3 Takeaways from PI Apparel Merchandise Planning Show 2025

Retail trade shows and conferences are always an exciting time—full days of networking with leading experts, checking out innovative tech vendors and learning more about the industry’s needs. At PI Apparel’s Merchandise Planning Show, our team spent 2 days on the ground assessing merchant challenges and requirements.

Here are three takeaways we uncovered at the PI Apparel show:

1. Data, Data, Data

From big data and data analytics to data integrity and beyond, improving data quality and accessing actionable insights were top of mind for planners. Business of Fashion revealed in a report earlier this year that 75% of retail executives intend to prioritize data-driven tools in 2025—and the buzz at PI backed this up. 

A key benefit of using a system instead of 100s of spreadsheets is the elimination of data silos. Fractured systems give fractured results. Messy data and a lack of visibility was a recurring theme execs hope to address through retail tech; unifying plans and sub plans across brands/labels, regions, channels and departments on a single platform will especially improve the forecasting and reporting processes.

Having a master database not only comes in handy when planning and scaling, but also helps standardize global processes and connect internal teams: merchandising, product development, designers, etc. Manual processes slow down processes and limit the amount of accessible insights for dynamic responses. While brands recognize the importance of clean data and a unified system, the transition can be a daunting task, especially for heritage brands with decades of data or conglomerates acquiring storied brands left and right.

2. AI Enhancing the Art

The resounding AI message at PI: AI will not replace planners, it will enable them.

Let’s talk about the art and the science of merchandising; the art is the human element to align products with branding and supporting designer vision, while the science is the data backing the decisions. AI comes in to enhance the art by analyzing data at scale, at a granular level, and improving operational efficiencies through automation. Another way AI can enhance the art of merchandising is by providing them with a smarter base for their planning processes, rooted in deep insights from robust analysis. While retailers are aware of the benefits of AI at this point, the challenge is with change management/trusting the system and being able to prove ROI. 

On the second day our team held a Think Tank around How to Perfect Your Merchandise Assortment with AI-Based Inventory Optimization, discussing how retailers can strike the right balance between demand, availability and profitability through merchandise planning. In our interactive session, we explored how AI-driven insights can refine assortment strategies, empowering retailers to stay ahead of the consumer with an agile, proactive approach to inventory management. More on this topic here: Why AI Data-Driven Retail is the Future—and How to Get There. 

3. Tariffs

With the retail industry importing 97% of all goods from other countries, it’s not a surprise that retailers would be concerned about tariff uncertainty and the pressures associated with this supply chain disruption. As a result, flexible planning has become imperative to retailers, especially “what-if” scenario planning. To ease the pressure of volatility, retailers need to stay responsive. Visibility and accurate forecasting helps execs stay alert and nimble. 

In a previous post, we uncovered 5 strategies retailers can use to offset tariff costs. 

Short- and long-range planning is important. But needs accuracy. With a turbulent landscape, it’s nearly impossible to predict what will happen next—that’s where scenario planning comes in. Retailers need to be able to ascertain when to adopt a specific draft plan and when to pivot—tech simply presents the options in a streamlined way. 

The PI Apparel Merchandise Planning show focused on tech-enabled transformation; attendees could explore how different solutions would enable them to adapt to unpredictable trends and supply chain shocks that impacted their overall inventory strategies. 

To discover more retail trends, industry insights and innovative shifts in retail tech, read our blogs. Email us at info@7thonline.com to talk to the team.