In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode from Omni Talk Retail, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga welcome back Grocery Dealz co-CEOs Matt Goynes and Micheal Waldroup to unpack the rapid national expansion of their real-time grocery price comparison app.

Now live in 40 states, Grocery Dealz enables consumers to compare grocery prices across retailers in real time before they shop and even push their lists directly into Instacart for delivery.

The conversation dives into how the platform works, how pricing data is sourced, why retailers are paying attention, and what price transparency means for the future of grocery. From over-the-counter medicine and alcohol price swings to retail media monetization and API partnerships, this episode explores how comparison shopping could reshape consumer behavior... just as it did in travel and gas.

With grocery bills rivaling plane tickets in weekly spend, is price transparency the next major retail disruption?

Key Topics Covered:

•What Grocery Dealz is and why it exists

•The 3-step user experience: search, substitute, compare

•Categories covered beyond center store (including OTC meds & alcohol)

•How real-time grocery pricing data is sourced

•Retailers’ response to price transparency

•The Instacart integration and delivery convenience factor

•How Grocery Dealz makes money (affiliate + retail media model)

•Consumer adoption metrics and time spent in app

•What’s coming next: live coupons and national growth

•Can price comparison truly change grocery shopping behavior?

Connect with the Guests:

Matt Goynes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-goynes-65921368/

Micheal Waldroup: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheal-waldroup-3a74b82b7/

#retailtech #grocerytech #pricetransparency #retailmedia #ecommerce #omnichannel #retailinnovation #retailpodcast #OmniTalkRetail

In this Retail Technology Spotlight Series episode, Chris Walton sits down with Experion Technologies' Mahesh Vijayaraghavan (VP of Retail & Consumer Goods) and Siraj Alimohamed (Global Head of Data & AI) to cut through the AI hype.

From platform-first strategies to the pilot fatigue epidemic, Mahesh and Siraj break down why AI is overhyped at the dashboard level but underappreciated where it matters most, i.e. in 6 a.m. inventory decisions and real-time store operations.

Learn why building AI like a muscle beats treating it like a project, how to escape automation chaos, and why your digital experience is about to become your biggest competitive advantage.

🔑 Topics covered:

1. Why AI is overhyped but underimplemented in retail
2. Platform-first approach vs. endless pilot programs
3. Internal efficiency gains vs. consumer-facing AI investments
4. Process optimization before automation (avoid the 30-40% fat)
5. How digital experience becomes differentiation in the AI era
6. Agentic AI that acts within guardrails, not just recommends
7. The reinvestment strategy: internal savings to customer benefits

🎧 Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more retail tech insights!

#retailai #retailtech #omnitalk #digitalexperience #agenticai #retailinnovation #aiimplementation #experiontechnologies #retailpodcast #supplychain

In this Retail Technology Spotlight episode, Amy Vener, Global Retail & Consumer Goods Marketing Director for Commercial Cloud & AI at Microsoft, joins Omni Talk to unpack the main takeaways from NRF and where retailers should focus next as agentic commerce moves from theory to execution.

Drawing on her experience across Walmart, Pinterest, and Microsoft, Amy shares how retailers are shifting away from AI hype and toward real, measurable outcomes. From conversational shopping agents and merchandising insights to connected stores and cultural readiness, this episode breaks down how retailers can drive real return on intelligence in 2026 and beyond.

If you’re trying to figure out where AI fits into your merchandising, marketing, store operations, or supply chain strategy (and how to start without boiling the ocean), this conversation is for you.

Key Topics covered:

• 00:03:08 – Why “what problem are you trying to solve?” still matters more than the tech

• 00:07:34 – Agentic commerce use cases across marketing, merchandising, and operations

• 00:15:50 – How conversational data is influencing assortment and product development

• 00:10:01 – The role of connected stores and digital twins in retail decision-making

• 00:09:09 / 00:19:58 – Lessons from brands like Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, and Coca-Cola

• 00:23:07 – Why culture and team readiness are critical to AI adoption

• 00:25:42 – How retailers should engage Microsoft to drive faster business impact

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

#retailtech #retailAI #agenticcommerce #connectedstore #Microsoft #NRF #retailinnovation #omnitalk #retailpodcast #digitaltransformation

Sponsored Content