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What is a merchandising operations manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Eric Olsen

Every merchandising company divides its activities into an independent operation. These operations include buying products, placing them into storage areas, and selling them to earn a good profit. To smoothly run these merchandising operations, you need to take advantage of the services of skilled merchandising operations managers.

A skillful merchandising operations manager will develop and execute merchandising plans and manage merchandising operations to achieve volume and desired profit goals. They coach and train merchandising staff to ensure product assortment displays seasonal, branding, and clients' demands. Smart managers develop efficient plans by taking help from consumer trends, inventory and sales metrics, customer insights, and shopping patterns.

The job title can enable you to generate an income of $44.02 an hour. Before you can work as a manager, you will generally need five years of work experience in the field. With a 6% job growth, the profession is great for individuals with skills like sales goals and inventory management. The education level needed for the job is a bachelor's or high school diploma in business.

What general advice would you give to a merchandising operations manager?

Eric OlsenEric Olsen LinkedIn profile

Professor, Industrial Technology and Packaging, Orfalea College of Business

Times of change are also times of great opportunities. We are going to need new technical solutions to address problems we are just learning about. You have to lean into the issues. Don't be a technologist - be a problem solver. That is why we also emphasize soft skills like lean six sigma, teamwork, and change management.
ScoreMerchandising Operations ManagerUS Average
Salary
5.3

Avg. Salary $68,006

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
9.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.36%

Black or African American 6.17%

Hispanic or Latino 15.16%

Unknown 4.34%

White 67.51%

Gender

female 44.21%

male 55.79%

Age - 44
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44
Stress level
9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Merchandising operations manager career paths

Key steps to become a merchandising operations manager

  1. Explore merchandising operations manager education requirements

    Most common merchandising operations manager degrees

    Bachelor's

    62.4 %

    Associate

    17.6 %

    High School Diploma

    10.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific merchandising operations manager skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Sales Floor18.91%
    Product Knowledge15.87%
    Performance Evaluations12.40%
    Exceptional Guest12.38%
    Store Sales11.06%
  3. Complete relevant merchandising operations manager training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New merchandising operations managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a merchandising operations manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real merchandising operations manager resumes.
  4. Research merchandising operations manager duties and responsibilities

    • Manage team of database administrators, database technicians and systems administrators responsible for maintaining all production, development and QA systems.
    • Ensure that products and POS material are properly display in assign stores within territory.
    • Develop and re-engineer business process from vendor data management to foundation data processes and POS implications.
    • Direct inbound and outbound logistics operations, such as transportation or warehouse activities, safety performance, and logistics quality management.
  5. Apply for merchandising operations manager jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a merchandising operations manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first merchandising operations manager job

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Average merchandising operations manager salary

The average merchandising operations manager salary in the United States is $68,006 per year or $33 per hour. Merchandising operations manager salaries range between $45,000 and $101,000 per year.

Average merchandising operations manager salary
$68,006 Yearly
$32.70 hourly

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How do merchandising operations managers rate their job?

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Merchandising operations manager reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

The people that you meet! Interactive with a diverse group of individuals from every walk of life.

Cons

The employees with all no calls and no shows!!!!! Poor upper management not taking up for the staff. Also the rude individual’s that comes in gripping about everything


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A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020
Pros

i like being in charge and the head of the team

Cons

i don't want to have all responsibility


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020
Pros

Communication & hard work

Cons

We have to work like a ten all of them have to bee like good friend


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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