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The differences between merchandise leads and shift 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 shift supervisor. Additionally, a merchandise lead has an average salary of $35,572, which is higher than the $34,141 average annual salary of a shift supervisor.
The top three skills for a merchandise lead include sales floor, customer service and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a shift supervisor are cash handling, store operations, and store management.
| Merchandise Lead | Shift Supervisor | |
| Yearly salary | $35,572 | $34,141 |
| Hourly rate | $17.10 | $16.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 72,605 | 282,079 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| 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.
Shift supervisors are responsible for the employees assigned to the shift that they are handling. Shift supervisors ensure that the employees who were expected to report to work at the specific shift came in. They also ensure that the employees are doing their jobs while at work. Shift supervisors are expected to ensure that employees are really working during working hours and properly delegate work. Shift supervisors ensure that the employees are productive and efficient in their jobs. They are expected to provide coaching and guidance so that the employees will be able to reach the goals assigned to the work team.
Merchandise leads and shift supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandise Lead | Shift Supervisor | |
| Average salary | $35,572 | $34,141 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $45,000 | Between $26,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Green Bay, WI | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | PepsiCo | AbbVie |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a merchandise lead and a shift supervisor in terms of educational background:
| Merchandise Lead | Shift Supervisor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| 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 shift supervisors' demographics:
| Merchandise Lead | Shift Supervisor | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5% | Male, 49.1% Female, 50.9% |
| 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, 8.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 6.9% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |