entry points
• Why AI and agentic decisioning may impact warehouses faster than any other function
• What retailers must do to move from survival mode to strategic progress
🎧 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more brutally honest conversations about retail, supply chain, and the technology reshaping how work actually gets done.
Music by hooksounds.com
#ConfessionsOfASupplyChainExecutive #SupplyChain #RetailSupplyChain #Retail2025 #SupplyChainStrategy #WarehouseOperations #InventoryManagement #WarehouseAutomation #AIInSupplyChain #RetailTechnology #LogisticsInnovation #Dematic #SupplyChainPodcast
*Sponsored Content*
In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Amy Vener, Global Retail & Consumer Goods Marketing Director for Commercial Cloud & AI at Microsoft, joins Omni Talk to unpack the main takeaways from NRF and where retailers should focus next as agentic commerce moves from theory to execution.
Drawing on her experience across Walmart, Pinterest, and Microsoft, Amy shares how retailers are shifting away from AI hype and toward real, measurable outcomes. From conversational shopping agents and merchandising insights to connected stores and cultural readiness, this episode breaks down how retailers can drive real return on intelligence in 2026 and beyond.
If you’re trying to figure out where AI fits into your merchandising, marketing, store operations, or supply chain strategy (and how to start without boiling the ocean), this conversation is for you.
Key Topics covered:
• 00:03:08 – Why “what problem are you trying to solve?” still matters more than the tech
• 00:07:34 – Agentic commerce use cases across marketing, merchandising, and operations
• 00:15:50 – How conversational data is influencing assortment and product development
• 00:10:01 – The role of connected stores and digital twins in retail decision-making
• 00:09:09 / 00:19:58 – Lessons from brands like Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, and Coca-Cola
• 00:23:07 – Why culture and team readiness are critical to AI adoption
• 00:25:42 – How retailers should engage Microsoft to drive faster business impact
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
#retailtech #retailAI #agenticcommerce #connectedstore #Microsoft #NRF #retailinnovation #omnitalk #retailpodcast #digitaltransformation
Sponsored Content
This Lightning Round segment of the OmniTalk Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, Quorso, and Veloq, closes out the show with rapid-fire takes on grocery trends, pop culture, and the lighter side of retail.
From banana water and dirty sodas to drone birthday deliveries and Golden Globes hot takes, Chris, and Anne, keep things fast, fun, and unpredictable.
⏩ Tune in for the full episode here.
#LightningRound #RetailCulture #OmniTalk #NRF2026
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
