Omni Talk Retail: "AI Commerce Surges, Amazon Sues Perplexity & We Are Over And Out On Target 10-4" – Fast Five

Episode Date: November 12, 2025
Hosts: Anne Mezzenga (A), Chris Walton (B)
Guests: Waqas Khan (D), Kelly Carey (C), both from A&M Consumer & Retail Group

Episode Overview

This episode explores seismic changes in retail, with a deep dive into the rapid rise of AI-driven commerce, Amazon’s lawsuit against Perplexity, new marketing moves like the Bath & Body Works scent campaign, and Target’s much-discussed new associate-customer engagement policy. Industry experts Waqas Khan and Kelly Carey of A&M CRG join to offer analysis and strategic recommendations, while producer Ella reveals the winning headline of the week from a Gen Z perspective.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Generative AI Commerce Surges in October

(09:02–15:52)

• Headline: In October, US shoppers spent $88.7B online (8.2% YoY growth). Notably, traffic from generative AI sources now converts 16% better than non-AI traffic, a massive swing from three months prior (when AI converted 9% worse).
• Mobile Shopping: Accounted for 51.4% of spend, up 11.6% YoY.
• Generative AI Impact:
  • AI-driven traffic is up 1200% YoY.
  • AI shoppers are 13.6% more engaged, spend 44% longer, and bounce 31% less.
• Kelly (12:08):

  "This is, if anything, the sign that executives are waiting for to start planning for an agentic omnichannel experience, if they haven't already."

• Waqas (12:43):

  "It's like the old Google times, right, where you get one answer and it's so spot on that you don't want to go anywhere else."

• Anne: The role of vendors like Constructor in maintaining seamless AI-led shopping experiences.
• Chris (15:52):

  "If you step back every 30 years, there's a big innovation in retail. AI is that innovation."

2. Amazon Sues Perplexity Over Agentic Shopping Tool

(17:40–24:55)

• Headline: Amazon accuses Perplexity’s Comet AI agent of unauthorized automated shopping and harming Amazon's curated customer experience.
• Waqas (17:40):

  "This is just the first salvo in a long series of legal and otherwise challenges... The engagement model of the consumer is changing."

• Platform Protocols: Multiple standards are proliferating rapidly: OpenAI, Google, Visa, MasterCard, etc., making integration messy for retailers.
• Chris (21:18):

  "The advertisers are gonna want to go where they're converting the highest... this is the battle for 'first product search.'"

• Kelly (22:49):

  "If [Amazon] end up winning this fight, it's going to push back the progress they're making on search and slow down that innovation engine, which has been their bread and butter."

• Consensus: Lawsuit seen as a defensive, likely temporary move; true solution lies in strategic adaptation and partnership.

3. Bath & Body Works' Immersive Scented Holiday Campaign

(27:32–32:06)

• Initiative: Scenting public spaces (Grand Central Station, movie theaters, malls) with signature holiday scents.
• Kelly’s Take (27:53):

  "This is my favorite marketing campaign of the year so far... Using that actual product, the scent that people are going to buy, in a marketing campaign in high traffic locations at the right time, is an awesome idea."

• Concerns:
  • Anne (30:05): Questions opt-in vs. ambient experience, especially in movie theaters.
  • Kelly (30:05):

    "Movie theater is maybe a little bit more of an odd choice... but in places like Grand Central, I don't have a big issue with it."

• Chris (31:01):

  "From a marketing standpoint ... it's getting us talking about it, it's getting people talking about it."

4. Target's Controversial '10-4' In-Store Service Policy

(32:06–39:54)

• Policy: Staff within 10ft of a guest must engage with 'friendly and welcoming body language'; at 4ft, must greet and assist.
• Kelly (32:56):

  "I'm firmly over and out on this... it feels very forced and performative... it's not the model that [Target has] been so successful with."

• Anne (34:08):

  "I think I'm more 10-4 good buddy on it because... they need explicit direction on what to do in a store."

