Fast Five Pod | Shein’s Marketplace & Amazon’s Plans To Kill Barcodes Amid TikTok Envy Gone Awry

Hello Omni Talk Fans!?T-minus one more newsletter and podcast to go after this one before Anne and I plan to close out 2022 in style.

And, by style, I mean drinking ourselves silly with Mr. and Mrs. Omni Talk at?our annual holiday party?celebrating the past year.

And, by drinking ourselves silly, I mean trying to put back no more than two vodka martinis, which is about all my 45 year old, post-stroke body can handle anymore.

So, as I long for that day to come, please enjoy this week’s final Fast Five podcast of the year before we send off 2022 with next week's special guests,?David Ritter and David Brown of the A&M Consumer & Retail Group, who will be on hand for our six year tradition of handing out our annual Omni Talk Retail Awards.

Until then, in this week’s Fast Five Podcast, Anne and I:

-?Lauded the brilliance of?Shein?reportedly planning to build its own marketplace.

- Had serious doubts about the staying power of?Amazon’s?latest TikTok-inspired social commerce play, ironically dubbed, “Inspire.”

- Found?Nordstrom Rack’s?plans to cut back on store-based fulfillment not the least bit surprising at all.

- Applauded?Walmart?for putting its weight behind visual search, while still harshly criticizing its execution of it.

- And, last but not least, pontificated about why in the world?Amazon?would want to kill the barcode – I mean, seriously, what did barcodes ever do to you, Amazon? Why all the angst?

There’s all that, plus Gen Z luxuries, shorn McDreamies, and how Anne plans to “spice” up her life in 2023.

Listen to This Week’s Fast Five Podcast

Be careful out there,

-- Chris, Anne, and the entire Omni Talk team

P.S.?We closed out the year with two wonderful events on LinkedIn.

Across the two events, we had almost 1,700 people register to hear what?SES-imagotag’s Roy Horgan and Firework’s Eva Wang?had to say about the future of retail.

You can listen to the full podcast audio of these interviews from the past week by clicking on the images below.