Retail representative vs merchandising representative

The differences between retail representatives and merchandising representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a merchandising representative has an average salary of $32,303, which is higher than the $31,790 average annual salary of a retail representative.

The top three skills for a retail representative include flexibility, store management and certification programs. The most important skills for a merchandising representative are little supervision, store management, and plan-o-grams.

Retail representative vs merchandising representative overview

	Retail Representative	Merchandising Representative
Yearly salary	$31,790	$32,303
Hourly rate	$15.28	$15.53
Growth rate	-	4%
Number of jobs	402,132	351,931
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	41	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a retail representative do?

A retail representative is in charge of assisting customers with their shopping needs in retail stores, ensuring customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities include greeting customers and identifying their needs, answering inquiries, locating products, offering promotions and recommendations, and conducting demonstrations when possible. There are also instances where they must process payments or refunds. Furthermore, as a retail representative, it is essential to arrange products on shelves to make it look attractive to customers, all while maintaining the cleanliness of the sales floor.

What does a merchandising representative do?

Merchandising representatives are professionals who are responsible for providing point-of-purchase and shelf management services to produce sales. These representatives are required to plan and develop merchandising strategies so that they can balance the expectations of customers and the organization's objectives. They must maintain store shelves and display products appropriately so that they can maximize the interest of customers and sales levels. Merchandising representatives must also analyze sales figures, the reactions of customers, and market trends to anticipate their product needs and plan product stock.

Retail representative vs merchandising representative salary

Retail representatives and merchandising representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Retail Representative	Merchandising Representative
Average salary	$31,790	$32,303
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $38,000	Between $25,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Maine
Best paying company	-	ECMD
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between retail representative and merchandising representative education

There are a few differences between a retail representative and a merchandising representative in terms of educational background:

	Retail Representative	Merchandising Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Retail representative vs merchandising representative demographics

Here are the differences between retail representatives' and merchandising representatives' demographics:

	Retail Representative	Merchandising Representative
Average age	41	47
Gender ratio	Male, 43.6% Female, 56.4%	Male, 47.2% Female, 52.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 6.8% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between retail representative and merchandising representative duties and responsibilities

Retail representative example responsibilities.

Manage Nintendo's promotional programs; secure and maintain point-of-purchase displays that alert customers to brand availability.
Execute the proper POS in accounts, particularly with products on sale.
Befriend category managers and backroom personnel to positively impact on OSA, POS placement, and other sell-in tactics.
Educate consumers about products and services and troubleshoot any existing customer concerns relate to service or equipment.
Collaborate with board members to prepare PowerPoint presentations and other written reports and present concepts to management.

Merchandising representative example responsibilities.

Manage Nintendo's promotional programs; secure and maintain point-of-purchase displays that alert customers to brand availability.
Update POS promotional materials such as cardboard temporary decorative displays.
Coordinate and administer jewelry entries for industry awards and advertisements in national fashion magazines.
Assist patients with Critical/Triage calls; document necessary symptoms for medical assistants to determine what medical intervention is necessary.
Place IRC on assign products for promotional sales.
Increase sales by installing displays and instant rebate coupons (IRC).

Retail representative vs merchandising representative skills

Common retail representative skills

Flexibility, 36%
Store Management, 36%
Certification Programs, 11%
PET, 7%
Customer Service, 2%
Product Knowledge, 1%

Common merchandising representative skills

Little Supervision, 24%
Store Management, 23%
Plan-O-Grams, 13%
Customer Service, 9%
Product Knowledge, 6%
Working Independently, 5%

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Retail Representative
Retail Representative vs Merchandising Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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