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Seller vs merchant

The differences between sellers and merchants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a merchant has an average salary of $74,999, which is higher than the $25,530 average annual salary of a seller.

The top three skills for a seller include product knowledge, customer service and POS. The most important skills for a merchant are product development, gross margin, and market trends.

Seller vs merchant overview

SellerMerchant
Yearly salary$25,530$74,999
Hourly rate$12.27$36.06
Growth rate--
Number of jobs1,06415,395
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age4141
Years of experience--

What does a seller do?

A seller is a sales facilitator responsible for initializing sales conversations and easing customer sales experience. A seller helps customers and then offers the best solution in regards to the products being sold. They also explain to the customers how a certain product works when necessary, as well as explain the current deals and discounts.

What does a merchant do?

A merchant is responsible for selling goods and services for an organization to generate revenues by reaching out to existing and potential customers and discuss the products' features. Merchants must have extensive knowledge of the goods offered by the company to be able to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns accurately. They also maintain the adequacy of inventory for store orders, create purchase requests, and analyze sales performance. A merchant coordinates with the sales and marketing team to develop efficient promotional strategies and increase brand awareness on public platforms.

Seller vs merchant salary

Sellers and merchants have different pay scales, as shown below.

SellerMerchant
Average salary$25,530$74,999
Salary rangeBetween $9,000 And $71,000Between $47,000 And $119,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsCalifornia
Best paying companyPoint BLevi Strauss & Co.
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between seller and merchant education

There are a few differences between a seller and a merchant in terms of educational background:

SellerMerchant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college-Stanford University

Seller vs merchant demographics

Here are the differences between sellers' and merchants' demographics:

SellerMerchant
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 50.0% Female, 50.0%Male, 42.1% Female, 57.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 24.4% Asian, 7.0% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 23.3% Asian, 7.4% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between seller and merchant duties and responsibilities

Seller example responsibilities.

  • Require to manage time and employee hours schedule in conjunction with intake of customer PCs in need of repair.
  • Work in the music department shelving CDs and DVDs, and occasionally working the cash register.
  • Assemble PowerPoint presentations, clip books and event materials.
  • Create dozens of compelling PowerPoint presentations for brokers and clients.
  • Stock, inventory, and maintain appearance of music and DVD sales department.
  • Work as a seller/buyer of auto parts and utilize online payment services such as Paypal.
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Merchant example responsibilities.

  • Partner with production on achieving IMU targets and in store deliveries.
  • Manage merchandise deliverable deadlines: photography, copy, and inventory.
  • Manage the OTB to ensure seasonal sales, inventory levels, and margin objectives are met.
  • Lead online visual merchandising decisions base on in-depth understanding of weekly KPI s and high investment products.
  • Set and achieve monthly goals in new accounts and investment referrals; encourage cross-sells of services as per management
  • Manage social media (Facebook) by posting new content, questions, pictures, new arrivals, graphics, etc.
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Seller vs merchant skills

Common seller skills
  • Product Knowledge, 72%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • POS, 7%
  • Cash Handling, 5%
  • Ebay Store, 2%
  • Online Sales, 1%
Common merchant skills
  • Product Development, 8%
  • Gross Margin, 7%
  • Market Trends, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Strong Analytical, 6%
  • Math, 6%