How To Become A Merchandising Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

Q: How many years does it take to become a merchandiser?

It usually takes two to four years to become a merchandiser. This time is what a person needs to gain the relevant experience and education needed to be successful in the role. As a person gains experience as a merchandiser, their career options in merchandising field grow from a sales clerk position to a sales executive role.

Q: How much does a merchandising specialist make at Home Depot?

A merchandising specialist at Home Depot makes around $17 an hour. This can range from as low as $15 per hour to as high as $34 in an hour. The amount that a merchandiser at Home Depot makes in a year varies significantly due to a variety of factors that influence specific pay for an individual. These factors include education and experience, company size and industry, as well as location.

Q: What is the career path for a merchandiser?

The career path for a merchandiser can vary depending on education and aptitude, but commonly, people move into supervisor or manager roles with more responsibility. Career options in merchandising range from a sales clerk position to a sales executive.

Q: What is the role of a visual merchandiser specialist?

The role of a visual merchandiser specialist is to design and create attractive visual displays for retail outlets. As creative and innovative thinkers, they use skills in visual design and space utilization to enhance the aesthetic appeal of window displays, walkways, counters, and in-store displays.

Q: What qualifications do you need to be a merchandiser?

The baseline qualification to be a merchandiser is a high school diploma or equivalent. In addition to this, however, many companies look for merchandisers with an associate's degree or bachelor's degree.

What is a merchandising specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

How are we are able to find every product available in the market worth buying? From creative advertisement to fascinating displays in the store, this whole trap is set by merchandising specialists. They are the ones who look after every promotional activity of new and existing products. Merchandising Specialists based on detailed market research by launching marketing campaigns, analyzing pricing, and formulating selling strategies.

No worries, as you can become a Merchandising Specialist with high school graduation, including a high level of creativity, public dealing, and communication skills. Since this field requires loads of research work, one has to compete with experienced individuals. It would be a great idea if you opted for this career after graduating from college to reduce competition. More than 40% of professionals have a Bachelor's degree, and the remaining have years of experience.

Being a Merchandising Specialist, you are the first to know all about products starting from pricing to marketing. In addition to access to this knowledge, you can earn around $18 per hour on average.

ScoreMerchandising SpecialistUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $32,920

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.5

Growth Rate 4%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.49%

Asian 5.34%

Black or African American 8.50%

Hispanic or Latino 13.83%

Unknown 5.10%

White 66.75%

Gender

female 56.46%

male 43.54%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress Level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.0

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.8

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a merchandising specialist

Explore merchandising specialist education requirements

Most common merchandising specialist degrees

Bachelor's

52.3 %

Associate

20.2 %

High School Diploma

18.2 %

Start to develop specific merchandising specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	27.63%
Sales Floor	16.46%
Cash Handling	6.59%
Cleanliness	5.51%
Customer Satisfaction	5.09%

Complete relevant merchandising specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New merchandising specialists 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 specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real merchandising specialist resumes.

Gain additional merchandising specialist certifications

Merchandising specialist certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific merchandising specialist certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for merchandising specialists include Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) and Certified Criminal Justice Specialist (CCJS).

More About Certifications

Research merchandising specialist duties and responsibilities

Work within OPEX budget to achieve company goals.
Manage the products for service companies in Kroger stores, PoG, doing resets.
Manage the distribution of POS items as assigned to the region to create brand affinity.
Verify and manage data for the weekly store ads which includes UPC verification, item description and ad pricing.

Prepare your merchandising specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your merchandising specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a merchandising specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Merchandising Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Merchandising Specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Merchandising Specialist resume.