S1E46 - Jason Del Rey - Winner Sells All

The migration to eCommerce took a massive leap forward during the COVID pandemic.  Few benefited as much as Amazon and Walmart.  To get a handle on this phenomenon, we met with Jason Del Rey who chronicled the rise, challenges and impact of these two behemoths on global retail.  Drawing from the reporting for his recent book, Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart and the Battle for our Wallets, Jason Del Rey is uniquely qualified to comment.  Walmart is doing about as well online as Amazon is doing in brick and mortar retail, but these two titans are in pitched, existential competition.  On the one hand, the consumer gets greater choice at lower prices.  On the other, mom and pops across the country have shuttered and both giants get low marks for their labor practices.  How did they get here? What are their struggles and opportunities?  What are the implications for us all?  Join us.

Biography

Jason Del Rey is a veteran business journalist who spent a decade at Recode, a leading online technology publication, reporting on Amazon, Walmart, and how technology is transforming retail, both online and in stores. He is the host of Land of the Giants: The Rise of Amazon, a narrative podcast series about the tech giant’s rise and the impact of its relentless ambition on hundreds of millions of people across the globe. He was also the producer of Code Commerce, an event series featuring unscripted interviews with the most influential executives and entrepreneurs working at the intersection of technology and commerce. In 2019, the National Retail Federation named him one of the “25 People Shaping Retail’s Future.” He lives in Northern New Jersey with his wife and two children.

WINNER SELLS ALL: Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for Our Wallets

Conversation recorded on August 11, 2023.