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The differences between merchandising directors and product directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a merchandising director and a product director. Additionally, a product director has an average salary of $148,910, which is higher than the $145,282 average annual salary of a merchandising director.
The top three skills for a merchandising director include apparel, gross margin and direct reports. The most important skills for a product director are product management, product strategy, and project management.
| Merchandising Director | Product Director | |
| Yearly salary | $145,282 | $148,910 |
| Hourly rate | $69.85 | $71.59 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 81,434 | 125,200 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A merchandising director is in charge of spearheading and streamlining merchandising strategies, including promotion and branding. Using their expertise and experience, they conceptualize plans with fellow directors and managers, perform extensive research and analysis, gather and analyze data, set goals and guidelines, establish budgets and schedules, and build positive relationships with external business partners. Moreover, as a merchandising director, they must lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
The duties of a product director depend on one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the product development operations to ensure smooth flow and efficiency, devise strategies to improve processes, gather relevant data such as sales and customer feedback, and coordinate with different departments in developing new products and services. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage departments to meet goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.
Merchandising directors and product directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Director | Product Director | |
| Average salary | $145,282 | $148,910 |
| Salary range | Between $103,000 And $203,000 | Between $104,000 And $212,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Coty | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Internet |
There are a few differences between a merchandising director and a product director in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Director | Product Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between merchandising directors' and product directors' demographics:
| Merchandising Director | Product Director | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1% | Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |