AI was a featured topic at SPECS 2025. Yes, folks, our favorite sci-fi buzzword made its grand entrance in style, probably because it got tired of being just a conversation starter at parties.
Welcome to the world where artificial intelligence is not only mainstream but is becoming the magical wand that retail operations desperately wave to make their troubles disappear.
At Chain Store Age’s 61st annual SPECS Show in Grapevine, Texas, I helmed several sessions aimed at figuring out how we can throw AI at everything and hope it fixes the underlying issues with our businesses. I mean, why not? What could possibly go wrong?
[READ MORE: NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show – AI is your new best friend and therapist]
Here’s the inside scoop on how our shiny new AI overlords are being employed to serve everything from design and branding to maintenance, because why settle for good old-fashioned work when you can have pixels do it?
Design and Branding: The AI Revolution
In the session “AI: The Future of Store Planning,” Paul Wolski, senior VP and creative director at design agency Miller Zell, revealed that AI is potent, yet surprisingly, it still doesn’t know how to tie its own metaphorical shoes in design. Who knew?
“The physical store represents your brand in a way that AI just doesn’t get, kind of like how your cat doesn’t understand why you’re stuck on Zoom calls every day,” noted Wolski. “You see, AI can generate designs that technically work but feel totally off-brand, like a vegan restaurant advertising grilled steaks.”
Wolski recommended we roll up our sleeves and do some “gut checks” on AI-generated designs. In short, kick the digital tires to ensure they are, in fact, the right tires for your brand’s aesthetic.
“Is it vibin’ right? Is it the right voice?” Wolski asked, reminding us that while AI does the heavy lifting, it’s up to us to make sure the aesthetics don’t terrify customers.
Predictive Maintenance: Or Why Your Refrigeration Triton Needs AI
In a session titled “AI: The Future of Store Planning,” Paul Tidwell, president of digital for Geniant LLC, cheerfully explained how AI can perform magic tricks with predictive maintenance for refrigeration and HVAC systems. Because, apparently, relying on a human’s sense of smell to determine if a fridge is malfunctioning is so 2019.
“It’s not just about the cool machines working efficiently,” Tidwell said. “It’s also about understanding how humans—like pesky customers—affect performance. Spoiler alert: they do! And then we use that information for optimizing maintenance schedules.” What a win-win, unless you’re the HVAC technician who just got bumped off the schedule!
So yes, AI is both saving the environment and helping you cut costs, even though it dabbles in electricity consumption levels that could light up a small town. Who knew that saving on maintenance could be this paradoxical?
Sensor-Based Facility Monitoring: The New Crystal Ball
Richard Jones, director of design and construction for Heartland Dental, enlightened us on how AI and IoT sensors are set to turn facilities management into a high-tech showdown. “Get ready for a tech arms race,” he warned, perhaps with a twinkle in his eye.
As we layer in weather data and monitor site conditions like hawks, soon you’ll find your facilities constantly reporting issues like they’re gossiping about your poor air-conditioning choices behind your back. Just imagine sending out maintenance crews based on IoT sensor alerts. Do you get to be the wizard behind the curtain? Probably. But you’ll also finally know how many wagons roll into that sagging parking lot.
The future is indeed bright, folks—pun intended—with AI signposting the journey toward a more efficient management style for retail. In a world where the only thing more competitive than a clearance sale is the race to digitize, one thing’s for sure: your fridge might just be smarter than your average employee.
