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The differences between merchandising assistants and merchandising specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a merchandising assistant has an average salary of $34,679, which is higher than the $32,920 average annual salary of a merchandising specialist.
The top three skills for a merchandising assistant include sales floor, customer service and customer issues. The most important skills for a merchandising specialist are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Merchandising Assistant | Merchandising Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $34,679 | $32,920 |
| Hourly rate | $16.67 | $15.83 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 22,645 | 49,769 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 43 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A merchandising assistant is responsible for contributing new goods and services for the business, identifying business opportunities based on the market demands to drive revenues and increase profitability. Merchandising assistants also monitor stock inventories, negotiating with suppliers and other third-party vendors for deliveries, and strategizing on how to minimize costs without compromising the quality. They also help with arranging product displays, developing marketing campaigns, and planning promotional offers to attract customers for purchase. A merchandising assistant must have excellent communication skills, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, and directing them to the appropriate section for their needs.
A merchandising specialist is responsible for managing the promotion of the business' products, arranging creative displays both on the physical store and company website to attract consumers on purchasing the products to generate revenues and increase profitability. Merchandising specialists assist in the development of marketing campaigns, as well as facilitating promotional offers on different communication channels. They also monitor stock inventories, analyze pricing structures, and adjust selling strategies by researching the current market trends, identifying business opportunities to meet customers' demands, and improve the negotiation process.
Merchandising assistants and merchandising specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Assistant | Merchandising Specialist | |
| Average salary | $34,679 | $32,920 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $46,000 | Between $22,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Softpath System | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a merchandising assistant and a merchandising specialist in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Assistant | Merchandising Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between merchandising assistants' and merchandising specialists' demographics:
| Merchandising Assistant | Merchandising Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.2% Female, 76.8% | Male, 43.5% Female, 56.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 17% |