Grocery associate vs general merchandise clerk

The differences between grocery associates and general merchandise clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a grocery associate has an average salary of $35,040, which is higher than the $34,415 average annual salary of a general merchandise clerk.

The top three skills for a grocery associate include frozen food, general merchandise and truck deliveries. The most important skills for a general merchandise clerk are product knowledge, product displays, and customer service.

Grocery associate vs general merchandise clerk overview

	Grocery Associate	General Merchandise Clerk
Yearly salary	$35,040	$34,415
Hourly rate	$16.85	$16.55
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	202,439	137,799
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	-	-

What does a grocery associate do?

Grocery Associates are responsible for assisting with maintaining operations and providing customer service of a grocery store. Their duties include greeting customers, providing product suggestions, conduct product stocking and rotation, assisting with vendor merchandising, and unloading products from trucks. They are also responsible for operating equipment in departments, reporting illegal activities to management, and bagging groceries. Grocery Associates ensure the displays and aisles are clean while assisting customers with product finding and giving directions.

What does a general merchandise clerk do?

This individual works in the GM section of a store. They interact with customers and assist them as they purchase merchandise. In this role, they are expected to place all special orders and to take stock of all products annually. Other responsibilities of this position include developing merchandise plans and ensuring they are compliant with quality standards. They may also have to evaluate merchandise and ensure credit payments are accurate.

Grocery associate vs general merchandise clerk salary

Grocery associates and general merchandise clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Grocery Associate	General Merchandise Clerk
Average salary	$35,040	$34,415
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $46,000	Between $27,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between grocery associate and general merchandise clerk education

There are a few differences between a grocery associate and a general merchandise clerk in terms of educational background:

	Grocery Associate	General Merchandise Clerk
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Grocery associate vs general merchandise clerk demographics

Here are the differences between grocery associates' and general merchandise clerks' demographics:

	Grocery Associate	General Merchandise Clerk
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 79.4% Female, 20.6%	Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 6.6% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.0% Asian, 5.9% White, 56.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between grocery associate and general merchandise clerk duties and responsibilities

Grocery associate example responsibilities.

Receive payment via cash, checks, credit cards, debit cards and WIC.
Generate ideas: better organization in back room, labeling u-boats with dates, sales, etc.
Unload and secure receive products in the appropriate refrigerate storage areas using power, hand jack, carts or u-boats.
Maintain department cleanliness, and provide premier customer service.
Employ at Meijer's as a (GMC).
Stock and rotate product (FIFO )

General merchandise clerk example responsibilities.

Provide great customer service while effectively bagging groceries.
Collect all carts from outside help cashiers bag groceries for customers and sometimes help the customers take groceries to their car.
Execute grain futures orders for special accounts that require extraordinary attention to detail as well as personalized service.
Work in almost every department in the Kroger store.

Grocery associate vs general merchandise clerk skills

Common grocery associate skills

Frozen Food, 38%
General Merchandise, 14%
Truck Deliveries, 14%
Front End, 6%
Work Ethic, 4%
Grocery Store, 4%

Common general merchandise clerk skills

Product Knowledge, 44%
Product Displays, 20%
Customer Service, 9%
Stock Shelves, 6%
Sales Floor, 3%
Math, 3%

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Grocery Associate
Grocery Associate vs General Merchandise Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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