Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between retail merchandisers and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales associate has an average salary of $32,167, which is higher than the $28,678 average annual salary of a retail merchandiser.
The top three skills for a retail merchandiser include customer service, store management and POS. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Retail Merchandiser | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $28,678 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $13.79 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 477,794 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A retail merchandiser is responsible for determining the accuracy of sales and analyzing market trends to ensure that the business can follow stock movements and adjust plan budgets as needed. Retail merchandisers' duties also include planning strategies that would provide satisfaction for the customers while meeting the company's objectives, and coordinating with the suppliers and distributors for timely deliveries and price negotiations. Retail merchandisers also assist customers, analyze sales performance, and monitor inventories regularly.
Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.
Retail merchandisers and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Merchandiser | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $28,678 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $36,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | Wayfair | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a retail merchandiser and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Retail Merchandiser | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between retail merchandisers' and sales associates' demographics:
| Retail Merchandiser | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 7.5% White, 57.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |