Rethink Retail
Rethink Retail
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Google’s Universal Cart and the Weather Behind Demand
Welcome to another edition of Retail Roundup, your weekly brief helping retail leaders decode the biggest shifts in retail, AI, and commerce. This week, Jeremy Goldman is joined by Suzy Davidkhanian (EMARKETER) to discuss Walmart’s new joint membership, Google’s AI shopping cart, and what’s really behind this year’s holiday forecast. After the break, Adam Moyer (Planalytics) explains how weather shapes demand, and why AI agents need to account for it. INSIDE THE EPISODE: A membership built for data Walmart is bundling Walmart+ and Sam’s Club into a joint membership, pairing delivery perks with warehouse club value. With only about 10% of Walmart shoppers also shopping at Sam’s Club, the bigger payoff may be data, since seeing a shopper’s full basket across both banners opens new retail media opportunities. Google wants to hold the cart Google’s new Universal Cart lets shoppers save items from multiple retailers, track price drops, and see which payment method earns the best rewards, across Search and Gemini. It isn’t seamless yet, but if AI tools start comparing prices on shoppers’ behalf, retailers will need distinct products and a clear distribution strategy to protect their margins. A holiday forecast with a catch NRF expects November and December sales to grow 4.2% to $1.013 trillion, but roughly half of that growth reflects higher prices. Retailers should watch unit volume and profit alongside sales, and reach shoppers early, before holiday budgets run out. After the break: Weather shifts billions in retail demand every year, and it can make a strong campaign look like a flop. Adam Moyer (Planalytics) explains how turning weather into clear demand signals helps retailers and their AI tools make better inventory and marketing decisions. Also in the episode: the iPod turns 25, Wet Ones’ cheeky Just for Hands campaign goes viral, and Ahold Delhaize restores its US grocery sites after an eight-day cyber incident. For more from Suzy, check out her EMARKETER podcast, Reimagining Retail. Listen above to hear how retailers can look past inflation and weather to see what shoppers are actually buying.
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