The retailers deploying the most AI in retail are hiring store associates at nearly double the rate of everyone else, 70% versus 36%. The fastest-growing retailers are 115% more likely to be adding store associates, not cutting them.
Our take: slashing headcount to look efficient is how you lose the next decade. The smart money is using AI in retail to make store associates faster and better.
🎧 Watch the full Data Blades episode with Greg Buzek of IHL on AI and retail jobs, the augmented associate, and AI in retail.
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from *The Retail Razor: Data Blades* #podcast
*S2:E8 The 97% Hiring Gap Nobody’s Talking About (The Augmented Associate in Retail)*
*Released on June 5, 2026*
*Guest info*
Greg Buzek. https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbuzek/
IHL Group. https://www.ihlservices.com/
*Chapters*
00:00 AI Isn’t Killing Retail Jobs
00:14 The Real Winners
00:24 Staffing Plus Better Tools
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