Sam’s Club’s Julie Barber On Agentic AI, Surprise & Delight, and the Future of Merchandising | NRF 2026

In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live from NRF 2026 at the Vusion booth, Julie Barber, EVP and Chief Merchant at Sam’s Club, joins Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton to explain how merchandising, data, and agentic AI are reshaping assortment strategy, fresh food execution, and member value in 2026.With more than 20 years at Walmart Inc. and deep experience across grocery, health, general merchandise, and services, Julie shares how Sam’s Club is balancing intentional, value-driven shopping with surprise and delight experiences that keep members engaged. From Scan & Go insights and real-time inventory visibility to agentic AI-powered assortment decisions, this conversation breaks down how modern merchants blend art and science at scale.Key Topics covered:What surprised Sam’s Club merchants about member behavior in 2025Why intentional shopping and surprise and delight coexistHow Scan & Go data is changing assortment and adjacency decisionsUsing connected store signals to improve inventory accuracyThe role of scrubbers, real-time data, and floor executionHow Sam’s Club approaches fresh food, protein trends, and home meal solutionsMember’s Mark and the removal of artificial colors and ingredientsApplying agentic AI to assortment planning and localizationHow AI speeds decisions from weeks to minutesTurning AI-driven efficiency into better in-stocks, lower costs, and member valueStay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from NRF 2026, and stop by the Vusion booth #4921 to say hello.#NRF2026 #SamsClub #Merchandising #RetailAI #AgenticAI #ConnectedStore #RetailInnovation #MembersMark #OmniTalk #RetailLeadershipThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy