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Selling manager vs merchandising manager

The differences between selling managers and merchandising managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a selling manager, becoming a merchandising manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a selling manager has an average salary of $132,553, which is higher than the $86,346 average annual salary of a merchandising manager.

The top three skills for a selling manager include sales floor, sales associates and develop team. The most important skills for a merchandising manager are sales floor, POS, and apparel.

Selling manager vs merchandising manager overview

Selling ManagerMerchandising Manager
Yearly salary$132,553$86,346
Hourly rate$63.73$41.51
Growth rate6%10%
Number of jobs349,570268,577
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4439
Years of experience610

What does a selling manager do?

The selling manager job title is also referred to as sales manager. A sales manager is an overseer of all sales activities in a given organization and sets objectives and sales strategies. The sales manager is tasked with ensuring customer satisfaction by recommending and improving products, motivating customers, and customer service enhancement.

What does a merchandising manager do?

A merchandising manager is responsible for supervising stock inventories, retail pricing, and managing product displays by analyzing customer preferences through researching the current market trends that would improve the store's sales condition and achieve profitability goals. Merchandising managers negotiate with reliable third-party vendors, minimizing costs without compromising the quality of the products. They also assist with planning floor layouts for store visuals that would attract customers and marketing promotional offers and special discounts to increase more revenues.

Selling manager vs merchandising manager salary

Selling managers and merchandising managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Selling ManagerMerchandising Manager
Average salary$132,553$86,346
Salary rangeBetween $92,000 And $189,000Between $64,000 And $116,000
Highest paying City-Woonsocket, RI
Highest paying state-Rhode Island
Best paying company-Roku
Best paying industry-Retail

Differences between selling manager and merchandising manager education

There are a few differences between a selling manager and a merchandising manager in terms of educational background:

Selling ManagerMerchandising Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Georgia

Selling manager vs merchandising manager demographics

Here are the differences between selling managers' and merchandising managers' demographics:

Selling ManagerMerchandising Manager
Average age4439
Gender ratioMale, 42.1% Female, 57.9%Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between selling manager and merchandising manager duties and responsibilities

Selling manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage office and warehouse payroll within budget guidelines.
  • Value by executive management team as a successful leader driven to respectfully manage teams and drive profitability of multi-unit operations.
  • Make and sell pearl jewelry.
  • Ensure selling team is up-to-date with KPI, store performance, and goals.
  • Receive commission bonuses for gold/silver/diamond jewelry sales consistently.
  • Provide integrity of major advertising payroll to service contracts in grocery stores.
  • Show more

Merchandising manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage and plan ROI, CPC and bid management on external online shopping sites.
  • Manage hardware, plumbing, kitchen and bath, kitchen design, and night operations.
  • Create all marketing materials (paper/media), organize logistics of readings, manage financials.
  • Manage merchandising for lumber, building materials, paint, hardware, plumbing, electrical, and the garden department.
  • Lead website development committee, including RFP development, ROI analysis, marketing, brand-enhancement strategies, and back-end integration solutions.
  • Manage creative development and production of indirect channel POS fixtures creating brand consistency
  • Show more

Selling manager vs merchandising manager skills

Common selling manager skills
  • Sales Floor, 14%
  • Sales Associates, 13%
  • Develop Team, 12%
  • KPI, 12%
  • Store Sales, 10%
  • Performance Issues, 10%
Common merchandising manager skills
  • Sales Floor, 10%
  • POS, 9%
  • Apparel, 7%
  • Pallets, 6%
  • Merchandise Presentation, 5%
  • Drive Sales, 5%

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