Target's Woes, Lowe's Marketplace & Why Sam's Club Pizza Delivery Will Change Our Lives | Fast Five

Summary

Omni Talk Retail Podcast Summary
Episode: Target's Woes, Lowe's Marketplace & Why Sam's Club Pizza Delivery Will Change Our Lives | Fast Five
Release Date: May 28, 2025
Hosts: Ann Mazinga & Chris Walton
Featured Guest: David Schneidman, A&M Consumer and Retail Group

---

Introduction

In this episode of Omni Talk Retail, hosts Ann Mazinga and Chris Walton delve into the latest developments shaping the retail landscape. From Target's strategic shifts to Sam's Club's innovative pizza delivery service, the discussion is rich with insights and expert opinions. Additionally, guest David Schneidman shares key findings from A&M's recent consumer sentiment survey, providing valuable perspectives on current market trends.

---

1. Target's Acceleration Initiative

Timestamp: [05:26]

Overview:
Target is launching an Enterprise Acceleration Office aimed at mitigating performance issues following consecutive quarters of declining net sales. This initiative is intended to streamline decision-making and foster growth.

Key Points:

• Performance Declines: Target reported a 2.8% decline in net comparable store sales ([05:26]).
• Leadership Change: COO Michael Fidelke will oversee the new acceleration office ([05:26]).
• Host Commentary:
  • David Schneidman criticizes the move, stating, "The acceleration office is charged to do is basically the main job of the CEO... [06:33]"
  • Schneidman further asserts that CEO Brian Cornell may be the "worst CEO in Target's history" due to the lack of a growth strategy ([08:24]).
  • Chris Walton echoes the sentiment, highlighting Target's strong brand equity and the negative comparisons to Kmart ([08:24]).

Notable Quote:
"The acceleration office will also no doubt be the first thing the new CEO cuts whenever he or she comes in. Because it's just plain stupid." — David Schneidman ([06:36])

---

2. Sam's Club Pizza Delivery

Timestamp: [10:04]

Overview:
Sam's Club is revolutionizing its service by introducing the Members Mark Hot Baked Pizza delivery, priced at an enticing $8.98.

Key Points:

• Availability: Available nationwide with all locations live by month-end ([11:29]).
• Customization: Customers can choose from toppings like pepperoni, cheese, and a four-meat option ([11:58]).
• Delivery Efficiency: Eligible for express delivery within three hours ([12:24]).
• Host Reactions:
  • David Schneidman praises the initiative as "marketing genius" and anticipates high membership interest ([13:39]).
  • Chris Walton discusses the potential for increased delivery volume and competitive edge over Costco ([15:22]).

Notable Quote:
"Pizza for under $10 delivered right to your door make you want to run out and get a Sam's Club membership?" — David Schneidman ([12:24])

---

3. Lowe's Partnership with Miracle

Timestamp: [16:19]

Overview:
Lowe's is partnering with Miracle to expand its online marketplace, enhancing its e-commerce capabilities and offering a broader range of products to consumers.

Key Points:

• Marketplace Expansion: Lowe's includes categories like furniture, kitchen, tools, and more ([17:39]).
• Customer Benefits: Members of Milo's Rewards earn points on Marketplace purchases, with easy returns at any of Lowe's 1,700+ stores ([17:39]).
• Host Insights:
  • David Schneidman highlights the strategic use of loyalty programs to differentiate Lowe's marketplace ([17:39]).
  • Chris Walton appreciates the extended product assortment and increased affordability for customers ([18:48]).
  • Discussion on competing against Amazon by leveraging Lowe's loyalty and in-store experiences ([20:13]).

Notable Quote:
"Consumers are increasingly embracing private label... private label is definitely here." — David Schneidman ([23:54])

---

4. Google's Agentic AI Checkout

Timestamp: [27:00]

Overview:
Google is enhancing its shopping experience with the rollout of Agentic AI Checkout, integrating its Gemini Generative AI Chatbot with real-time product data.

Key Points:

• Functionality: Allows conversational product searches, image-based interactions, and budget-aligned purchasing ([28:41]).
• User Experience: AI assists in selecting products, tracking prices, and completing secure checkouts via Google Pay ([28:41]).
• Host Discussion:
  • Chris Walton tested the feature and admired the AI-generated images, while noting potential challenges with product fit and personalization ([29:21]).
  • David Schneidman raises concerns about Google's extensive data collection and its implications for consumer privacy and shopping behavior ([31:54]).

Notable Quote:
"Google probably knows more about you than you know about yourself." — David Schneidman ([32:17])

---

5. Nike's Return to Amazon

Timestamp: [34:44]

Overview:
After a six-year hiatus, Nike is set to resume selling its products directly on Amazon, marking a significant shift in its digital commerce strategy.

Key Points:

• Expansion Plans: Nike will include a broader range of products and partner with platforms like Printom to enhance retail experiences ([35:24]).
• Host Reactions:
  • David Schneidman expresses strong disapproval, arguing that selling on Amazon undermines Nike's brand equity and direct consumer relationships ([36:08]).
  • Chris Walton concurs, emphasizing the risk of Nike's products becoming commoditized and concerns over counterfeit items ([37:53]).

Notable Quote:
"Nike going on Amazon is no longer special to me." — David Schneidman ([39:17])

---

6. Consumer Sentiment Survey by A&M

Timestamp: [20:13]

Overview:
David Schneidman presents findings from A&M's latest consumer sentiment survey, revealing shifts in spending and saving behaviors as consumers navigate economic uncertainties.

Key Points:

• Spending Trends: Approximately 10% of consumers plan to spend less, while 30% intend to save more ([21:18]).
• Discretionary Cuts: Significant reductions in discretionary spending, particularly in dining out and luxury goods ([21:18]).
• Private Label Growth: A surge in private label purchases, driven primarily by price considerations ([23:54]).
• Advice for Retailers: Emphasizes the importance of loyalty programs and technological integration to retain customers ([25:04]).

Notable Quote:
"Consumers are being mindful of the unknown right now." — David Schneidman ([22:28])

---

7. Lightning Round Highlights

Timestamp: [27:00]

Overview:
The episode wraps up with a fun lightning round, featuring travel hacks and light-hearted discussions.

Key Points:

• Travel Hacks: Hosts share practical tips, such as bringing pillowcases for personal comfort and packing essentials to avoid extra fees ([43:50], [44:30]).
• Entertainment Bits: Brief mentions of movies, nostalgic pizza memories, and sports predictions add a personal touch to the episode ([41:59]-[45:52]).

Notable Quote:
"I think that to me this causes alarm also I wonder if this opens up Nike to more fraudulent product too." — David Schneidman ([39:48])

---

Conclusion

This episode of Omni Talk Retail offers a comprehensive look into pivotal changes within major retail players and broader consumer behavior trends. From strategic partnerships and technological innovations to shifts in consumer spending, hosts and experts provide valuable insights essential for retailers navigating the evolving marketplace.

For those interested in staying ahead in the retail industry, subscribing to Omni Talk Retail and tuning into future episodes is highly recommended.

---

For more detailed insights and exclusive content, visit Omni Talk Retail on YouTube.

Transcript

[Ann Mazinga]

The Omnich Fast 5 is brought to you by the A and M Consumer and Retail Group. The A and M Consumer and Retail Group is a management consulting firm that tackles the most complex challenges and advances its clients, people and communities toward their maximum potential. CRG brings the experience, tools and operator like pragmatism to help retailers and consumer products companies be on the right side of disruption and Miracle, the catalyst of Commerce. Over 450 retailers are now opening new revenue streams with marketplaces, dropship and retail media and succeed. Leading with Miracle, you can unlock more products, more partners and more profits without the heavy lifting.

[Chris Walton]

What's holding you back?

[Ann Mazinga]

Visit Miracle.com to learn more. That's M I R A K L.com and Simbi Simbi powers the most retail banners in the world with today's only multimodal platform for in store intelligence. See how Albertsons, BJ's Spartan Nash and Wakefern win with AI and automation at circumstances. Simbrobotics.com and Infios. @ Infios, they unite warehousing, transportation and order management into a seamless, adaptable network. Infios helps you stay ahead from promise to delivery and every step in between. To learn more, visit infios.com and Clear Demand pricing shouldn't be guesswork Clear Demand's AI powered pricing data and optimization solutions help retailers stay competitive while protecting margins, Smarter pricing, stronger profits. Clean Clear Demand makes it happen. Learn [e-mail] omnitalk and finally, Ocampo Capital. 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. Learn more@ocampo capital.com hello, you are listening.

[Chris Walton]

To Omnitalk's Retail Fast Five ranked in the top 10% of all podcasts globally and currently the only podcast ranked in the top 100 of all business podcasts on Apple Podcasts. 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. And the Fast 5 is just one of the many great podcasts you can find from the Omni Talk 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. Today is May 28, 2025. I'm one of your hosts in Mazinga.

[David Schneidman]

And I'm Chris Walton and we are.

[Chris Walton]

Here once again to discuss all the top headlines from the past week making Waves in the world of omnichannel Retail. Retailing, Chris.

[David Schneidman]

Retailing.

[Chris Walton]

Retailing. That's what we do here. We are heading out to Shop Talk Europe on Friday and then we're going to the Consumer Goods Forum the next week. This is the Omni Talk European tour. So if you guys aren't already, make sure you're subscribed to omni Talk on YouTube, on LinkedIn, so you can get all the latest interviews and news from both of those shows. Chris, who are you interviewing on stage next week at Shop Talk Europe? Remind me.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah, I'm pretty excited. I'm interviewing executives from Tandem, Leroy Merlin, which actually some of my initial conversations around that will probably play into today's headlines, as well as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Ahold Delez. And I'm, I'm pretty excited about it. And we're going to be talking about one of my favorite topics and I know it's one of your favorite topics too, potentially even more so than mine, which is empowering store associates through technology. So, yeah, I'm excited about it. It's Monday afternoon, getting ready for the show. Love Barcelona. Love Amsterdam too. So it's going to be a fun couple weeks. But what do you got on the docket? You gotta, I feel like you're kick, you're almost like kicking off the show on the keynote stage, if I'm not mistaken.

[Chris Walton]

We are. Yeah, we're. I'm also gonna be talking to Tandem, which is a brand that if you don't know about, for our US Listeners, I was pretty impressed by, I mean, Chris, I, I was not familiar with them before, before we went into this Shop Talk Europe prep. But I'll be interviewing their CEO Jama on stage, just talking about how they are, you know, how the brand is continuing to expand hopefully into the US soon. But they're like the number two retailer based out of Spain after Zara's into tech. So big, big conversation. And then I'm also interviewing the head of Global E Commerce for l' Oreal, which will also be a fun conversation. So nice getting them all out of the way on Monday. So Monday will be an action packed day.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah, it's, it's funny talking to those guys too, because it sounds like there's like a, there's a heated battle between the 1, 2 and 3 positioning between tandem and Inditex too, as you talk about it. So, yeah, so it'll be good for, for you and, and for all of our fans to tune in all next week. So. All right, well, should we do this week's show an we don't have any guest hosts today. We haven't had.

[Chris Walton]

No. Just us.

[David Schneidman]

Just us. Just us. Sorry, folks. Sorry. Avitox fans. You just get anime today. All right. In this week's Fast5, we've got news on Sam's Club delivering pizza, Lowe's new third party marketplace, Google rolling out Agentic AI checkout Nike's plans to resume selling on Amazon. And A&M's David Schneidman does stop by to share five insightful minutes on A&M's latest consumer sentiment survey that they've completed heading into the summer. But we begin today with rather strange news coming out of our former employer.

