What Does a Merchandising Representative Do?

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.

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Merchandising Representative Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real merchandising representative resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

Manage Nintendo's promotional programs; secure and maintain point-of-purchase displays that alert customers to brand availability.
Update POS promotional materials such as cardboard temporary decorative displays.
Coordinate and administer jewelry entries for industry awards and advertisements in national fashion magazines.
Assist patients with Critical/Triage calls; document necessary symptoms for medical assistants to determine what medical intervention is necessary.
Place IRC on assign products for promotional sales.
Increase sales by installing displays and instant rebate coupons (IRC).
Manage Nintendo's promotional programs; secure and maintain point-of-purchase displays that alert customers to brand availability.

Merchandising Representative Job Description

Perhaps the hardest question to answer when deciding on a career as a merchandising representative is "should I become a merchandising representative?" You might find this info to be helpful. When compared to other jobs, merchandising representative careers are projected to have a growth rate described as "slower than average" at 2% from 2018 through 2028. This is in accordance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What's more, is that the projected number of opportunities that are predicted to become available for a merchandising representative by 2028 is 35,400.

A merchandising representative annual salary averages $32,303, which breaks down to $15.53 an hour. However, merchandising representatives can earn anywhere from upwards of $25,000 to $40,000 a year. This means that the top-earning merchandising representatives make $14,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

As is the case with most jobs, it takes work to become a merchandising representative. Sometimes people change their minds about their career after working in the profession. That's why we looked into some other professions that might help you find your next opportunity. These professions include a merchandiser, sales, sales development representative, national account representative, and sales representative internship.

Learn More About Merchandising Representative Job Descriptions

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5 Merchandising Representative Resume Examples

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Nathan Roberts Merchandising Representative Contact Information Phoenix, AZ (920) 555-8188 nroberts@example.com Skills Retail Accounts Product Development Store Management Kroger Financial Institutions Apple Account Management New Customers Communication SEO Employment History Merchandising Representative 2019 - Present Freedom Financial Network Phoenix, AZ Maintain departmental processing and quality standards. Demonstrated effective communication while interacting with a diverse group of clients and team members. Provided communication support and problem solving for customers in purchasing merchandises. Open communication with customers, store employees, and corporate headquarters. Merchandising Specialist 2018 - 2019 Freedom Financial Network Phoenix, AZ Provide emergency service to civilians an army civilians Supervised 9 Reps Worked closely with sales reps to achieve sales goals and profitability. Assisted with client inquiries regarding certain legal, regulatory, and tax-related issues through verbal and written communication. Clean office areas - Sanitize bathrooms, windows, etc. Build small and large displays, reset bays, and end caps. Sales/Marketing 2009 - 2012 Sony Corporation of America San Jose, CA Opened 42 new accounts resulting in $1M+ in sales. Sole responsibility for business development and growing sales with Regional Key and Independent accounts in Florida for all CE categories. Developed and implemented division price/package and revenue growth marketing plan. Prepared and distributed payroll for staff of 40 direct reports. Process Improvement, Project Management, Web Development, and Technical Writing: Redeveloped marketing strategy. Education Master's Degree Marketing 2012 - 2013 Arizona State University Phoenix, AZ Bachelor's Degree Business 2001 - 2004 San Jose State University San Jose, CA


Joshua Sanchez Merchandising Representative Contact Info College Park, MD (240) 555-8558 jsanchez@example.com Skills Company PoliciesRetail SalesHong KongProduct RotationKey Performance IndicatorsPlan-O-GramsProduct DevelopmentCustomer ConfidenceService PlansSales Goals Employment History Merchandising Representative 2011 - Present Nordstrom College Park, MD Key business partner of store management, national buyers, and top vendors for new and comparable store locations. Involved in handled product development and merchandising for the Wal-Mart account that generated $40M in annual revenues. Pulled merchandise on demand to replenish onto sales floor. Merchandiser, Sales 2010 - 2011 Nordstrom College Park, MD Restock sales floor and markdowns Open new Nordstrom fashion rewards accounts as a means of building customer relationships. Gained knowledge in merchandising, marketing, and customer service. Worked in all areas of the store with store management to learn the aspects of running a large box store Retail Sales Manager 1999 - 2009 The Home Depot New York, NY Hosted team training presentation via Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. Major Appliance Retail Sales Specialist 2005 to 12/07/12Pay rate $18.60 per hour. Achieve sales goals as supplied by management. Education Master's Degree Business 2009 - 2010 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD Bachelor's Degree Business 1996 - 1999 Strayer University Washington, DC


