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The differences between merchandising representatives and sales support representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a merchandising representative and a sales support representative. Additionally, a sales support representative has an average salary of $38,310, which is higher than the $32,303 average annual salary of a merchandising representative.
The top three skills for a merchandising representative include little supervision, store management and plan-o-grams. The most important skills for a sales support representative are sales support, phone calls, and POS.
| Merchandising Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $32,303 | $38,310 |
| Hourly rate | $15.53 | $18.42 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 351,931 | 319,292 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Merchandising representatives are professionals who are responsible for providing point-of-purchase and shelf management services to produce sales. These representatives are required to plan and develop merchandising strategies so that they can balance the expectations of customers and the organization's objectives. They must maintain store shelves and display products appropriately so that they can maximize the interest of customers and sales levels. Merchandising representatives must also analyze sales figures, the reactions of customers, and market trends to anticipate their product needs and plan product stock.
A sales support representative is responsible for assisting the complex operations of sales departments, performing administrative duties under the supervision of a direct manager. Sales support representatives' tasks include acknowledging and encoding customers' orders in the system, processing payments, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, writing sales reports, and updating the customer of the shipment details. They also support the sales representatives on selling goods and services to potential customers by creating marketing materials and communicating with customers over the phone and e-mail to generate revenues and increase profits.
Merchandising representatives and sales support representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Average salary | $32,303 | $38,310 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $40,000 | Between $30,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Washington |
| Best paying company | ECMD | NetApp |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a merchandising representative and a sales support representative in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between merchandising representatives' and sales support representatives' demographics:
| Merchandising Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.2% Female, 52.8% | Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |