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The differences between merchandising specialists and retail specialists 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 $31,114 average annual salary of a retail specialist.
The top three skills for a merchandising specialist include customer service, sales floor and cash handling. The most important skills for a retail specialist are store management, retail environment, and store associates.
| Merchandising Specialist | Retail Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $32,920 | $31,114 |
| Hourly rate | $15.83 | $14.96 |
| Growth rate | 4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 49,769 | 269,690 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| 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 retail specialist is primarily in charge of securing sales and assisting customers on a sales floor, ensuring to meet the daily sales targets and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities include greeting clients and answering inquiries, locating products, offering recommendations and promotions, and processing payments. They may also address issues or concerns, resolving them promptly and professionally. Furthermore, as a retail specialist, it is essential to maintain the cleanliness of the sales floor and arrange displays properly to attract customers.
Merchandising specialists and retail specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Specialist | Retail Specialist | |
| Average salary | $32,920 | $31,114 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $47,000 | Between $22,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | Salem, NH |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Apple | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a merchandising specialist and a retail specialist in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Specialist | Retail Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between merchandising specialists' and retail specialists' demographics:
| Merchandising Specialist | Retail Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.5% Female, 56.5% | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% |
| 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, 10.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 17% | 7% |