What does a Merchandise Stocker do?

A merchandise stocker is an employee who ensures that shelves and aisles are stocked with the merchandise in retail stores or warehouses. Merchandise stockers must receive the goods, unload or unpack them, mark them with codes to be identified, and stock them on shelves. They help customers to fill orders through mail, web, or phone while preparing the customers' merchandise for shipment. They must also operate a forklift so that they can lift or place merchandise at the assigned shelves.
Merchandise stocker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real merchandise stocker resumes:
- Clean stock area and maintain cleanliness of retail area.
- Use RF scanners to do price markdowns for monthly clearance.
- Used RF scanners to track multiple product locations and expiration dates.
- Perform courtesy task that includes locating items for customers and bagging groceries.
- Perform additional duties as assigned (i.e maintain orders and cleanliness in the store and serve as cashier).
- Greet customers while bagging their groceries, collect carts in parking lot, put away return items, general sanitation.
- Perform repetitious work accurately and with mental alertness.
- Work as fast as possible to meet ROSS optimal time.
Merchandise stocker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 34% of Merchandise Stockers are proficient in Pallet Jack, Customer Service, and Stock Shelves. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Merchandise Stockers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Pallet Jack, 34%
Use pallet jacks to move and sort out full pallets of merchandise throughout warehouse, stock incoming merchandise and setup displays/end-caps.
- Customer Service, 28%
Provided Customer Service by answering customers' questions about merchandise and advised customers on merchandise selection.
- Stock Shelves, 18%
Oversee freight to Stock shelves, inventory, remove and/or add product to and from backroom.
- Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Received many roses for customer satisfaction.
- Food Handling, 4%
Trained kitchen staff on proper use of equipment, food handling, and portion sizing.
- Store Management, 2%
Communicate with store management regularly on changes and updates within department.
"pallet jack," "customer service," and "stock shelves" are among the most common skills that merchandise stockers use at work. You can find even more merchandise stocker responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a merchandise stocker to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what merchandise stockers do because "production, planning, and expediting clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, and production managers and need to communicate the firm’s scheduling needs effectively." Additionally, a merchandise stocker resume shows how merchandise stockers use communication skills: "maintained environmental cleanliness sweeping floors, accomplishments strong work pace, timely, good communication between other employees. "
Customer-service skills. Many merchandise stocker duties rely on customer-service skills. "stock clerks sometimes interact with customers in retail stores and may have to get the item the customer is looking for from the storeroom.," so a merchandise stocker will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways merchandise stocker responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "set up displays, interact with store management and customers at different store locations in the austin metropolitan area. "
Detail oriented. merchandise stockers are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to merchandise stocker responsibilities, because "material and product inspecting clerks check items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot." A merchandise stocker resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "stock shelves with new and old freight and then face or zone the isles at the end of the night.auto detailer"
Math skills. A big part of what merchandise stockers do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to merchandise stocker responsibilities because "some material recording clerks use math to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical merchandise stocker tasks: "use basic math to figure out how much quantity of an item i will need to get. "
The three companies that hire the most merchandise stockers are:
- O'Reilly Auto Parts149 merchandise stockers jobs
- Schwan's123 merchandise stockers jobs
- Woodgrain26 merchandise stockers jobs
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Merchandise stocker vs. In-stock associate
An In-Stock Associate is responsible for ensuring that the shelves of a retail store or warehouse are stocked with up to standard items and merchandise. They follow a supervising staff or manager's instructions while adhering to the company's policies and regulations, reporting problems should there be any. An In-Stock Associate's tasks will also revolve around loading and unloading shipments or deliveries, monitoring the quality and quantity of items, and operating devices such as scanners and forklifts, communicate and assist customers, and cleaning up stockrooms and shelves.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a merchandise stocker are more likely to require skills like "kids," "customer satisfaction," "work ethic," and "store management." On the other hand, a job as an in-stock associate requires skills like "ladders," "pos," "loss prevention," and "cleanliness." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
In-stock associates earn the highest salaries when working in the retail industry, with an average yearly salary of $31,433. On the other hand, merchandise stockers are paid more in the retail industry with an average salary of $30,952.On average, in-stock associates reach similar levels of education than merchandise stockers. In-stock associates are 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Merchandise stocker vs. Stock team member
A stock team member is an employee who is responsible for preparing and distributing merchandise from the backroom to the sales floor. Stock team members are required to support the stocking team by helping locate items on the sales floor and assisting with stocking merchandise. They should scan the store bar codes of merchandise that are moved from the backroom to the sales floor. Stock team members must also maintain a well-stocked appearance in-store as well as work closely with store management to ensure company standards.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that merchandise stocker responsibilities requires skills like "kids," "pallet jack," "customer satisfaction," and "food handling." But a stock team member might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "sales floor," "ladders," "profitable sales," and "good communication."
In general, stock team members achieve similar levels of education than merchandise stockers. They're 0.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Merchandise stocker vs. Stower
A stower is responsible for scanning a product and appropriately placing it to the right shelf for customer's consumption. Duties of a stower include inspecting the item for any defects and escalating damaged items to the supervisor ensuring adequately labeled products. Other responsibilities include operating essential store equipment, adhering to the sanitary standards of the working area, and assisting customers with their concerns and inquiries. A stower should have excellent time-management skills and the ability to multi-task, especially on working with a fast-paced environment.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, merchandise stockers are more likely to have skills like "kids," "pallet jack," "food handling," and "work ethic." But a stower is more likely to have skills like "pet," "pallets," "basic math," and "cleanliness."
Stowers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $32,580. On the other hand, merchandise stockers are paid the highest salary in the retail industry, with average annual pay of $30,952.When it comes to education, stowers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to merchandise stockers. In fact, they're 0.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Merchandise stocker vs. Stock receiver
A stock receiver is a person who manages and processes stocks in retail stores or warehouses. Stock receivers make sure that all shipments are properly inspected, sorted, and stored or stocked on shelves or warehouses. They manage based on the schedule, which includes new and deleted merchandise. It is part of their job to assist in loading and unloading the trucks on a daily basis. They should have excellent skills in customer service and relation, communication, and attention to detail.
Types of merchandise stocker
Updated January 8, 2025