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The differences between retail merchandisers and sales clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a retail merchandiser has an average salary of $28,678, which is higher than the $25,739 average annual salary of a sales clerk.
The top three skills for a retail merchandiser include customer service, store management and POS. The most important skills for a sales clerk are customer service, stock shelves, and sales floor.
| Retail Merchandiser | Sales Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $28,678 | $25,739 |
| Hourly rate | $13.79 | $12.37 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 477,794 | 372,651 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| 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.
A sales clerk is responsible for assisting customers in purchasing products, responding to customer inquiries, and providing product recommendations. Sales clerks require excellent customer service and communication skills to offer the best services to the customers and maintain good customer feedback for the business. They also check inventories, request supplies as needed, and organize product displays on the appropriate shelves. A sales clerk must have strong verbal communication skills to manage customer concerns and excellent time-management skills to perform tasks within the fast-paced work environment.
Retail merchandisers and sales clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Merchandiser | Sales Clerk | |
| Average salary | $28,678 | $25,739 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $36,000 | Between $16,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | Wayfair | Hawaii Pacific Health |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Energy |
There are a few differences between a retail merchandiser and a sales clerk in terms of educational background:
| Retail Merchandiser | Sales Clerk | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between retail merchandisers' and sales clerks' demographics:
| Retail Merchandiser | Sales Clerk | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9% | Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7% |
| 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, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 6.8% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |