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The differences between merchants and vendors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a merchant has an average salary of $74,999, which is higher than the $52,533 average annual salary of a vendor.
The top three skills for a merchant include product development, gross margin and market trends. The most important skills for a vendor are product knowledge, customer service, and stock merchandise.
| Merchant | Vendor | |
| Yearly salary | $74,999 | $52,533 |
| Hourly rate | $36.06 | $25.26 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 15,395 | 5,341 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A merchant is responsible for selling goods and services for an organization to generate revenues by reaching out to existing and potential customers and discuss the products' features. Merchants must have extensive knowledge of the goods offered by the company to be able to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns accurately. They also maintain the adequacy of inventory for store orders, create purchase requests, and analyze sales performance. A merchant coordinates with the sales and marketing team to develop efficient promotional strategies and increase brand awareness on public platforms.
A vendor's role is to sell goods and services to individuals, business entities, and stores. It is their responsibility to maintain the supply flow of products, coordinate with business partners, and maintain positive relationships with customers to strengthen the client base. As a vendor, it is vital to ensure that the products adhere to quality standards, monitor inventory, and implement deliveries to various stores. There are also instances where a vendor must advertise products on different platforms to improve brand awareness and boost sales.
Merchants and vendors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchant | Vendor | |
| Average salary | $74,999 | $52,533 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $119,000 | Between $32,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Levi Strauss & Co. | DoorDash |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a merchant and a vendor in terms of educational background:
| Merchant | Vendor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between merchants' and vendors' demographics:
| Merchant | Vendor | |
| Average age | 41 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.1% Female, 57.9% | Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 23.3% Asian, 7.4% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 5.9% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |