Hello Omni Talk Fans! We have some exciting news set to come your way soon, so keep your eyes peeled on social media and be on the lookout for next Tuesday's newsletter because we plan to bring you our Top 20 Omnistars for 2022.

That's right, in partnership with Quorso, Anne and I are debuting a new annual award to recognize the top omnichannel operators who are living and breathing the work on the ground and leading retail into the future.

Tired of all the fanfare pundits receive (despite not actually doing the work), collectively Quorso and Omni Talk scoured the retail headlines from the past year to select a who's who list of the Top 20 retail operators that we find ourselves anxiously following week in and week out and who set the bar high for their peers.

It took us a ton of work to compile our final list of 20 people, and we are excited to share it with you, our loyal fans, very soon.

Now to wrap up the current week . . .  

In today's Fast Five Podcast, Anne and I:

- Had a split opinion on Publix's new nano-fulfillment partnership with Instacart.

- Both extolled the virtues of the one-stop shop and H-E-B's newest store concept down in Texas.

- Praised Verizon for going all-in on 24/7 pickup lockers.

- Tipped our caps to Target for once again getting omnichannel retail tech right, as evidenced by their recent pilot of a robot that gives $8 manicures in-store.

- And closed with a discussion of what Victoria's Secret selling on Amazon portends for the future and why I, specifically, think it is a pill that more mall-based retailers should just up and swallow.

There's all that, plus the latest review read-a-loud, Anne's pining for 21 Jump Street, and my lifelong obsession with frosted tips.

Listen to This Week’s Fast Five Podcast

Be careful out there,

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

P.S. If you enjoyed our recent Fast Five Podcast discussion on how to think about computer vision applications in-store, then you are going to love the next event we have coming your way on LinkedIn.

Anne and I are pleased to announce that Scandit Co-Founder and CTO Christian Floerkemeier will be on hand live on Tuesday, May 17th to take your questions on how computer vision can be implemented on everything from a mobile device to a roving floor scrubber.

You can register by clicking here or on the image right below this sentence.