A (5:09)

Indeed, Sree Walmart Inc. And Google have announced plans to introduce a new AI powered shopping experience that brings Walmart and Sam's Club directly into Google's Gemini platform. By combining Gemini's intelligence with Walmart's unmatched assortment, value and convenience, the collaboration aims to make shopping more intuitive, reliable and seamlessly integrated into everyday life. Built by Walmart and accessible within Gemini through the Universal Commerce Protocol, the new experience is designed to address several core customer needs. Gemini will automatically surface relevant Walmart and Sam's Club products both online and in store when shoppers seek advice or inspiration. For example, a customer asking Gemini for camping recommendations will be shown relevant products from Walmart's extensive inventory. Because Gemini supports conversational back and forth interactions, customers can continue refining their needs and discovering products naturally through the dialogue. Personalization is another key pillar of the experience. When customers choose to link their Walmart Sam's Club accounts, they can move from inspiration to actual purchase within a trusted and familiar environment. Walmart will recommend complimentary items based on past online and in store purchases, allow customers to combine Gemini discovered products with existing cart items and extend the full benefits of Walmart plus and Sam's Club memberships. Speed and convenience round out the experience. Customers will be able to receive locally curated products exactly when and where they want them, with delivery available in under three hours and as fast as 30 minutes in many markets. Quote the transition from traditional web or app search to agent led commerce represents the next great evolution in retail, said John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart US and the incoming president and CEO of Walmart Inc. Partnering with Google to bring the Walmart experience directly into Gemini is another step toward creating shopper experiences that are more intuitive and personal than ever, said Ferner Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. Added Quote AI can improve every step of the consumer journey from discovery to delivery. We're excited to partner with Walmart on an open standard that makes agentic commerce a reality. Sri what's going on with this little device around my finger?

B (7:26)

Yeah, Aura is accelerating its investment in Target's retail media network following a strong holiday performance with the retailer, according to Jeremiah Linder, VP of retail at Aura, who spoke at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. The wearable health brand on your finger, Peter, better known for its smart rings Attract Sleep, Heart and Metabolic health, has experienced rapid growth in recent years and credits part of that momentum to increase retail visibility as well as media activation. Aura reached $1 billion in sales in 2025, up from 500 million the prior year, and is projecting over a billion and a half in revenue for 26, Linda said. A key driver that growth has been expanding brand awareness across the roughly 40 global retail locations where the products are sol Target playing a central role. After launching At Target in April 24, Aura leverage Target's retail media network Roundel, to support board discovery and conversion. By end of 25, sales through Target had grown nearly 90% year over year, with approximately half of that volume generated during the critical November and December holiday period. We've seen a lot more people focused on self care and looking for solutions, linder said, noting that Target was at the center of their holiday success. That growth was fueled in part by increased marketing spend within Roundel, which enables brands to advertise across product detail pages, search results and other high intent placements, typically what a retail media network does. Aura has also benefited from Roundel's newer capabilities, including Precision Plus, a tool that integrates Target's first party data with platforms such as Meta, Google and Pinterest, the Trade Desk and TikTok. The integration allows ARA to target audiences at scale by combining retailer purchase behavior with social and digital engagement signals, reinforcing retail media's growing role in driving both brand awareness and sales performance.

A (9:11)

Speaking of Target, Sree, a quick shout out to our friend Jenny Holloran, who's been named head of ad sales at Roundel, the retail media arm of Target. As we wrap up, a reminder to catch up with our recently released episodes. There's some really good ones out there. Sarah Marzano for me, marketer Chris Riegel of stratacash on In Store Retail Media, my colleague Sarah Cunningham from Flywheel, and of course our dear friend Marta Bowles from Nielsen iq. All right folks, so that's our take on relevant commerce happenings from so many announcements this past week. There were a lot to choose from. Shree. I don't know how we were able to narrow it down to four, but we thought these were the most meaningful. Could not be passed on for the riff. We hope you enjoyed it. Please do click like our posts on all platforms and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and now YouTube. Mike Feldman don't think you're coming after me for impressions this year. Goliath is staying Goliath. That's all I have to say. See y' all next week.

C (10:12)

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