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The differences between merchandising managers and visual merchandising managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a merchandising manager, becoming a visual merchandising manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a visual merchandising manager has an average salary of $97,250, which is higher than the $86,346 average annual salary of a merchandising manager.
The top three skills for a merchandising manager include sales floor, POS and apparel. The most important skills for a visual merchandising manager are customer service, POS, and store operations.
| Merchandising Manager | Visual Merchandising Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $86,346 | $97,250 |
| Hourly rate | $41.51 | $46.75 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 268,577 | 23,486 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 39 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 6 |
A merchandising manager is responsible for supervising stock inventories, retail pricing, and managing product displays by analyzing customer preferences through researching the current market trends that would improve the store's sales condition and achieve profitability goals. Merchandising managers negotiate with reliable third-party vendors, minimizing costs without compromising the quality of the products. They also assist with planning floor layouts for store visuals that would attract customers and marketing promotional offers and special discounts to increase more revenues.
A visual merchandising manager is responsible for facilitating the arrangement of visual displays to attract customers to purchase the products. Visual merchandising managers monitor the sales performance of the store and develop effective merchandise strategies to boost revenues and increase profitability. They also assist in creating promotional events and discount offers, as well as designing the store's layout during special occasions. A visual merchandising manager must have excellent leadership and communication skills, especially on guiding the staff's performance and implementing techniques to maximize productivity.
Merchandising managers and visual merchandising managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Manager | Visual Merchandising Manager | |
| Average salary | $86,346 | $97,250 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $116,000 | Between $67,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | Woonsocket, RI | Bridgeport, CT |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Roku | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Retail |
There are a few differences between a merchandising manager and a visual merchandising manager in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Manager | Visual Merchandising Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Specialized Sales And Merchandising |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between merchandising managers' and visual merchandising managers' demographics:
| Merchandising Manager | Visual Merchandising Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3% | Male, 31.7% Female, 68.3% |
| 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, 8.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 9% |