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Category analyst vs data research analyst

The differences between category analysts and data research analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a category analyst and a data research analyst. Additionally, a category analyst has an average salary of $60,658, which is higher than the $57,865 average annual salary of a data research analyst.

The top three skills for a category analyst include powerpoint, IRI and data analysis. The most important skills for a data research analyst are data analysis, data collection, and patients.

Category analyst vs data research analyst overview

Category AnalystData Research Analyst
Yearly salary$60,658$57,865
Hourly rate$29.16$27.82
Growth rate19%19%
Number of jobs17,182135,144
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age3737
Years of experience66

What does a category analyst do?

A category analyst is responsible for evaluating the category management systems to improve efficiency and maximize the productivity of distribution departments and achieve the highest customer satisfaction. Category analysts coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors, negotiate pricing contracts, research on current market trends for product selection, and maintain the adequacy of stock inventories. They also develop cost-reduction techniques by conducting data analysis and studying the current operational policies. A category analyst works closely with the marketing and sales team to identify business opportunities, implementing promotional techniques, and increase brand awareness to the public market.

What does a data research analyst do?

The job of a data research analyst focuses on the interpretation of research results. The results data research analysts gather is turned into information offering ways for business improvement. They collect data information from different sources then interpret their patterns and trends. These professionals prepare investigative reports on assets and securities for a client or in-house use. They need to develop skills in a good organization, excellent communication, attention to detail, and accuracy.

Category analyst vs data research analyst salary

Category analysts and data research analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

Category AnalystData Research Analyst
Average salary$60,658$57,865
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $84,000Between $40,000 And $81,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WABellevue, WA
Highest paying stateDelawareWashington
Best paying companyAmazonMicrosoft
Best paying industryEducationFinance

Differences between category analyst and data research analyst education

There are a few differences between a category analyst and a data research analyst in terms of educational background:

Category AnalystData Research Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia

Category analyst vs data research analyst demographics

Here are the differences between category analysts' and data research analysts' demographics:

Category AnalystData Research Analyst
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 48.4% Female, 51.6%Male, 48.4% Female, 51.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 11.9% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 14.0% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between category analyst and data research analyst duties and responsibilities

Category analyst example 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.
  • Develop and standardize analysis process, integrating POS data from a broad spectrum of retailers in a variance demographic of clusters.
  • Coordinate logistics activities relating to seasonal, agricultural, promotional, new items and discontinue programs.
  • Show more

Data research analyst example responsibilities.

  • Manage weapon system project websites via SharePoint, including troubleshooting technical issues and developing guidelines for public/private information and user permissions.
  • Implement data and analysis visualization using Java.
  • Clean data in SPSS for further analysis, formatting variable names, labels, and order.
  • Utilize SAS data outputs and an intimate working knowledge of Atlantic coast fisheries to identify anomalies in the data sets.
  • Develop tools using VBA to validate input and export data correlation to decrease manual validation time need by data owners.
  • Contribute towards thesaurus management and visualization tools development.
  • Show more

Category analyst vs data research analyst skills

Common category analyst skills
  • PowerPoint, 14%
  • IRI, 7%
  • Data Analysis, 5%
  • Analyze Data, 5%
  • POS, 5%
  • Business Reviews, 3%
Common data research analyst skills
  • Data Analysis, 10%
  • Data Collection, 9%
  • Patients, 8%
  • Python, 7%
  • Research Projects, 5%
  • Data Management, 5%

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