How To Become A Category Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a category analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

John Lyden

A category analyst is responsible for reviewing the category management systems to improve efficiency. This role helps to maximize the productivity of distribution departments and improve customer satisfaction. He/She works with suppliers and third-party vendors and negotiates pricing contracts. He/She researches current market trends to aid product selection and maintains the adequacy of stock inventories. Also, he/she develops cost-reduction techniques by conducting data analysis and studying the current operational policies. Category analysts recommend ways to improve distribution and pricing.

Working as a category analyst requires a bachelor's degree in business administration, economics, or finances. You must have at least two years of experience in business or a related discipline. You must be able to build long-term customer relationships. Skills like communication, problem-solving, and multitasking are essential to this position.

The category analyst makes an average salary of $63,909 per annum or $30.73 an hour. The salary range falls between $45,000 and $89,000.

What general advice would you give to a category analyst?

John Lyden

Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, University of Nebraska - Omaha

Research skills (ability to find and interpret information), oral and written communication skills (ability to present information clearly), data analysis and interpretation, language interpretation and translation. Computer facility will be highly valued. Employers will include those in higher education, government, non-profits, research institutes, and museums.

ScoreCategory AnalystUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,658

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate 19%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.13%

Asian 11.87%

Black or African American 5.25%

Hispanic or Latino 12.54%

Unknown 5.02%

White 65.19%

Gender

female 51.64%

male 48.36%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a category analyst

Explore category analyst education requirements

Most common category analyst degrees

Bachelor's

78.6 %

Master's

11.3 %

Associate

7.5 %

Start to develop specific category analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
PowerPoint	13.68%
IRI	6.88%
Data Analysis	5.34%
Analyze Data	5.26%
POS	5.15%

Complete relevant category analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New category analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a category analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real category analyst resumes.

Research category analyst duties and responsibilities

Help manage open-to-buy with planner weekly through inventory requests, markdowns, and transfers.
Project manage and enhance IRI database including complete rework of all category classifications.
Manage relationships with primary suppliers including monitoring and purchasing commodities, forecasting, marketing initiatives and quality control.
Present findings to management from in-depth analysis of retail accounts using syndicate (IRI) and retailer proprietary data.

Prepare your category analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your category analyst resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a category analyst resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable category analyst resume templates

Build a professional category analyst resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your category analyst resume.