[Chris Walton]

Anne that's right, Chris. Headline number one, Target is betting on a new acceleration initiative to turn around its performance. According to retail dive. Target announced the establishment of an enterprise acceleration office, which is, quote, aimed at removing friction and enabling the team to make faster decisions in support of our growth and end quote, said Target COO Michael Fidelke, who will also reportedly oversee the initiative. The news comes after Target kicked off its fiscal 2025 with a decline in net incomp store sales, which were down 2.8 and 3.8% respectively, and in which the retailer also saw a drop in traffic and average ticket size, making it Target's third consecutive quarter of negative net sales. Not comp sales, but net sales results. Chris, are you buying or selling Target's new enterprise acceleration office as the key to this turnaround?

[David Schneidman]

Let me say this and pump the brakes. That's, that's the expression I'm saying on the acceleration office. Pump the brakes and I'm going to get out of the gate quickly on this, on this headline today.

[Chris Walton]

No one's surprised. No one's surprised.

[David Schneidman]

No one is surprised. But I'm going to get pretty pointed, too. I mean, the number one thing I would say, or the question I would ask is how feckless can the CEO, Brian Cornell, and more important, the board, actually be with this announcement? The last time I checked, what the acceleration office is, the acceleration office is charged to do is basically the main job of the CEO. Now, I've railed on this show for the past two years about how what happened last week was coming, you know, talked about it very regularly, honestly. And it's because Cornell never had a growth strategy. Never. He's never had one in place. And now, you know, everything's coming home to roost. And so the board, the other part about this is the board is just sitting there almost like they've been caught off guard to this whole thing when, yeah, lots of us have been talking about it. And now they sign off on an acceleration office when the culture is dying on the vine from everyone we talk to and Cornell is just sitting there like a lame duck. The quote unquote, acceleration office will also no doubt be the first thing the new CEO cuts whenever he or she comes in. Because it's just plain stupid. I mean, there's no other way to put it. And so I'm going to say it out loud. I'm going to say it out loud. I've said it. I don't think I've said it on this show, but I've said it in private circles. But I'm going to say it out loud today. I think Brian Cornell is going to go down as the worst CEO in Target's history. And he should. Because when numerous articles and news outlets and social media are making comments comparing Target to Kmart, it's just gotten that bad. And in my opinion, and like I said last month, it's only going to get worse until the board gets rid of him and brings in someone that can bring back what Target's all about and re enliven it's expect more, pay less promise. Because when Target is running well, that is what it's known for.

[Chris Walton]

Yeah, it's just really sad. I mean, Target being compared to Kmart makes my. That just. It's. I don't know, it makes me feel awful. Like that's not where Target should be. It's really. It. It is a brand that hold or held a lot of equity in people's hearts and minds. And I. Yeah, it's just. I. Again, I cannot say it enough. I just feel for every one of our friends and family members who are at Target right now and who are trying to navigate these waters, I. I think the only thing I would. I would add into the rant, Chris, would be I don't. I don't hate the concept of an acceleration office, but it feels like something that should have been done during the pandemic several years ago when Target was riding high during that time to figure out how to continue that momentum. Right now, it just feels like it's too little too late. And I feel like that's the sentiment that I keep hearing from friends who are still at Target is like Cornell's email that went out about the DEI initiatives. Too little too late. Like the. This acceleration office. Too little too late. You're. You're 100% right that this just should be the role acceleration should be part of the CEO's role. And I will just end by saying one of the funniest things I heard to turn this around is that Target insiders are calling the acceleration office Target Doge. Target doge, which I thought was, like, not improving morale by any means inside, but. But it was. It gives you a sense of how those internal employees are feeling, and it's past time for someone new to take the helm and just clean house over there.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah. And you know what's funny? And I didn't think about this until you just said it. We were part of the previous, quote, unquote, acceleration office when we were part of the innovation portfolio, which Brian Cornell and the board abruptly shut down and said, we are not going to focus on innovation. We're going to stay core to what Target is. Which in reality is antithetical to how Target originated. Target was a standalone concept created by the Dayton Hudson Corporation as an innovative idea. And so Cornell shut all those things down, and now he and the board are trying to bring this idea back. You're 100% right. This is an. These are ideas that could work as long as they were interwoven in the DNA and they were thought about and done consistently year over year over year, and money and capital was devoted to them.

[Chris Walton]

Yep. All right, let's talk about something more fun.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah. I deliberately put this headline number two in the order with where we would be. Yeah.

[Guest Speaker]

But you know, the other thing I.

[David Schneidman]

Want to say too is, you know, for those fans that, you know, those fans out there are listeners, are always like, yeah, you know, your head on targets. It's because I care. You know, like, I wanted to have people see what was coming ahead of time, you know, so you wouldn't find themselves in this situation. But anyway, headline number two, Sam's club's member, Mark Hot baked pizza is now deliverable and hot fresh and just believe it or not, fans. $8.98. Holy cow. That is such a hot price.

[Chris Walton]

Steel of a deal. Steal of a deal.

[David Schneidman]

Oh, my God.

[Ann Mazinga]

Yeah.

[David Schneidman]

According to a Walmart press release, members mark. Members mark. Hot baked pizza, one of the hardest things to say, is officially available through delivery in the majority of Sam's clubs nationwide and will be live in all clubs by the end of the month. Members can enjoy their favorite toppings. Pepperoni, cheese, and my potential go to four meat. Curious what those four meats are, and I was trying to figure that out without.

[Chris Walton]

Do you want to really know what the four meats are?

[David Schneidman]

Oh, yeah, I totally do, but that's what I'm going for. Hot, fresh, and straight to the door. I know that's not your pick because it's got ham in it. And if you need it fast. Members Mark hot baked pizza is also eligible for express delivery, arriving in less than three hours from the time you place your order. And does pizza for under $10 delivered right to your door make you want to run out and get a Sam's Club membership?

