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Senior merchandising manager vs product manager

The differences between senior merchandising managers and product managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a senior merchandising manager and a product manager. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $111,266 average annual salary of a senior merchandising manager.

The top three skills for a senior merchandising manager include direct reports, digital marketing and SR. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.

Senior merchandising manager vs product manager overview

Senior Merchandising ManagerProduct Manager
Yearly salary$111,266$111,729
Hourly rate$53.49$53.72
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs66,332125,678
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age3939
Years of experience1010

What does a senior merchandising manager do?

The primary job of a senior merchandising manager is to monitor market trends for product design, levels, and pricing identification. Senior merchandising managers source, manage and curate the products and/or services and promotional materials of a company. They oversee the purchasing process of corporations. It is part of their job to negotiate with the company's suppliers. Their duties also include predicting the trends and demands of corporate inventory.

What does a product manager do?

A product manager is responsible for ensuring product development, providing the best marketing strategies, and effectively handling the sales and marketing team. Product managers' duties include monitoring the market trends and conditions, identifying business opportunities and plan initiatives, and collaborating the product launch process with the appropriate departments. A product manager is also responsible for generating ideas on improving product features, determining timetables and reasonable pricing, and analyzing product sales. A product manager must have excellent strategic and decision-making skills to contribute to its growth and profitability.

Senior merchandising manager vs product manager salary

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

Senior Merchandising ManagerProduct Manager
Average salary$111,266$111,729
Salary rangeBetween $79,000 And $155,000Between $81,000 And $152,000
Highest paying CitySan Bruno, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyChewyMeta
Best paying industryManufacturingRetail

Differences between senior merchandising manager and product manager education

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

Senior Merchandising ManagerProduct Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia

Senior merchandising manager vs product manager demographics

Here are the differences between senior merchandising managers' and product managers' demographics:

Senior Merchandising ManagerProduct Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 49.2% Female, 50.8%Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 senior merchandising manager and product manager duties and responsibilities

Senior merchandising manager example responsibilities.

  • Implement and manage new POS server system at the store and district level.
  • Maintain effective vendor partnerships to achieve high service levels, meet IMU and MMU goals.
  • Complete comprehensive training program and manage cosmetics, jewelry, women's accessories, women's fashions and men's apparel.
  • Manage indirect purchasing of commodities and services during mergers and acquisitions; measure supplier / category integration savings.
  • Manage relationships with primary suppliers including monitoring and purchasing commodities, forecasting, marketing initiatives and quality control.
  • Review sales projections, POS, & competition at retail to recommend assortment updates.
  • Show more

Product manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead collaborative efforts within the PMO, vendors, customers, and internal stakeholders.
  • Manage developers accountable for coding, database development, UI implementation, and system architecture.
  • Manage inventory service levels / overstocks /defective inventory and supplier buy-in opportunities to maximize ROI.
  • Lead customization of the company's administrative SaaS software solution by defining features and functionality for internal/external stakeholder teams.
  • Lead weekly meetings between engineering, sales/marketing, and QA departments to facilitate communication, collaboration and resolution of product issues.
  • Handle design and specification of administration system requirements to efficiently manage, operate, and support client API configurations and sessions.
  • Show more

Senior merchandising manager vs product manager skills

Common senior merchandising manager skills
  • Direct Reports, 7%
  • Digital Marketing, 6%
  • SR, 6%
  • Sales Floor, 6%
  • Product Knowledge, 6%
  • Productivity Standards, 5%
Common product manager skills
  • Product Management, 11%
  • QA, 5%
  • Product Strategy, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Market Research, 4%
  • User Stories, 4%

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