🕔 Fast Five | AI Commerce Surges, Amazon Sues Perplexity & We Are Over And Out On Target 10-4

Hello Omni Talk Fans! This week's Fast Five podcast features an AI bombshell that should make every retail executive sit up and excuse him or herself.

Anne and I welcomed Waqas Khan and Kelly Carey from the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, who brought their consulting expertise and also some seriously hot takes on everything from humanoid robots dressed in fencing outfits to their pasta preferences.

Here's what you'll get in this week's podcast:

• The AI Inflection Point is HERE — Adobe data shows AI traffic is now converting 16% BETTER than traditional channels. This is the moment everyone's been waiting for, and our guests break down exactly what it means for your business.
• Amazon vs. Perplexity: The Battle for First Product Search — Amazon is suing Perplexity over its agentic shopping tool, and this fight reveals everything about who's scared of what in the future of commerce. Is Amazon the new incumbent trying to fight off e-commerce disruption? We debate.
• Bath & Body Works' Genius Holiday Smells Campaign — Kelly crowns this the best marketing campaign of the year (yes, really), and her reasoning might just change your mind about experiential retail. Fresh Balsam is coming to Grand Central Terminal, and honestly, how could it not be an improvement?
• Target's "10-4" Policy Disaster — Requiring employees to greet customers at specific distances? We're split on whether this is helpful training or a cultural red flag that shows how far Target has fallen. Or sorta split. The final vote was 3-1 against the policy.
• The Chief AI Officer Will Go the Way of the CDO — Waqas drops knowledge bombs about why standalone AI executive roles are doomed to fail, just like Chief Digital Officers before them. If you're thinking about this org structure, you will want to hear this discussion before making any final decisions.

There's all that, plus which headline won the week with Producer Ella, dishwasher dilemmas and Andy Garcia's best movie. 

Listen to This Week’s Fast Five Podcast

Be careful out there,

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

P.S. Last night I had a dream that I was a muffler . . .

I woke up exhausted.