[Chris Walton]

Yeah, I think it does. I mean, I think. I think they're going to get so many people who weren't Sam's Club members already who hear about this deal and realize, like, those pizzas are excellent. Like, they're big, they feed a lot of people, and for the price, you can't. You just can't beat it. Not to mention, I think the gates that this opens for Sam's Club for delivery of other products because it's not just pizza. You can also order salads and other items from the Sam's Cafe. You could order this in conjunction with your larger bulk item delivery. Like, I think that this, this could even be like the impulse item that you add on to the end of, like, okay, I'm going to order my weekly, like, supplies from Sam's Club, and then it's coming on a Friday. I'm going to have them deliver a pizza with that as well. Like, this, I think, is so smart from Sam's Club. It shows that they're really working on how to figure this out logistically, too, because of the. The requirements for delivery of a. Of a product like a pizza. So I'm so happy. I think they're going to see a lot of interest come in from just a simple let's deliver pizzas announcement. But where. What about you? Are you. Are you motivated to try the $8.98 pizza?

[David Schneidman]

Oh, oh, you know me 100%. 100%. I mean, this is an unassailable move of marketing genius to me. Yeah, I freaking love this. I mean, my mom has this. I don't have a Sam's Club membership. My mom has one and we use hers. But I think she. She gets back into town tonight. I think tomorrow night. We're dialing this up. We're dialing up to Sam's Club pizza, I think. And, you know, but the one thing I will say, though, the one misgiving I have, and it was hard to understand this in the press release, is the delivery window. Seems long. Like you have to be planning ahead. And we want to. We've actually put an Inquiry out to the Sam's Club team to come on our show and talk about this because we want to understand it better. But I think ultimately to save money and to get that kind of deal on pizza, I'm okay with that because pizza has gotten super expensive.

[Chris Walton]

Yeah.

[David Schneidman]

And the best thing about it too, from my standpoint on why Sam's Club is doing this, I think you hit on a little bit, but to touch on a little bit more, it adds volume to their delivery runs as well. So, you know, you want. You want more. You want more volume for every delivery you're putting out there. So if you can time it up with the. The other orders, you know, they're going out to the neighborhoods. I think that makes sense. So. So I love this. I think it's just so differentiating. You know, it eats. It eats at Domino's really big. But the other thing I love about it and Costco, Costco, they're not. It doesn't seem like Costco is in any way going to be able to touch something like this because antiquated in terms of how they look at things digitally. So I think Sam's Club continues to win with this and continues to win with younger generations. When you look at, you know, plays like this and scan and go shopping and you know, the receiptless checkout and all that or, you know, the whole. That whole thing. So I don't know if receiptless checkouts the right way to say it, but you know what I'm talking about and help me out.

[Chris Walton]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. When you scan and got the scan and go checkout where they scan the bottom of your. Or they scan your cart to make sure.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah, you just walk through the arch. The archway. The archway checkout, you know. So like, I think that's. It's just. It's just they're. They're doing some great things there. Man, I wish I knew I was in the water down at Sam's Club.

[Chris Walton]

You. You like Costco pizza, You still have to call. That's the only option you have is to call ahead and pick it up.

[David Schneidman]

And if you want to pick it.

[Chris Walton]

Up and say yes, and you do it, you do it because the pizzas are $8 and they feed it. Like if you. And I think that gets to your point earlier too. Like, I know Friday nights I'm going to have a house full of kids, right. And whatever. Like if, if my delivery is coming on a Friday and I can throw those pizzas in, you know, I'm going to do it. It's so affordable. And it hits on convenience in a way that, that no one else can really do for me. So right now. So I think that's, that's huge. That part of it is huge. And yeah, Costco's way, way behind.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah. And add to your point, like, if you're ordering four pizzas or five pizzas, this almost saves you like 50 to $100.

[Chris Walton]

Oh, you know, for sure it does.

[David Schneidman]

It's insane.

[Chris Walton]

It definitely does. Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's a great, great move. Well done, Sam's Club. All right, let's go on to headline number three, Chris. Lowe's is partnering with Miracle to accelerate its online marketplace, according to a Lowe's press release. Through its partnership with Miracle, Lowe's is positioned to scale its e commerce business faster while allowing trusted marketplace sellers to easily manage their catalogs on lowe's.com better serving customers wherever they are in their home improvement journey. Since launching its Marketplace, Lowe's has expanded its offerings from third party sellers, including indoor and outdoor furniture, kitchen and bath, home home decor, power in hand, tools and more. The benefits of Lowe's Marketplace extend to members of Milo's Rewards loyalty program, with members accruing points on any Marketplace purchases. All Marketplace products are currently available for home delivery, and customers may return Marketplace products purchased through Lowe's.com directly to any one of Lowe's over 1700 stores. Chris, I'm guessing you're going to be as excited as you were for the Sam's Club story, but are you, are you excited about the Lowe's new Marketplace partnership with Miracle? And what excites you most?

[David Schneidman]

What excites me most about it? I think you hit it right in the headline read honestly. And it's the, it's the combination of Lowe's using and talking about loyalty and the value of their stores within the creation of their digital marketplace. Because that is how you differentiate an online marketplace. And Lowe's is clearly thinking smartly in that direction. The other point I would make is that an online marketplace is particularly important in home furnishings. Because of what I've said before on this show a thousand times, furnishing a home is a massive chore. And the more you can get done in one space, the better. Whether you're a homeowner or even a contractor, even a pro, looking to buy many things all at once. All of which then comes back to, as I said at the outset, and can be augmented by the loyalty incentives you're doing to incent that behavior. So that's why I love this move from Lowe's. And again, you can't, can't discount the fact too, that you can bring these products back to the store, which is also an important factor in driving loyalty as well and driving reuse. So, so net. Net. I love this as well. I think it's great. And kudos to our sponsors. Miracle for, for becoming the platform for Lowe's. It's awesome.

[Chris Walton]

Yeah, I agree. I think I'm, I'm less. I think this will have less of an impact on the pro customer because most of those customers need to go get something same day, like get that kind of thing. But what I really think this opens up is a, is an extended audience for the Lowe's home improvement customer, the regular people out there who need these products, especially when we start looking at what, you know, Dave Schneidman is going to come on and talk about in a little bit, is changing consumer sentiment. You are now opening up the Lowe's world of products to all sorts of options. It's giving customers choice when they don't have as much money. If they go into the Lowe's store and they see two, you know, drills that they might need for an upcoming project, and then they can go online and they can still get their rewards points at Lowe's, but they can, they can find some other options that might be lower price or more middle of the road that Lowe's just can't carry inventory for in store. And you're hanging on to that customer and you're getting them to come to you for more things because they know that you're going to give them the assortment and a price point for the, for a good, especially in all the categories that we just covered off on from home furnishings to power tools, they will have the customer coming there first, and they own that relationship with the customer at the end of the day, too, which that's. What more could you ask for? It's such a smart, smart move from Lowe's.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah. And, and, and when you think about it too, like, who they're really trying to differentiate against here is Amazon on the oneoff, you know, pickoffs, you know, and Amazon, for the most part, correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't have a loyalty program. In fact, I pay $99 a month or a year? No, like $139 a year to Amazon to be loyal to it. And so now you're, you're, you're taking that out of the equation. And Lowe's is smartly thinking about, how do I use loyalty to build an online marketplace so that people realize that that's dumb and I can get the same level and quality of service and better discounts and more affordability by shopping with Lowe's. So I think I, I, I, I think that's the point that I hadn't thought about until you just said what you said. All right, Chris, let's bring David onto the show. Dave Schneidman. Joining us now for five insightful minutes to discuss his company's latest current consumer sentiment survey is the A and M Consumer and Retail Group's David Schneidman. Dave, let's start with this. What does consumer sentiment look like going into the summer months?

[Guest Speaker]

You know, first, thanks for having me as always, Chris and Anne. So so you know, with the macroeconomic uncertainties, you know, that is having a huge effect on consumers. You know, first was Covid, then supply chain issues, then the war, no inflation and now last tariffs. So, so consumers are planning on spending less and they're planning on saving more. During the financial uncertainties. They're not super worried, but they're being, I would say, a little bit more vigilant. In fact, about 10% of all consumers are expected to spend less where about 30% of consumers are planning on saving more now. However, most of the cutting is coming from discretionary spending. So particularly think like restaurants going out prepared food along with luxury goods, jewelries and accessories. So F and B it is it is still around flat. We'll talk more about that shortly. But consumers are just being mindful of the unknown right now.

[Chris Walton]

So Dave, what kind of trade offs are consumers willing to make then in search of a better value?

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah, so I mentioned that overall about it's kind of there's not much change with F and B from a macro aspect, but particularly about 25% of consumers still do plan on cutting back within food and beverage. So think groceries. And with that there's a couple of different ways about while about 50% of consumers are planning on switching to cheaper brands. So cheaper brands is one option. The second is buying fewer groceries, which is around 25% of consumers planning on doing that. And then the last is just switching to cheaper stores. So going to be more mindful of mass big box stores or discounters. And that's about the other 25%. Additionally within that consumers are more willing to try other brands. Right now, in fact, about 30% of consumers will try almost, almost 10 new brands. And the leading factor of that is price. So price is having a huge impact on on trial but you know, still Wanting to be healthy, desiring to try new products and then just recommendations from, from friends, families and influencers are still having impact on, on consumer penetration.

[David Schneidman]

Dave, what does all that mean for the private label side of the business?

[Guest Speaker]

Yeah, so consumers are increasingly embracing private label. Almost 75% of our reports is that people are purchasing private label somewhat often or often. And over 50% of consumers believe private label has improved over the last year. So private label is here to stay. Perceptions are at an all time high in terms of quality, affordability, ingredients, accessibility. No surprise there. The leading driver of private label is purchase is price. However, taste ingredients still make up about 25% of the main purchase influencing power factors. So price ingredients are here as well. So private label is definitely here. Huge perception improvement and needs to be part of a retailer's plan going forward.

[Chris Walton]

So then Dave, as we close, what advice do you have for retailers who kind of are trying to navigate these changing consumer sentiments besides looking at price.

[Guest Speaker]

Having the right assortment and merchandising. Two things that aren't talked about as often are about loyalty and technology within loyalty. Consumers are engaging in loyalty programs to stretch their spending power. About 2/3 of all consumers use a loyalty program in food and beverage and grocery. And it's about 75% of purchases within the loyalty are influenced by loyalty programs. That's even higher for consumers who are under the age of 45. So loyalty programs, huge. And then the other technology, over 60% are. Respondents interact with different technologies to influence their buying decisions, particularly subscription. Subscription models influence about 75% of purchases. In fact about 20%. Yeah, it's crazy. About 20% of all grocery purchases are done 100% via subscription, which is, which is crazy. So one in five consumers are doing all of their grocery shopping online and, and about 75 are doing at least 75 of their grocery shopping online. So subscription models are here and, and, and the main drivers besides deals and promotion, just convenience. We live in a world where people, you know, time is money, they know what they like, they know what they don't like. And just that frictionless approach to grocery buying, which is a daily, weekly, monthly thing is, is, is huge to the consumer. So let, don't forget about loyalty and technology and they kind of go hand in hand. Huge impact to driving purchasing decisions.

[David Schneidman]

Great stuff, Dave. Thank you.

[Chris Walton]

Thank you, Dave.

