Podcast Summary – Omni Talk Retail
Episode: The Future of Retail Merchandising With Former Walmart EVP Turned Board Advisor Marybeth Hays | 5IM
Release Date: October 21, 2025
Featured Guest: Marybeth Hays, Former Walmart Merchant EVP, Board Advisor, and Simbi Colleague
Duration: ~5 minutes
Episode Overview
This concise “Five Insightful Minutes” episode explores the rapid evolution of retail merchandising in conversation with Marybeth Hays, former Walmart EVP and current board advisor. Hosts Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga prompt Marybeth to reflect on the biggest shifts in merchandising in the past five years, the integration of physical and digital channels, the impact of trustworthy, real-time data, and AI’s emerging role. The conversation is direct, candid, and filled with practical insights for retailers seeking to stay on the cutting edge.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Blurring of Physical and Digital Merchandising
[00:33-01:14]
- Merchants now have responsibility for both in-store and online assortments, rather than separate teams for each.
- This change creates more cohesive customer experiences, helps merchants better understand purchasing behavior, and eliminates conflicting directives for suppliers.
- Marybeth Hays:
- “This is such a relief for suppliers I work with a lot now who are often caught between two merchants. It's better for the customer because the product assortment itself hangs together better.” (00:40)
- She notes, however, that products popular online may not always succeed in-store and vice versa.
2. The Rise of Category Expertise
[01:24-01:55]
- With responsibility for both channels, merchants are handling narrower product categories.
- This allows them to become “true experts in the product,” including:
- Deep understanding of brands and private label needs
- What matters most to customers
- Closer partnerships with suppliers for innovation
- This allows them to become “true experts in the product,” including:
- Marybeth Hays:
- “They can really become technical experts in the category and partners to suppliers in bringing new products to market.” (01:39)
3. Data: From Backward-Looking to Real-Time and Trustworthy
[02:09-03:56]
- Marybeth emphasizes two longstanding data issues: reliability and its traditionally backward-looking nature.
- New tech—digital shelf labels, RFID, and AI-driven shelf intelligence (e.g., Simbi’s Tally)—is transforming how fast and how accurately retailers can act.
- Trustworthy, near-real-time data finally allows AI to surface patterns invisible to humans.
- Memorable Story:
- Marybeth shares an anecdote about the “Blue Moon and orange slice” trend, where on-the-ground staff discovered a major cross-category sales driver—something that today, AI and shelf intelligence would flag instantly.
- Marybeth Hays:
- “It feels to me like AI and shelf intelligence is just bringing us out of, like, the merchandising equivalent of getting smoke signals from each retail store.” (03:37)
- The potential for discovering novel connections between goods (e.g., beer and produce) is vastly increased.
4. Navigating Organizational Change: Merchants vs. Operators
[04:31-06:23]
- The traditional "cats and dogs" tension between retail operators and merchants can be productive but often leads to unproductive arguments about execution, packaging, and inventory accounting (e.g., shrink).
- Marybeth Hays:
- “But a lot of that friction is really productive... the endless quibbling over good faith, receiving, execution, and inventory levels is just, it's just unproductive.” (04:38)
- Advanced shelf intelligence, like Simbi’s tech, can mediate these issues, providing consistent, trusted data across functions and supporting better, enterprise-level decisions.
- Advice for Executives:
- Implement shelf intelligence technology “cross-functionally” as an enterprise project, with active executive sponsorship from chief merchant, COO, and supply chain heads.
- Marybeth Hays:
- “Welcome to the future.” (06:17)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “This is such a relief for suppliers... It's better for the customer because the product assortment itself hangs together better.”
— Marybeth Hays (00:40) - “They can really become technical experts in the category and partners to suppliers in bringing new products to market.”
— Marybeth Hays (01:39) - “It feels to me like AI and shelf intelligence is just bringing us out of, like, the merchandising equivalent of getting smoke signals from each retail store.”
— Marybeth Hays (03:37) - “But a lot of that friction is really productive... the endless quibbling over good faith, receiving, execution, and inventory levels is just, it's just unproductive.”
— Marybeth Hays (04:38) - “Welcome to the future.”
— Marybeth Hays (06:17)
Key Timestamps
- 00:33 – Merchandising change: one team for online & in-store.
- 01:24 – Merchants become category experts.
- 02:09 – Data’s evolution: trust & forward-looking AI.
- 03:37 – The “Blue Moon” story: surfacing the unseen.
- 04:31 – Merchants vs. operators: friction and the promise of tech.
- 06:17 – Marybeth’s advice for retailers: “Welcome to the future.”
Takeaways
- Retail merchandising is undergoing a historic shift: Integration of omni-channel responsibility is improving the customer experience and driving deeper category expertise.
- Actionable, real-time data is now a possibility thanks to digital shelf technology and AI—opening up innovative possibilities that were once reliant on chance human insight.
- Collaboration and cross-functional adoption are paramount: For today's technology investments to pay off, executive leaders must break down silos and work together.
- Retailers poised for the future will prioritize tech investments that serve the entire organization and put the customer at the center of every decision.