Merchandise sales manager vs department sales manager

The differences between merchandise sales managers and department sales managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a merchandise sales manager and a department sales manager. Additionally, a department sales manager has an average salary of $57,136, which is higher than the $52,766 average annual salary of a merchandise sales manager.

The top three skills for a merchandise sales manager include customer service, sales floor and sales associates. The most important skills for a department sales manager are sales floor, strong customer service, and store operations.

Merchandise sales manager vs department sales manager overview

	Merchandise Sales Manager	Department Sales Manager
Yearly salary	$52,766	$57,136
Hourly rate	$25.37	$27.47
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	111,810	297,625
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

Merchandise sales manager vs department sales manager salary

Merchandise sales managers and department sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Merchandise Sales Manager	Department Sales Manager
Average salary	$52,766	$57,136
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $79,000	Between $41,000 And $78,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between merchandise sales manager and department sales manager education

There are a few differences between a merchandise sales manager and a department sales manager in terms of educational background:

	Merchandise Sales Manager	Department Sales Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Merchandise sales manager vs department sales manager demographics

Here are the differences between merchandise sales managers' and department sales managers' demographics:

	Merchandise Sales Manager	Department Sales Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8%	Male, 59.3% Female, 40.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between merchandise sales manager and department sales manager duties and responsibilities

Merchandise sales manager example responsibilities.

Prospect and cold-cal commercial locations, building relationships with distributors and manufacturer representatives to leverage internal leads.
Develop a weekly sales report to enable managers to better track sales and POS to goal and prior year.
Represent a complete line of paper and janitorial supplies to wholesale distributors, service established accounts and develop new business partners.
Increase ROI by narrowing focus on strategic accounts, markets & doors.
Create marketing content for pages and promotional initiatives, newsletter design and implementation, create designed and produce PowerPoint presentations.

Department sales manager example responsibilities.

Implement inventory management system to effectively manage on-hands, assist with correct replenishment and maintain an acceptable level of over-stock.
Take corrective actions for sales and inventory errors at all point of sales (POS) systems.
Process merchandise information through store computer system, POS register system and complete all associate paperwork according to company policy.
Utilize information technology expertise to develop and maintain web presence, create marketing opportunities, CRM management, and increase productivity.
Conduct geotechnical and geological investigations and mineral resource evaluations for commercial, industrial and governmental clients using the above-mentioned drilling techniques.

Merchandise sales manager vs department sales manager skills

Common merchandise sales manager skills

Customer Service, 20%
Sales Floor, 15%
Sales Associates, 4%
Inventory Control, 4%
Increase Sales, 4%
POS, 3%

Common department sales manager skills

Sales Floor, 18%
Strong Customer Service, 11%
Store Operations, 10%
Retail Sales, 8%
Cycle Counts, 7%
Customer Service, 7%

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Merchandise Sales Manager
Merchandise Sales Manager vs Department Sales Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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