[David Schneidman]

If you want to read the latest consumer sentiment survey from our friends at the A and M consumer and Retail Group, you will find it in full in our show notes from today's episode. All right, headline number four Google Is Rolling Out a Gentic AI Checkout According to Chainstore Age, Google is introducing a new artificial intelligence enhanced shopping experience called AI Mode. The tech giant's AI Mode shopping experience combines its Gemini Generative AI Chatbot with Google Shopping Graphics, a real time data set of products, inventory and merchants with more than 45 billion listings in stock inventory data from a range of retailers every hour. More than 2 billion of those product listings are refreshed on Google. 2 billion with a B In the coming months, customers will be able to search for products using conversational language and see a right hand panel of images and product listings. Once a customer selects a product, a new agentic AI checkout will help customers buy at a price that fits their budgets. Shoppers will be able to tap track price on any product listing and set options such as size or color and the amount they want to spend and then receive price drop notifications when ready to buy. The customer will then be able to confirm the purchase details and tap buy for me behind the scenes, Google will add the item to their cart on the retailer site and securely complete the checkout with Google Play. This agentic checkout feature will be rolling out in the coming months to product listings in the US and there was a lot there intentionally because we wanted to make sure the fans knew how this was designed to work. And lo and behold, this is also the A and M Put yout on the Spot Question Are you ready for it this week?

[Chris Walton]

Oh yes. If it's about Google Shopping, you know I'm ready for it.

[David Schneidman]

I know I picked this one specifically for you. I put this as headline number four specifically for you. All right, here it is. How much does this enhance the experience for those who currently use Google Shopping? Or or does this have the chance to disproportionately pull from those who currently go directly to retailer.com sites for B2C buying, the floor is yours.

[Chris Walton]

Well listeners, I tried this last night and I will clarify the only the Try it on mode was available to me. The rest of the features it sounds like are coming soon to the rest of us who aren't in the beta program, but the AI generated image I.

[David Schneidman]

Put this up pretty damn good.

[Chris Walton]

I put these up on LinkedIn last night. The AI generated images are so good. Like so good. And I'm a huge skeptic about the the fit me models and all these things. No, no no no. But I think what A and M where where A&M's question is getting at and what I think is the most impressive thing Here is when, when I'm as a shopper, I put into Gemini like, hey, I'm looking for a suit for Barcelona for next week that will be weather appropriate, but okay, that's how people are going to be searching. They're not going to the dot coms anymore. It's, it's give me some options. And now if you think about where this could go eventually, just taking that picture that I've uploaded and showing me all of these items on me, on me as a model, not a model that looks like me, but on me and I get to look at those. I mean I was not planning on purchasing something. Chris, there are three things in three carts right now from just that thing that I was like, oh, I mean you still have the issue potentially of arriving and it doesn't fit as the AI model for sure.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah.

[Chris Walton]

But you know what? Those things are in my cart. Those companies have my contact information. They're pinging me and saying mango.com is like, you left this suit in your cart. Here's the picture of it on you once again.

[David Schneidman]

Right.

[Chris Walton]

And do you want to check out. And I think the last thing that I'll add about where, where Google is really going to continue to stand out is when they start to add on these other features. And Nicole Nutlund, one of our former co workers from Target Store the Future who's working on this project, she said in a, in a chat that we had a few weeks ago at Google in New York that the, the key thing here about where Google has a moat that some of these other players in the space are, do not have is they know what I'm looking at on YouTube shorts, that they know what kind of content I'm looking at there. They know my Gmail address, they know what activities are on my Google calendar. And so when you start thinking about how they can kind of do the push and pull with me as a consumer here based on the inputs they're getting from all of those sources and Gemini and the quality of the, the content they can serve me up. I think this is putting Google in an exceptional place or as a challenger to some of these other big companies that are coming up in this, in this space and especially as it applies to commerce. So I, I'm a huge fan, Chris. Give me, talk me down.

[David Schneidman]

Talk you down?

[Chris Walton]

Where, where? Am I missing some key points about this rollout?

[David Schneidman]

Well, yeah, no, I mean, I think you're bringing up some interesting points I hadn't thought of in preparation for this. I mean, you're right. I think you know, anyone that uses Google's calendar, email, even Google Chrome, that Google probably knows more about you than you know about yourself, you know, which is something I always used to see about social media. But, but Google probably knows even more when you put it in that context.

[Chris Walton]

Yeah.

[David Schneidman]

So that's really powerful in what you said. The point about, the point about you've been a fit skeptic. I kind of, I kind of gave you a Cheshire grin on the camera, off camera because I'm like, have you? Yeah, I mean I feel like we've had lots of debates on this and but the thing I would make that I think what I think I agree with you because I saw the stuff you posted and it looked amazing. My only question is like, is it really going to fit that well or is it just like super tailored to look good on you? I have no idea. And, but that's an important question that has to be uncovered and understood. So you know, for me though, the, the longer term implications of this, like the agent AI part of the conversation and Google start to take share from retailer.com or visits, you know, to retailer.com as a. And M was asking. I don't know, I think the jury's out. I think it all, it all comes down to the UX and ultimately the ease of payment too, which we've talked about on past shows. You know, for me the best analogy I can make to this is I think we're going to be in like a Betamax versus VHS battle here in a gentic checkout similar to Betamax. The best tech or the best moats quote unquote, might not be the ones who win out. It could just be whoever makes this experience, the one that's the easiest to buy from. And Google, as much as it has these moats history is not on its side when it comes to figuring out E commerce at all. It's always been a tough get for them. And so will it be Amazon? Is it going to be one of the upstarts? I have no idea. I can't wait to find out though. And as you showed on LinkedIn very admirably yesterday, we've got a front row seat and it's going to be buckle your seatbelts because I can't wait to watch this.

