AI Resilience Report forMerchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers

Right now, AI is more of a helper than a replacement for the people who build store displays. Most automation is happening in the digital planning stages — not the physical work of assembling a window or props. More than eight in 10 retailers have integrated artificial intelligence into their operations to a moderate or large extent, and North American retailers are using AI currently for tasks such as marketing (70%), IT and digital functions (62%), digital commerce (56%), and merchandising strategy and pricing (54%).

In merchandising specifically, McKinsey argues that agentic AI could let merchants "reclaim up to 40 percent of their time" ^[1] by offloading repetitive tasks like pricing updates, signage generation, and planogram tweaks. Tools like generative image models are also helping designers mock up mood boards, seasonal themes, and prop options in seconds. But as VMSD magazine's Eric Feigenbaum writes ^[2], "AI can draft, suggest, simulate and revise at a pace no human team can match" — yet the hands-on craft of building a window, choosing textures, and staging products at human scale still belongs to people.

Adoption is uneven and mostly touches the "thinking" tasks. Kyndryl's Retail Readiness Report found that 89% of retail executives expect AI to reshape roles within a year ^[3], which is pushing merchants to add AI skills. Yet the physical, tactile parts of window trimming — hanging drapes, wiring lights, and assembling fixtures — are hard and expensive to robotize, so labor costs still favor humans.

Brookings researchers reported that new data show no AI jobs apocalypse—for now ^[4], a reassuring signal for display artists. And customers still value in-person experiences: at a Path to Purchase Institute summit, Kantar research showed that 58% of shoppers, even AI-heavy ones, still prefer to buy in physical stores ^[5], keeping demand strong for eye-catching windows. Slowing adoption further, Capgemini notes that 2026 marked "a clear shift from AI as a feature to AI as an operating layer" ^[6] — meaning retailers are being more strategic (and cautious) about where AI actually pays off.

If you love this career, lean into the human skills — storytelling, craft, and creativity — while learning to use AI tools like generative design and photo software as a boost, not a threat.