• Chris (36:42):

  "It was expected that we'd ask, 'Can I help you find something?' There was no ambiguity, no rules about footage, just the expectation that was culturally accepted."

• Waqas (38:28):

  "The specificity of instructions... but this foot measurement almost gives people a pass to not get within 10ft... it just feels a little awkward."

5. Dollar General Hires SVP of Artificial Intelligence

(40:38–46:20)

• Move: Travis Nixon (formerly Dropbox, Meta, Microsoft) named SVP of AI, responsible for business process optimization.
• Waqas (40:38): Warns against standalone Chief AI Officer positions, likening it to the now-rare Chief Digital Officer roles:

  "These individuals are dependent on other executives... I don't see this lasting for more than five years."

• Chris (43:39):

  "They're making him an SVP, not giving him the Chief Officer title... that's the right approach."

• Kelly (44:56):

  "What's going to be important is every functional area of the business needs to figure out how they can apply AI to their own space."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI Commerce:
  Kelly (10:26): "Digital shopping can be so overwhelming... to be able to just type in, 'Here's exactly what I'm looking for,' and have ChatGPT send you three links... it's so easy."
• On Amazon's Lawsuit:
  Waqas (17:40): "New technologies... push the limits. The engagement model of the consumer is changing."
• On Target Policy:
  Chris (36:42): "Why can't you just go back to the practice that you had to begin with? Why is that gone and why do you have to do this?"
• On Chief AI Roles:
  Waqas (40:38): "The lifespan of a CDO was less than two years... I don't want to say AI will go through the same cycle, but I think we have to be careful. AI will become part of the business. It has to be in the business."
• On Bath & Body Works in Grand Central:
  Kelly (27:53): "Using that actual product, the scent that people are going to buy, in a marketing campaign... is an awesome idea."
• Fun Lightning Round, on personal spending:
  Waqas (50:13): "My dishwasher broke yesterday."
  Anne: "Neo. You're buying Neo?"
  Waqas: "There you go. $20,000 down the drain."

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [09:02] – Generative AI Commerce Surges: US e-commerce, AI conversion stats, mobile vs. desktop
• [17:40] – Amazon Sues Perplexity: The legal and technical battleground for “first product search”
• [27:32] – Bath & Body Works: Scent marketing campaign deep dive
• [32:06] – Target “10-4” Policy: Hosts and guests debate customer service scripting
• [40:38] – Dollar General’s New AI Lead: The rise (and likely fall) of standalone AI leadership roles
• [48:29] – Lightning Round: Retailer info for discounts, Andy Garcia movies, holiday spending, Italian pasta favorite types

Producer’s Pick: Headline of the Week

Ella (52:28):

"Kelly, your insights on Bath & Body almost convinced me to switch my answer, but I have to stick with the Adobe data and the Adobe insights. It was just really, really fascinating. ChatGPT has been like my best friend. We've been through so much together, but I feel like I owe it to Chat and AI to say that they won this week."

Summary Takeaways

• AI as Retail’s New Inflection Point: Rapidly rising engagement and conversion prove agentic experiences are remaking the purchase journey—there’s no going back.
• Big Tech Turf Wars: Lawsuits like Amazon vs. Perplexity are early signals of a coming battle for where, how, and with whose tech commerce happens.
• Scent as Experience: Bath & Body Works’ campaign is lauded as both bold and well-timed, leveraging sensory marketing in new venues.
• Service Culture vs. Script: Target’s new engagement rules draw skepticism: forced “friendliness” may clash with brand and customer expectations.
• AI Leadership Integration: The need is for embedded, not isolated, AI roles—success will come from integrating AI competency into every facet of the business.

Tone: Collegial, candid, with a healthy layer of skepticism and humor throughout, featuring practical advice for retail executives and plenty of in-the-weeds technical and cultural analysis.

For those who missed it, this episode offers a vital, real-time cross-section of where AI, tech, and innovative marketing are pushing retail next—and the cultural bumps in the road ahead.