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The differences between merchandising specialists and field merchandisers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a merchandising specialist has an average salary of $32,920, which is higher than the $31,495 average annual salary of a field merchandiser.
The top three skills for a merchandising specialist include customer service, sales floor and cash handling. The most important skills for a field merchandiser are sales floor, store management, and store associates.
| Merchandising Specialist | Field Merchandiser | |
| Yearly salary | $32,920 | $31,495 |
| Hourly rate | $15.83 | $15.14 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 49,769 | 115,632 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A merchandising specialist is responsible for managing the promotion of the business' products, arranging creative displays both on the physical store and company website to attract consumers on purchasing the products to generate revenues and increase profitability. Merchandising specialists assist in the development of marketing campaigns, as well as facilitating promotional offers on different communication channels. They also monitor stock inventories, analyze pricing structures, and adjust selling strategies by researching the current market trends, identifying business opportunities to meet customers' demands, and improve the negotiation process.
A field merchandiser is in charge of distributing and selling a company's products in retail stores and similar establishments. Their responsibilities include offering products and services to customers, devising sales strategies, developing sales programs and promotions, and maintaining a clear and active communication line with retailers. They must also arrange product displays to attract customers, remove damaged or expired goods, and even conduct product demonstrations. Moreover, a field merchandiser must produce regular sales and progress reports, coordinating with managers should there be any problems.
Merchandising specialists and field merchandisers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Specialist | Field Merchandiser | |
| Average salary | $32,920 | $31,495 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $47,000 | Between $24,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | Union City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Fruit of the Loom |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a merchandising specialist and a field merchandiser in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Specialist | Field Merchandiser | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between merchandising specialists' and field merchandisers' demographics:
| Merchandising Specialist | Field Merchandiser | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.5% Female, 56.5% | Male, 42.4% Female, 57.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 17% | 17% |