Will visual merchandisers be replaced by AI?
Updated
Visual merchandisers score 29 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 52%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 2% outright, and 46% stays with people.
- 2% AI can do it
- 52% AI helps
- 46% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 64% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 24 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 11 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Use computers to produce signage. Digital signage design and text generation done by software. | 65% AI can do it |
| Develop ideas or plans for merchandise displays or window decorations. Idea generation is well suited to AI image and text tools. | 50% AI helps |
| Prepare sketches, floor plans, or models of proposed displays. Sketches and floor plans via design software; models need hands. | 50% AI helps |
| Select themes, lighting, colors, or props to be used. AI can suggest themes, palettes and props; person decides. | 45% AI helps |
| Plan commercial displays to entice and appeal to customers. Creative planning; AI can generate concepts and mood boards. | 40% AI helps |
| Consult with advertising or sales staff to determine type of merchandise to be featured and time and place for each display. Scheduling and merchandise choices aided by AI; meetings stay human. | 35% AI helps |
| Collaborate with others to obtain products or other display items. Procurement emails and tracking aided by AI; sourcing is physical. | 30% AI helps |
| Obtain plans from display designers or display managers and discuss their implementation with clients or supervisors. AI can summarize plans; discussions with clients stay live. | 30% AI helps |
| Store, pack, and maintain inventory records of props, products, or display items. Inventory records are digital; packing and storing are physical. | 30% AI helps |
| Place prices or descriptive signs on backdrops, fixtures, merchandise, or floor. Sign text can be drafted by AI; physical placement stays manual. | 28% AI helps |
Show the other 14 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Consult with store managers, buyers, sales associates, housekeeping staff, or engineering staff to determine appropriate placement of displays or products. Placement talks with staff; AI helps with notes and scheduling. | 25% AI helps |
| Supervise or train staff members on daily tasks, such as visual merchandising. Training materials can be drafted; coaching staff is live. | 22% AI helps |
| Take photographs of displays or signage. Photo taking is manual; AI helps with editing and cataloguing. | 20% AI helps |
| Instruct sales staff in color coordination of clothing racks or counter displays. Live coaching of staff on color coordination in person. | 18% Needs a person |
| Change or rotate window displays, interior display areas, or signage to reflect changes in inventory or promotion. Physical window and floor changes; only planning is digital. | 15% Needs a person |
| Attend training sessions or corporate planning meetings to obtain new ideas for product launches. Attending in-person training and planning meetings. | 15% Needs a person |
| Arrange properties, furniture, merchandise, backdrops, or other accessories, as shown in prepared sketches. Physically arranging props and merchandise in space. | 12% Needs a person |
| Cut out designs on cardboard, hardboard, or plywood, according to motif of event. Physical cutting of boards; digital templates only help slightly. | 10% Needs a person |
| Assemble or set up displays, furniture, or products in store space, using colors, lights, pictures, or other accessories to display the product. Physical assembly and setup of displays in store. | 8% Needs a person |
| Construct or assemble displays or display components from fabric, glass, paper, or plastic, using hand tools or woodworking power tools, according to specifications. Hand and power tool construction from physical materials. | 8% Needs a person |
| Maintain props, products, or mannequins, inspecting them for imperfections, doing touch-ups, cleaning up after customers, or applying preservative coatings as necessary. Hands-on inspection, touch-ups and cleaning of props and mannequins. | 5% Needs a person |
| Install booths, exhibits, displays, carpets, or drapes, as guided by floor plan of building or specifications. Physical installation of booths, carpets and drapes. | 5% Needs a person |
| Dress mannequins for displays. Physically dressing and posing mannequins. | 5% Needs a person |
| Install decorations, such as flags, banners, festive lights, or bunting on or in building, street, exhibit hall, or booth. Physically hanging banners, flags and lights at height. | 3% Needs a person |
How visual merchandisers compare
All occupations (923)
Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (40)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $39,390 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 165,220 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +2.7% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Draft floor plans and display layouts in AutoCAD
- Produce concept boards in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign
- Build display components with hand and power tools
- Dress and pose mannequins for store windows
- Plan display timing with sales and advertising staff
- Install banners, flags and lights at height on site
Questions about visual merchandisers and AI
Will AI replace visual merchandisers?
Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly producing signage and generating display ideas. Hands-on installation, dressing mannequins and building displays stay with people because they need a person physically in the store.
Which visual merchandiser tasks is AI taking over?
Producing signage is the most exposed task, with an exposure score of 65, because design software and text generation can make digital signs from a brief. Developing display ideas, with an exposure score of 50, is next, since AI image and text tools can produce concepts and mood boards quickly.
Which visual merchandiser tasks stay human?
Installing banners, flags and lights at height scores 3 on exposure, the lowest in the job, because it needs a person physically on site. Dressing mannequins and assembling displays in store, scoring 5 and 8, stay with people because they work with physical materials and hands.
How can visual merchandisers stay valuable?
Use AI tools for concept boards in Adobe Illustrator, then check each draft against the store floor plan in AutoCAD. Keep hands-on skills sharp, such as dressing mannequins and building displays from glass, paper and plastic. Lead planning meetings with advertising and sales staff, where merchandise and timing get decided.
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