How To Become A Merchandise Lead: What It Is and Career Path

What is a merchandise lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Merchandise Leads are commonly found in retail companies. They are in charge of the merchandising team. In this role, they oversee the procurement of stocks for the store and the company's inventory. They ensure that each product has enough stocks based on the sales outlook and projected demand. They check whether the stocks are appropriate with the season or with the current trends in the market. They also spearhead activities related to product pricing, store display management, and inventory monitoring. In the store, they ensure that the products are arranged cohesively and that the shelves are well-stocked. Merchandise leads may also take on scheduling delivery and assigning employees who will monitor and receive deliveries.

To become a merchandise lead, one should have a bachelor's degree in business, management, or any related field. They should also have previous work experience as a merchandiser, preferably in a related industry. Skills-wise, they should have good negotiation skills, forecasting abilities, and business acumen. They should also be updated with the latest trends.

ScoreMerchandise LeadUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,572

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.4

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 8.55%

Hispanic or Latino 18.14%

Unknown 4.65%

White 61.00%

Gender

female 57.55%

male 42.45%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

9.4

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a merchandise lead

Explore merchandise lead education requirements

Most common merchandise lead degrees

Bachelor's

48.7 %

Associate

21.8 %

High School Diploma

21.0 %

Start to develop specific merchandise lead skills

Skills	Percentages
Sales Floor	17.23%
Customer Service	8.21%
Customer Satisfaction	6.84%
Store Management	6.66%
POS	6.20%

Complete relevant merchandise lead training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New merchandise leads 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 merchandise lead based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real merchandise lead resumes.

Research merchandise lead duties and responsibilities

Manage merchandising for lumber, building materials, paint, hardware, plumbing, electrical, and the garden department.
Facilitate price checks and pitch in to bag groceries as needed.
Coordinate all POS arrangements and merchandise as strategically design in floor plans.
Assist in all administrative responsibilities including opening and closing store, organization standards, scheduling and payroll processing.

Get merchandise lead experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a merchandise lead. The most common roles before becoming a merchandise lead include sales associate, cashier team lead and assistant manager.

Prepare your merchandise lead resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your merchandise lead 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 merchandise lead resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable merchandise lead resume templates

Build a professional merchandise lead 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 merchandise lead resume.