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Merchandise lead education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a merchandise lead. Merchandise leads usually study business, specialized sales and merchandising, or marketing. 49% of merchandise leads hold a bachelor's degree, and 22% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 4,361 real merchandise lead resumes to see exactly what merchandise lead education sections show.
The most common colleges for merchandise leads are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online merchandise lead courses to help get the education required to be a merchandise lead.
What education do you need to become a merchandise lead?
What degree do you need to be a merchandise lead?
- Bachelor's, 49%
- Associate, 22%
- High School Diploma, 21%
- Diploma, 3%
- Other Degrees, 5%
What should I major in to become a merchandise lead?
- Business, 25%
- Marketing, 8%
- Psychology, 6%
- Other Majors, 52%
Most common colleges for merchandise leads
| Merchandise lead common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 9.25% |
| University of Central Florida | 7.93% |
| Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising-San Francisco | 6.17% |
| Texas State University | 5.73% |
| Kent State University | 5.73% |
Best majors for merchandise leads
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 24.9% |
| 2 | Specialized Sales And Merchandising | 9.1% |
| 3 | Marketing | 7.9% |
| 4 | Psychology | 6.5% |
| 5 | Graphic Design | 6.4% |
Best colleges for merchandise leads
The best colleges for merchandise leads are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.
A merchandise lead with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for merchandise leads. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become merchandise leads.
1. SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
Delhi, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,360
Enrollment
3,142
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Enrollment
9,394
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
4. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,830
Enrollment
29,474
5. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Enrollment
33,495
6. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
7. Baylor University
Waco, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$45,542
Enrollment
14,159
8. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred
Alfred, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,570
Enrollment
3,721
9. Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,853
Enrollment
14,759
10. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,896
Enrollment
15,529
20 best online courses for merchandise leads
Advertising disclosure
1. Visual Merchandising Course For Retailers and Students
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2. Fast Track Retail Buying and Merchandising
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3. Open To buy- Retail Merchandising Planning
Merchandise Financial Planning...
4. Create POS System - Inventory & sales with PHP 7 & adminLTE
Learn how to create a POS system with inventory management and billing using PHP 7 and Admin LTE...
5. PHP for Beginners to Inventory POS Sales Project - AdminLTE
Create Inventory POS System Project With Billing by use of Bootstrap Responsive Admin LTE Dashboard With PHP PHP7 MYSQL...
6. Supply Chain Management A-Z: Operations & Logistics Basics
Supply Chain Management Basics: An MBA style course to boost your career as a business operations & logistics manager...
7. SAP MM Materials Management (beginner to expert level)
Master SAP Materials Management module with practical implementation steps. Prepare and crack SAP MM Certification exam...
8. MBA: Retail business, Merchandising, and E-commerce
Build and grow your own retail business and e-commerce...
9. Laravel 9 - Build Complete Inventory Management System A-Z
In This Course, You Will Build Two Different Projects With Laravel 9 including Inventory Management System A-Z...
10. Financial Accounting - Inventory Costs
Mastering Inventory Costs & Flows: An In-Depth Guide to Accounting for Inventory in Business Operations...
11. eBay Drop Shipping Guide with No Inventory - Work From Home
Learn exactly how to work from home purely selling and drop shipping on e Bay. No up front inventory! Basic to Advanced!...
12. RA: Data Science and Supply chain analytics.(A-Z with R)
Learn R,Supply-chain Data Science, Inventory Optimization,Big Data forecasting, Machine learning and Revenue Management...
13. SAP Materials Management (MM) Super User Training
Complete Beginner and Intermediate Purchasing & Inventory Management Training - Perform all the task in SAP in no time...
14. Digital Marketing: How to Generate Sales Leads
Learn How To Generate Leads With A Step-By-Step Workbook & Action Plan To Boost Your Sales in 2019...
15. SAP PI / SAP PO: Interface Development with Standard Adapter
Step by Step Course that shows how to Build Interface with SAP PI / SAP Process Orchestration (SAP PO) Standard Adapter...
16. B2B Sales Skills: LinkedIn Lead Generation, Cold Email Sales
High-ticket B2B sales and marketing. Generate leads, sell to big companies, and win large deals. Learn sales skills!...
17. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service
Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...
18. B2B Sales - Close More Deals, Get More Leads, Work Less
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19. Customer Service
How to Approach New Customers and Maintain Existing Ones...
20. LinkedIn Advanced. Lead Generation Strategies For B2B Sales
The Linked In Marketing Masterclass for Linked In Lead Generation and Business Development for B2B Sales. Remote Strategy...
Top 10 most affordable universities for merchandise leads
The most affordable schools for merchandise leads are Baruch College of the City University of New York, suny farmingdale, and fashion institute of technology.
If the best universities for merchandise leads are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for merchandise leads.
1. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$5,740
Cost of attendance
17,864
4. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
5. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
6. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
7. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
8. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
9. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
10. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for merchandise leads
The hardest universities for merchandise leads to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.
Some great schools for merchandise leads are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for merchandise leads based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
5. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Admissions rate
43%
SAT average
1,338
6. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
7. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
9. Fordham University
Bronx, NY • Private
Admissions rate
46%
SAT average
1,354
10. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
Admissions rate
47%
SAT average
1,390
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for merchandise leads
The easiest schools for merchandise leads to get into are Barry University, oklahoma wesleyan university, and lim college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a merchandise lead without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for merchandise leads.
1. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
3. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
4. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
5. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
6. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
7. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
8. Ursuline College
Pepper Pike, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
1,102
9. William Paterson University of New Jersey
Wayne, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
994
10. Marymount University
Arlington, VA • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,065
Average merchandise lead salary by education level
| Merchandise lead education level | Merchandise lead salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $41,469 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $35,064 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $39,086 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $35,824 |
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025