The man who built Apple’s stores doesn’t buy Silicon Valley’s bet on AI shopping

Ron Johnson, who led the creation of Apple’s retail network beginning in 2000, says artificial intelligence will enhance online shopping but won’t eliminate the need for physical stores. While major tech firms are pushing agentic commerce—systems designed to take consumers from discovery to checkout—Johnson expects those tools to narrow choices and inform buyers rather than fully replace personal decision‑making. Johnson argues that many purchases, especially higher‑value electronics such as laptops, remain too personal to hand off entirely to an AI agent. He says customers want to judge aspects that can only be experienced in person—weight, screen feel, size—and that AI cannot replicate physical interaction. Instead, he foresees AI helping customers arrive at stores better prepared and more informed. His conviction is rooted in how Apple designed its retail locations: not only as points of sale but as places to try products, learn how to use them, and get support. In his new book, Shop Different, Johnson recounts how store layout, glass‑forward design, and service counters like the Genius Bar were widely imitated, but he emphasises that the distinguishing factor was store employees. Apple’s sales staff were not paid on commission, a choice Johnson says reduced pressure to sell and encouraged finding what customers truly needed. Johnson also reflected on his post‑Apple career, noting that his attempt to transform J.C. Penney failed because he treated it like a startup rather than a turnaround, and that his later company Enjoy Technology filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and sold most assets to Asurion. Despite his skepticism about AI replacing in‑person shopping, he calls himself an “AI optimist” and believes leaders like Steve Jobs would have welcomed AI as a tool while still valuing human intuition and debate in problem‑solving.