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The differences between creative leads and merchandising managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a creative lead and a merchandising manager. Additionally, a creative lead has an average salary of $93,742, which is higher than the $86,346 average annual salary of a merchandising manager.
The top three skills for a creative lead include sketch, project management and adobe creative suite. The most important skills for a merchandising manager are sales floor, POS, and apparel.
| Creative Lead | Merchandising Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $93,742 | $86,346 |
| Hourly rate | $45.07 | $41.51 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 6,384 | 268,577 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A creative lead is responsible for leading a team of creative staff in conceptualizing designs according to project requirements and client specifications. Creative leads must have excellent technical and critical-thinking skills for utilizing various software tools and applications to generate designs and adjust initial outlines as needed. They also assist the creative staff with the documentation and submission of layouts that meet quality standards and budget limitations. A creative lead works closely with the creative director to establish creative solutions that would attract the audience and enhance the brand's image on market platforms.
A merchandising manager is responsible for supervising stock inventories, retail pricing, and managing product displays by analyzing customer preferences through researching the current market trends that would improve the store's sales condition and achieve profitability goals. Merchandising managers negotiate with reliable third-party vendors, minimizing costs without compromising the quality of the products. They also assist with planning floor layouts for store visuals that would attract customers and marketing promotional offers and special discounts to increase more revenues.
Creative leads and merchandising managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Creative Lead | Merchandising Manager | |
| Average salary | $93,742 | $86,346 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $169,000 | Between $64,000 And $116,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Woonsocket, RI |
| Highest paying state | California | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Meta | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a creative lead and a merchandising manager in terms of educational background:
| Creative Lead | Merchandising Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Business |
| Most common college | University of Wisconsin - Madison | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between creative leads' and merchandising managers' demographics:
| Creative Lead | Merchandising Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9% | Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |