Route contractor vs merchandise distributor

The differences between route contractors and merchandise distributors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a merchandise distributor has an average salary of $42,437, which is higher than the $39,988 average annual salary of a route contractor.

The top three skills for a route contractor include customer service, delivery truck and . The most important skills for a merchandise distributor are sales floor, merchandise product, and grocery store.

Route contractor vs merchandise distributor overview

	Route Contractor	Merchandise Distributor
Yearly salary	$39,988	$42,437
Hourly rate	$19.23	$20.40
Growth rate	11%	1%
Number of jobs	17,792	10,462
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	48	38
Years of experience	-	-

Route contractor vs merchandise distributor salary

Route contractors and merchandise distributors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Route Contractor	Merchandise Distributor
Average salary	$39,988	$42,437
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $53,000	Between $32,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between route contractor and merchandise distributor education

There are a few differences between a route contractor and a merchandise distributor in terms of educational background:

	Route Contractor	Merchandise Distributor
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Route contractor vs merchandise distributor demographics

Here are the differences between route contractors' and merchandise distributors' demographics:

	Route Contractor	Merchandise Distributor
Average age	48	38
Gender ratio	Male, 81.2% Female, 18.8%	Male, 68.1% Female, 31.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 4.0% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 6.7% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	4%	6%

Differences between route contractor and merchandise distributor duties and responsibilities

Route contractor example responsibilities.

Manage 100 stores as a DSD vendor, entailing presales, delivery and basic account management.
Use effective communication and interpersonal skills when interacting with customers during pickup and/or delivery of packages.
Job entail all display set up, maintenance, and upselling.

Merchandise distributor example responsibilities.

Manage vendor relationships for current season catalogs, UPC codes, and discrepancies in catalog and merchandise data.
Assist with POS advertisement placement.
Lift heavy objects, move large pallets and operate large machinery.
Display promtional materials, such as POS, & signage accordin to company and store policies.
Provide nutritional product educational presentations and recruit potential distributors
Provide nutritional product educational presentations and recruit potential distributors

Route contractor vs merchandise distributor skills

Common route contractor skills

Customer Service, 51%
Delivery Truck, 49%

Common merchandise distributor skills

Sales Floor, 27%
Merchandise Product, 17%
Grocery Store, 16%
Retail Locations, 15%
Increase Sales, 8%
Retail Store, 5%

Route Contractor vs. similar jobs

Route Contractor related careers

Route Contractor related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Transportation Industry
Route Contractor
Route Contractor vs Merchandise Distributor

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse transportation jobs