Joshua Sanchez Merchandising Representative College Park, MD (240) 555-8558 jsanchez@example.com Experience Merchandising Representative2011 - Present Nordstrom•College Park, MD Key business partner of store management, national buyers, and top vendors for new and comparable store locations. Involved in handled product development and merchandising for the Wal-Mart account that generated $40M in annual revenues. Pulled merchandise on demand to replenish onto sales floor. Merchandiser, Sales2010 - 2011 Nordstrom•College Park, MD Restock sales floor and markdowns Open new Nordstrom fashion rewards accounts as a means of building customer relationships. Gained knowledge in merchandising, marketing, and customer service. Worked in all areas of the store with store management to learn the aspects of running a large box store Retail Sales Manager1999 - 2009 The Home Depot•New York, NY Hosted team training presentation via Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. Major Appliance Retail Sales Specialist 2005 to 12/07/12Pay rate $18.60 per hour. Achieve sales goals as supplied by management. Skills Company PoliciesRetail SalesHong KongProduct RotationKey Performance IndicatorsPlan-O-GramsProduct DevelopmentCustomer ConfidenceService PlansSales Goals Education Master's Degree Business2009 - 2010 University of Maryland - College Park•College Park, MD Bachelor's Degree Business1996 - 1999 Strayer University•Washington, DC

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Merchandising Representative Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 24% of Merchandising Representatives are proficient in Little Supervision, Store Management, and Plan-O-Grams. They’re also known for soft skills such as Physical stamina, Self-confidence, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Merchandising Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:

Little Supervision, 24%
Worked independently with little supervision.
Store Management, 23%
Develop and maintains working relationship with store management, associates and other merchandising companies to effectively achieve client and company goals.
Plan-O-Grams, 13%
Implemented and maintained merchandising plan-o-grams* Assisted with in-store demonstrations of equipment* Assisted in training of new in-store associates and merchandising representatives.
Customer Service, 9%
Develop mutually beneficial relationships with key account managers and others to exceed customer service expectations through ongoing communication and problem solving.
Product Knowledge, 6%
Educated store associates and management during product knowledge sessions on selling points and competitive advantages to maximize sales opportunities.
Working Independently, 5%
Stock shelves, working independently, and use of company provided tablet.

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Most merchandising representatives list "little supervision," "store management," and "plan-o-grams" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important merchandising representative responsibilities here:

Arguably the most important personality trait for a merchandising representative to have happens to be physical stamina. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives are often on their feet for a long time and may carry heavy sample products." Additionally, other resumes have pointed out that merchandising representatives can use physical stamina to "maintain the automated inventory management system to ensure that actual physical inventory matches the database logical inventory. "

Another commonly found skill for being able to perform merchandising representative duties is the following: self-confidence. According to a merchandising representative resume, "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations." Check out this example of how merchandising representatives use self-confidence: "communicate extensively with store management to build confidence and generate increased volume. "

Another skill that is quite popular among merchandising representatives is interpersonal skills. This skill is very critical to fulfilling every day responsibilities as is shown in this example from a merchandising representative resume: "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to work well with many types of people" This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "developed excellent customer service and interpersonal skills, managing customer request and high expectations"

A thorough review of lots of resumes revealed to us that "customer-service skills" is important to completing merchandising representative responsibilities. This resume example shows just one way merchandising representatives use this skill: "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to listen to the customer’s needs and concerns before and after the sale." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical merchandising representative tasks: "maintain excellent customer service with store management, associates and other merchandising companies to effectively meet company and client objectives"

See the full list of merchandising representative skills.

We've found that 52.7% of merchandising representatives have earned a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, 3.8% earned their master's degrees before becoming a merchandising representative. While it's true that most merchandising representatives have a college degree, it's generally possible to become one with only a high school degree. In fact, one out of every six merchandising representatives did not spend the extra money to attend college.

Those merchandising representatives who do attend college, typically earn either business degrees or marketing degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for merchandising representatives include communication degrees or psychology degrees.

Once you've obtained the level of education you're comfortable with, you might start applying to companies to become a merchandising representative. We've found that most merchandising representative resumes include experience from CROSSMARK, Signature Retail Services, and Advantage Solutions. Of recent, CROSSMARK had 113 positions open for merchandising representatives. Meanwhile, there are 25 job openings at Signature Retail Services and 20 at Advantage Solutions.

Since salary is important to some merchandising representatives, it's good to note that they are figured to earn the highest salaries at ECMD, Hensley Beverage Co, and Bimbo Bakeries. If you were to take a closer look at ECMD, you'd find that the average merchandising representative salary is $36,911. Then at Hensley Beverage Co, merchandising representatives receive an average salary of $34,701, while the salary at Bimbo Bakeries is $34,593.

View more details on merchandising representative salaries across the United States.

Some other companies you might be interested in as a merchandising representative include The Coca-Cola Company, Macy's, and CROSSMARK. These three companies were found to hire the most merchandising representatives from the top 100 U.S. educational institutions.

The three companies that hire the most prestigious merchandising representatives are:

CROSSMARK113 Merchandising Representatives Jobs
Signature Retail Services25 Merchandising Representatives Jobs
Advantage Solutions20 Merchandising Representatives Jobs

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What Merchandiser, Saless Do

Merchandiser sales representatives are responsible for maintaining the flow of products and managing shelves in retail stores or similar establishments. They are also responsible for devising strategies and promotional plans to increase brand awareness and boost product sales. Aside from this, they must remain updated with the latest marketing trends, monitor sales, and set the budget while maintaining inventory. Moreover, it is vital to reach out to customers and build rapport, all while implementing the policies and regulations of the company.

In this section, we compare the average merchandising representative annual salary with that of a merchandiser, sales. Typically, merchandisers, sales earn a $641 lower salary than merchandising representatives earn annually.

While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both merchandising representatives and merchandisers, sales positions are skilled in store management, customer service, and product knowledge.

As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because a merchandising representative responsibility requires skills such as "little supervision," "plan-o-grams," "working independently," and "brand awareness." Whereas a merchandiser, sales is skilled in "excellent planning," "wine," "pallet jack," and "cleanliness." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

Merchandisers, sales tend to make the most money in the education industry by averaging a salary of $39,538. In contrast, merchandising representatives make the biggest average salary of $32,143 in the manufacturing industry.

On average, merchandisers, sales reach similar levels of education than merchandising representatives. Merchandisers, sales are 1.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

What Are The Duties Of a Sales Development Representative?

A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.

Next up, we have the sales development representative profession to look over. This career brings along a higher average salary when compared to a merchandising representative annual salary. In fact, sales development representatives salary difference is $19,201 higher than the salary of merchandising representatives per year.

A similarity between the two careers of merchandising representatives and sales development representatives are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "store management," "customer service," and "product knowledge. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, several resumes showed us that merchandising representative responsibilities requires skills like "little supervision," "plan-o-grams," "working independently," and "product sales." But a sales development representative might use skills, such as, "sdr," "lead generation," "account executives," and "linkedin."

It's been discovered that sales development representatives earn higher salaries compared to merchandising representatives, but we wanted to find out where sales development representatives earned the most pay. The answer? The start-up industry. The average salary in the industry is $54,512. Additionally, merchandising representatives earn the highest paychecks in the manufacturing with an average salary of $32,143.

In general, sales development representatives study at similar levels of education than merchandising representatives. They're 0.3% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

How a National Account Representative Compares

A national account representative plays a pivotal role in managing client relationships. These professionals manage relationships for high-value customers, especially those who invest vast amounts in the company or those who have stayed in the organization for an extended period. In general, the national account representative's primary goal is to foster trust. National account representatives identify new business opportunities and make sales calls. To qualify as a national account representative, you must possess a bachelor's degree in this field, primarily in business administration.

The national account representative profession generally makes a higher amount of money when compared to the average salary of merchandising representatives. The difference in salaries is national account representatives making $12,523 higher than merchandising representatives.

Using merchandising representatives and national account representatives resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "customer service," "product knowledge," and "retail store," but the other skills required are very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from merchandising representative resumes include skills like "little supervision," "store management," "plan-o-grams," and "working independently," whereas a national account representative might be skilled in "national accounts," "account management," "sales growth," and "trade shows. "

National account representatives typically study at similar levels compared with merchandising representatives. For example, they're 3.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Description Of a Sales Representative Internship

In a sales representative internship, an intern's duties depend on the directives of a supervising staff or manager. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights while performing clerical tasks such as preparing and processing documents, greeting visitors, disseminating and organizing files, and running errands as needed. They may also participate in communicating with clients through calls and appointments to offer products and services, ensuring client satisfaction. Furthermore, as an intern, it is essential to familiarize and abide by the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

Now, we'll look at sales representative interns, who generally average a higher pay when compared to merchandising representatives annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $2,253 per year.

While both merchandising representatives and sales representative interns complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like customer service, product knowledge, and customer relations, the two careers also vary in other skills.

Each job requires different skills like "little supervision," "store management," "plan-o-grams," and "working independently," which might show up on a merchandising representative resume. Whereas sales representative internship might include skills like "kids," "sales presentations," "powerpoint," and "sales process."

In general, sales representative interns reach similar levels of education when compared to merchandising representatives resumes. Sales representative interns are 1.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Updated October 2, 2020