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Junior product manager vs merchandising manager

The differences between junior product managers 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 junior product manager and a merchandising manager. Additionally, a merchandising manager has an average salary of $86,346, which is higher than the $83,812 average annual salary of a junior product manager.

The top three skills for a junior product manager include project management, user stories and cloud. The most important skills for a merchandising manager are sales floor, POS, and apparel.

Junior product manager vs merchandising manager overview

Junior Product ManagerMerchandising Manager
Yearly salary$83,812$86,346
Hourly rate$40.29$41.51
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs95,173268,577
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age3939
Years of experience1010

What does a junior product manager do?

The junior product manager collaborates with the company's product team in defining the product vision. Junior product managers set the objectives and fundamental results. They build a certain strategic product roadmap which suits the overall strategy of the business. It is part of their job to coordinate activities to market the product. This bridges the gaps between organizational functions and aligns all the teams, including sales, customer support, and marketing.

What does a merchandising manager do?

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.

Junior product manager vs merchandising manager salary

Junior product managers and merchandising managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Junior Product ManagerMerchandising Manager
Average salary$83,812$86,346
Salary rangeBetween $51,000 And $136,000Between $64,000 And $116,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWoonsocket, RI
Highest paying stateWashingtonRhode Island
Best paying companyBroadridgeRoku
Best paying industryFinanceRetail

Differences between junior product manager and merchandising manager education

There are a few differences between a junior product manager and a merchandising manager in terms of educational background:

Junior Product ManagerMerchandising Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia

Junior product manager vs merchandising manager demographics

Here are the differences between junior product managers' and merchandising managers' demographics:

Junior Product ManagerMerchandising Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 43.7% Female, 56.3%Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage10%10%

Differences between junior product manager and merchandising manager duties and responsibilities

Junior product manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage COOP/MDF spend and evaluation ROI with advertising dollars.
  • Manage the promotional activity, POS materials elaboration for department stores, and price guidelines.
  • Modernize and manage MSDS labeling system within the division, as part of the development of ISO.
  • Manage marketing budget, evaluates program ROI, and ensure they are in-line with quarterly and annual budgets.
  • Manage encode, streaming bit rate quality, content uploads, meta-tagging, and XML imports for CMS.
  • Patrol agent for Unix is a server process which is deployed on the managed device to monitor it.
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Merchandising manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage and plan ROI, CPC and bid management on external online shopping sites.
  • Manage hardware, plumbing, kitchen and bath, kitchen design, and night operations.
  • Create all marketing materials (paper/media), organize logistics of readings, manage financials.
  • Manage merchandising for lumber, building materials, paint, hardware, plumbing, electrical, and the garden department.
  • Lead website development committee, including RFP development, ROI analysis, marketing, brand-enhancement strategies, and back-end integration solutions.
  • Manage creative development and production of indirect channel POS fixtures creating brand consistency
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Junior product manager vs merchandising manager skills

Common junior product manager skills
  • Project Management, 20%
  • User Stories, 14%
  • Cloud, 11%
  • Market Research, 9%
  • Product Development, 6%
  • Product Roadmap, 6%
Common merchandising manager skills
  • Sales Floor, 10%
  • POS, 9%
  • Apparel, 7%
  • Pallets, 6%
  • Merchandise Presentation, 5%
  • Drive Sales, 5%

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