New tech. Big promises. Bold claims. But is it hype? Welcome to Manny + Joe: Checkout—where two retail and commerce veterans cut through the noise and tell you what actually matters.
Every week, Manny Almagro and Joe Scartz check out what's new in retail, commerce, and innovation—from AI and agentic commerce to payments, retail media, and in-store technology. Then they reality check whether it's worth your attention, your budget, or your time.
Manny has spent 15+ years building AI systems, computer vision platforms, and digital transformation programs at agencies like Publicis and Omnicom, plus EY, Stratacache, and Jollibee. He holds a software patent and speaks at NRF, CES, and MWC.
Joe has 20+ years in commerce and marketing at Omnicom agencies and has built two commerce agencies from scratch. He's lived through every platform shift from Amazon's early days to today's AI retail revolution.
Perfect for CMOs, CTOs, brand leaders, and anyone who needs signal over noise. Episodes run about 20 minutes. No jargon. No vendor BS. Just reality checks.
Sometimes wrong. Always honest. Zero BS.
Manny and Joe kick off 2026 with the SimilarWeb data that's been making the rounds and it's a wake-up call. ChatGPT dropped from 87% to below 75% traffic share while Gemini surged 260% on Google's ecosystem play. The takeaway? Retailers betting on a single AI partnership are building for a monopoly that's already fragmenting.
We break down what Grok's rise from zero to 2.9% signals, why Amazon's goal to double sales with zero workforce growth should terrify competitors, and make some bold predictions: ChatGPT below 50% by year-end, Gemini hitting 35% by mid-year. Plus: why 2026 is the year of reckoning where CEOs finally demand real ROI on AI investments and a lot of pilots become dead bodies.
11 Dec 2025
Why the Last Three Feet Will Save Retail from AI Commoditization
Manny and Joe break down eMarketer's Commerce Summit findings: in-store retail media won't hit $1B until 2028—that's just 1% of total spend despite 80% of sales happening in physical stores. The gap? Measurement infrastructure. While Amazon dominates with 79% of retail media dollars, forward-thinking retailers are instrumenting stores with spatial analytics to prove incrementality before agentic AI makes them commodity fulfillment centers. Plus: why hiding products behind digital screens is definitely NOT the future of retail media.
25 Nov 2025
Black Friday's AI Reckoning: When AI Promises Meet Retail Reality
A Hamburg study shows ChatGPT shopping converts 86% worse than affiliate links despite high engagement. With Black Friday 4 days away, Manny and Joe explain why this is the first major stress test for agentic commerce. The tech works, but trust and infrastructure don't. They analyze why users research in ChatGPT but buy elsewhere, what retailers should monitor this week, and why Black Friday 2025 is about data collection—not revenue. Your infrastructure gaps are about to get exposed.
19 Nov 2025
The Bots Are Shopping: Why Amazon Is Blocking Google's AI Army
On November 13th, Google launched AI shopping agents that fundamentally change retail. Manny and Joe break down Google's three features: conversational shopping in AI Mode, "Let Google Call" that phones stores to check inventory, and agentic checkout that auto-purchases when prices hit your target. The big questions: What happens to retail media when bots do the shopping? Why aren't Amazon, Walmart, and Target playing yet? How do you measure ROI when agents make decisions? This is agentic commerce's opening salvo... and nobody's ready.
5 Nov 2025
Agentic AI Goes Shopping: We Watched Robots Fill Our Carts (So You Don't Have To)
In this conversation, Manny and Joe explore the capabilities of AI browsers, specifically focusing on their use in grocery shopping. They conduct a use case test with two different AI browsers, Atlas and Comet, discussing their experiences and the technology's potential. The conversation highlights the decision-making abilities of AI, the importance of user experience, and the future of AI in everyday tasks.
24 Oct 2025
From Search Bars to Store Aisles: AI, Attribution, and the Future of Retail Media
In this episode, Joe and Manny discuss the evolving landscape of retail media, focusing on the decline of traditional search methods in favor of AI-driven conversational commerce. They explore the implications for brands and consumers, emphasizing the importance of optimizing product listings for natural language queries. The conversation also delves into the significance of in-store media and measurement, highlighting the challenges of attribution and privacy in the physical retail space. The hosts conclude by stressing the need for authentic data and customer trust in the future of retail.
9 Oct 2025
Etsy, Shopify & ChatGPT: A New Era in E-Commerce
In the debut episode of "Manny and Joe's Checkout," hosts Manny and Joe explore the latest innovations in retail and commerce, focusing on the groundbreaking integration of ChatGPT with platforms like Etsy and Shopify. They discuss the evolution of AI in shopping, the challenges of brand control, and the potential for a new era of personalized, in-chat commerce. Tune in to discover how these advancements might reshape the future of e-commerce.
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