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The differences between merchandise leads and sales supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a merchandise lead and a sales supervisor. Additionally, a sales supervisor has an average salary of $40,860, which is higher than the $35,572 average annual salary of a merchandise lead.
The top three skills for a merchandise lead include sales floor, customer service and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a sales supervisor are ladders, sales floor, and inventory control.
| Merchandise Lead | Sales Supervisor | |
| Yearly salary | $35,572 | $40,860 |
| Hourly rate | $17.10 | $19.64 |
| Growth rate | 6% | - |
| Number of jobs | 72,605 | 424,088 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A merchandise lead is responsible for strategizing merchandise methods to reach sales performance targets. Merchandise leads assist the consumers in choosing the best products according to their needs and budget limitations. They evaluate the current market trends to generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profitability by negotiating with trusted suppliers and vendors. A merchandise lead must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in helping with marketing and promotional campaigns to attract consumers' interests and meet public demands.
A sales supervisor is an individual who is responsible for the daily activities of sales representatives in promoting and selling a product by phone or email. He/She needs to track the weekly and monthly performances of his/her sales representatives. The minimum requirement of being a sales supervisor is a high school diploma. However, he/she is required to have two years of working experience. One of the skills required of a sales supervisor is to have the ability to multitask and time management.
Merchandise leads and sales supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandise Lead | Sales Supervisor | |
| Average salary | $35,572 | $40,860 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $45,000 | Between $31,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Green Bay, WI | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New York |
| Best paying company | PepsiCo | ServiceNow |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a merchandise lead and a sales supervisor in terms of educational background:
| Merchandise Lead | Sales Supervisor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi |
Here are the differences between merchandise leads' and sales supervisors' demographics:
| Merchandise Lead | Sales Supervisor | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5% | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |