Hello Omni Talk Fans! Here's to 2022 and so long to 2021!

Anne and I are back, and, while we may not be better than ever this year, we at least hope to be better than your expectations.

Up first in this new year, we have one of my favorite annual columns -- my 2022 retail predictions in Forbes -- just for you on Omni Talk and free from the Forbes paywall.

For those new to the column, I pride myself on making my predictions as hard hitting and as realistic as possible, with absolutely no fluff or delusions of silly grandeur.

2021 saw me come in at a 50/50 clip, hitting it right on the mark with a full scale "Just Walk Out" Amazon grocery store and a mall becoming fully shoppable online (see Mall of America), and missing on a free Sam's Club membership with a Walmart+ subscription and Kohl's putting Amazon Go inside of its four walls -- both of which could still happen, I might add.

This year I went bold on the likes of Amazon, Instacart, the BNPL trend, and Bed Bath.

You can read this year's column by clicking here or on the main image above. And, please, please, please let me know what you think I got right and wrong on social media.

And now to the headlines you may have missed over the holidays:

Be careful out there,

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

P.S. Anne and I just interviewed Leap CEO Jared Golden as part of our NRF coverage. In addition to Pea in the Pod, Leap is actively working to help many other brands open up physical stores.

The Leap business model all stems from the question, "If you are willing to outsource your marketing, your distribution, etc., then why not take the "leap" and outsource the running of your stores, too?"

Pretty trippy, so stay tuned because it also makes for one hell of a podcast interview.

P.P.S. Quorso CEO Julian Mills is joining us again next week on LinkedIn to discuss how important it is to give district field leadership the tools they need to be successful.

As a former district manager for Target, I can't wait to hear what he thinks.

You can register to hear our conversation and to chat with Julian live by clicking here or on the image below.