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The differences between retail sales merchandisers and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a retail sales merchandiser has an average salary of $39,721, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a retail sales merchandiser include customer service, POS and working independently. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Retail Sales Merchandiser | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $39,721 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $19.10 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | 4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 155,213 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Retail sales merchandisers are employees who are responsible for promoting and selling goods or services to customers for a retail store. These merchandisers are required to maintain a proper level of stock while ensuring that merchandise is displayed appropriately with proper signage. They must execute special promotional campaigns of their products or services that are created to boost their sales volume. Retail store merchandisers must also resolve issues that may arise after internal audits while training employees to be aware of their products so that they can recommend them to customers.
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 sales merchandisers and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Sales Merchandiser | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $39,721 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $79,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a retail sales merchandiser and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Retail Sales Merchandiser | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between retail sales merchandisers' and sales associates' demographics:
| Retail Sales Merchandiser | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.4% Female, 57.6% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| 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, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 17% | 7% |