[Chris Walton]

Totally. And I think one more thing I just add in closing, I think that Google shopping in the past was never set up to work this way. Google is a tech company. They were not a commerce focused company and I think that's where they're really you can see like just with this example, right. Like it's I think and to answer A&M's question again like I think, I think any agentic search is taking away from going tothe.com. so it doesn't matter.

[David Schneidman]

Like let's clarify there will happen over time.

[Chris Walton]

Yeah, it absolutely will happen over time. So, so people like Google and what they put out here, being able to showcase multiple brands so that you as a consumer have the most choice like this, it's, it's going to be great. I can't wait. As a shopper I'm thrilled. So we'll see what, we'll see what happens next.

[David Schneidman]

It's, it's pretty mind blowing.

[Chris Walton]

All right, let's go to headline number five, Chris. Nike reportedly plans to start selling on Amazon again. According to chain Storage, following a six year hiatus, Nike will once again sell its products directly on Amazon in late 2019. Nike ended a pilot it launched in 2017 to sell merchandise directly to Amazon. Is it focused on selling more directly to consumers on its own website and stores? A Nike spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that it will resume selling goods via Amazon in the US as part of a broader digital commerce effort. The spokesperson said in the statement, quote, this includes expanding to new digital accounts.

[Ann Mazinga]

Including Amazon in the US New physical.

[Chris Walton]

Partners like Printom, elevating retail experiences across the marketplace and and launching Nike's AI powered conversational search to improve our online services, end quote. In addition, Amazon confirmed via an email to CNBC that it will start sourcing a quote, much wider range of Nike products, end quote for us shoppers. And as part of the relaunch, Amazon as reported by wwd, has also told select third party merchants that they can no longer sell certain Nike items on Amazon stick starting July 19th. Chris, a lot in Nike's digital plan here. Are you pro or con Nike coming back to Amazon.

[David Schneidman]

Oh, and resolutely hate this move. Yeah, I don't, I don't like it at all.

[Chris Walton]

Okay.

[David Schneidman]

I'm curious if you're, I'm curious if you feel the same way. Yeah, tell us after, particularly after our discussion on Saks Fifth Avenue a couple weeks ago, because I think Nike's a brand that should stand on its own. Um, and you know all these talks of the new partnerships with Urban Outfitters, they're just, to me they're just silly. They're just marketing vehicles to try to enliven the brand and they're just a waste of time because they're not going to add any discernible Real revenue to the top line. Um, and they're just a lot of effort. So I think, you know, I think when I step back and look at this from 30,000ft, I think the previous regime had the right strategy which is create a more direct one to one relationship with your consumers which is what omnichannel retail is all about, but just seemingly didn't have the right execution. So going on Amazon just makes Nike like everything else on Amazon. And the other part about this which you alluded to in previous headlines today was you lose the first party data relationship with your customer too. And so I don't know why you would do that in any way, shape or form. So to me this move is emblematic of a company that finds itself in a really tough spot. The Jordan brand is clearly post peak now at this point. I mean Jordan's got to be you know, in his 60s now if I'm not mistaken they've had trouble making their marketing athleisure. They haven't been able to crack the code on that. They've also been losing ground in running. So going on Amazon it may be a boost to short term sales but the long, in the long term it's a losing proposition of companies like Lululemon and on running who are going to keep that one to one relationship with their customers. They're going to hold it dear and they're going to hold it close to their heart because they understand that's what makes them special. And, and Nike going on Amazon is no longer special to me.

[Chris Walton]

Yeah, I, I actually agree completely. I feel like this is a very short sighted approach and in my mind really moves Nike to more of a utility purchase than a lifestyle purchase. Like it used to be a cachet thing that like you'd have, you know, these limited edition drops and stuff. But if you, if you're able to get this product in mass it loses its, its uniqueness and I think it also damages brand equity that they've built with JD Sports or DSG and Foot Locker like we talked about last week, like what unique product are they really going to have when the majority of consumers are going to be like, but I can get these similar Nikes on Amazon for you know, this price and get them delivered in an hour, whatever it is. So I think that to me causes alarm also I wonder if this doesn't open up Nike to more fraudulent product too. Like when you're on the Amazon, you know you're on Amazon now like do are you opening it up? Because people are going to just Search Nike or Air Force ones. Like are they more susceptible to getting a product that isn't an original, you know, Nike product? And how does Nike kind of control that part of it? Because that to me is another area where you don't always know what you're getting. And Amazon's not as, as I guess closely watching that as some of your other larger partners.

[David Schneidman]

But yeah, I'm not as worried about that because I think the sub context to the headline you read is I actually think Amazon has made a deal with Nike to try to police that to a larger degree than they probably have in the past as well. That was what I took from that. But it probably could potentially still be an issue. But you know, Amazon today, in today's day and age with technology, should be able to tell when somebody's trying to, you know, put out a counterfeit pair of Nikes as a third party seller and get them off the site. Because the only people that should be selling Nikes on their site are Nike. In. In theory.

[Chris Walton]

In theory, yes.

[David Schneidman]

You know, in, in theory, that's the way. But I think the other, the other point you made me think of too here, Ann, is like the drops, I used to go on the drops all the time. I've stopped looking at it because the product sucks. It's, it's, it's not interesting. It's just really lame. And, and they, they gotta re enliven their product strategy too. To your point, like how are you going to reenive in your product strategy and then how are you going to decide who gets what product? And going on Amazon just makes it such a complicated effort.

[Chris Walton]

Yeah, yeah, it's just, it doesn't, doesn't seem like the right move. It, it's, it feels like it's just 100% utility. Like I need a new pair of shoes for my kid. I'm going to get the cheapest Nikes I can, you know, on Amazon, have them delivered same day, which is good in the short term it'll probably boost sales a little bit. But, but is that the lasting impression you want to leave with, with your consumer?

[Ann Mazinga]

I don't think so.

[David Schneidman]

I thought, I thought you're coming about utility. What'd you say? Utility versus lifestyle. Lifestyle. Yeah, I think that, that, that nails it.

[Chris Walton]

All right, Chris, let's go to the lightning round. We're talking pizza again. Pizza Hut is bringing back the summer bucket program which sparks so much nostalgia for me. Oh. Oh, wow. Love to book it. Did you part you, did you participate as a kid in Arizona it doesn't sound like you did, but if you did, what did you get on your personal pan pizza?

[David Schneidman]

No, we didn't. We didn't have that in Arizona at least.

[Chris Walton]

Western thing.

[David Schneidman]

I. I don't know. I mean, I went to a Catholic school and we only got pizza once a month.

[Chris Walton]

I did, too.

[David Schneidman]

It was from some local dude who we were probably helping launder money, you know, in reality. And you know, because, like, God knows what he was doing. But, But I mean, if I were to get a personal pan pizza, I'm going. I'm going as close to four meats as I can get. And starting with the big two sausage and pepperoni.

[Chris Walton]

You know that you were putting money in Sammy Pepperoni Pizza's pocket. You were. You were not con. There's no pizza.

[David Schneidman]

Oh, you. You know, there was some kickback going on there. Like the, the local pizza guys giving pizza to all the. All the school kids every. Every once a month on a Wednesday. Yeah, for sure.

[Chris Walton]

No book it program there. Didn't have to read a lot like 16 Boxcar Children books to. To get that pizza.

[David Schneidman]

No. Our lady of Mount Carmel. Yep. Yep. Shout out to them. All right. The HuffPost reported this week that Anthropic's Claude Opus 4 would result to quote, extremely harmful actions, end quote, to preserve its own existence, including potentially blackmailing engineers for things like extramarital affairs. How many years do you give us AD before Terminator the movie becomes a reality?

[Chris Walton]

Okay, you're gonna be really disappointed when you hear this, but I have never watched the entire Terminator movie, so I.

[David Schneidman]

Feel like either one of them Terminator or T2. Oh, my God.

[Chris Walton]

I know. I'm really embarrassed. So I. I added to my watch list for this. For your trip weekend, for the plane trip. I will try to watch Terminator, but I. That this is a very concerning thing.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah, right.

[Chris Walton]

I still feel like we have water still, so, like, could. Is it still going to be able to do that if we pour water on the machine? I think it is. I think it still can damage our lives. So I'm gonna say 10 years.

[David Schneidman]

10 years. God, I hope it's longer than that. But my God, that's such a crazy story. Such a crazy story.

[Chris Walton]

I don't know. I mean, I know. What would you guess? Are you taking the over under?

[David Schneidman]

I think I take the over at 10 years, but I think, you know, if you go 50 to 100 years, I think. Yeah, we're there. We're. I think, I'm sorry, grandchildren at this point. And yeah, I am.

[Chris Walton]

All right, question number three, Chris. The latest Tick tock travel hack is a pillowcase. People are filling pillowcases with clothing and bringing them on board to avoid a fee for carry ons. Can you imagine just stuffing all your clothes in your pillow and bringing that?

[David Schneidman]

No.

[Chris Walton]

So as we head out for our two week tour, share with the Omni Talk audience what your best travel hack is.

[David Schneidman]

Wow. Oh, God. I'm curious what yours is, aside from sleeping in like an actual body cast when you go into some hotel.

[Chris Walton]

But. But I have a lot of travel hacks. Yeah.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah. I don't know. I mean, aside from being bringing my own toilet paper like we've talked about on this show, I would also recommend especially for. For international travel, bringing a lot of high fiber snacks. Like, I just went to the store and loaded up on dried dates and so that's my. But what, what's one of your travel hacks? I have no idea.

[Chris Walton]

Slippers. Bring shoes for the hotel room or ask your hotel for slippers. A lot of hotels have them. Think about all the places that those suitcases are rolling that your shoes have traveled in all these cities and you're walking around in your bare feet. Nasty, right? Number one, I do bring. Also bring a pillowcase, but for my own reason. Like I just like to have my own pillowcase when I'm traveling. In addition to my sleep suit, I bring a candle for the hotel room because sometimes the hotel rooms stink. So I have a little travel candle. I mean, so many things I could. The list could keep going on. I have, I just have become a very seasoned traveler at this.

[David Schneidman]

Yeah, you have. Yeah, you have. Wow.

[Chris Walton]

You could.

[David Schneidman]

You could use a suitcase just for your hacks. Is what I take from this.

[Chris Walton]

It's. Yes. That's why I'm over £50 every time.

[David Schneidman]

Right, right. Yes, you are. You're very. You're always scared to lie. All right, last one and game five of the T Wolves versus the Thunder tonight. Who do you got?

[Chris Walton]

Ah, T. Wolves. Always wolves in seven. We're gonna go on a three. We're gonna go on a 3 game run or we won't. And that's also fine because if they do make it to the playoffs, we're going to be in Europe and I'll.

[Ann Mazinga]

Be up in the middle of the.

[Chris Walton]

Night watching the Timberwolves games. So come on, Wolves. Mike, I love you.

[David Schneidman]

Not a chance in hell.

[Chris Walton]

And.

[David Schneidman]

And I'm gonna go out on a hot take here too. Anthony Edwards is going to become soon one of the most overrated players in the NBA. That's my prediction. Happy birthday today to Gladys Knight, Carey Mulligan, and to the man who played Joey in Bad News Bears, Brandon Cruz. 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 a current top 10 US retailer. 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. Stay on top of your game as a retail executive and also regularly features a exclusive content that Ann and I take a lot of pride in doing just for you. Thanks as always for listening in. Please remember like and leave us a review wherever you happen to listen to your podcast or on YouTube. You can follow us today by simply going to YouTube.com omnitalkretail so until next week, and on behalf of all of us at omnitalk, on behalf of Ann and myself, be careful out there.