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The differences between strategic planners and merchandising 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 strategic planner and a merchandising manager. Additionally, a strategic planner has an average salary of $88,718, which is higher than the $86,346 average annual salary of a merchandising manager.
The top three skills for a strategic planner include project management, DOD and logistics. The most important skills for a merchandising manager are sales floor, POS, and apparel.
| Strategic Planner | Merchandising Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $88,718 | $86,346 |
| Hourly rate | $42.65 | $41.51 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 24,228 | 268,577 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
Strategic planners are professionals who participate in the planning of business strategy for medium or large corporations as well as assess their operational and strategic performance. These planners are required to analyze financial and budget reports so that they can make strategic recommendations based on the financial health of the company. Together with the market researchers, these planners must conduct market research so that they can identify threats and opportunities. Strategic planners must also educate their senior executives in making effective decisions by constructing forecasts and analytical models.
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.
Strategic planners and merchandising managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Strategic Planner | Merchandising Manager | |
| Average salary | $88,718 | $86,346 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $126,000 | Between $64,000 And $116,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Woonsocket, RI |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Roku | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a strategic planner and a merchandising manager in terms of educational background:
| Strategic Planner | Merchandising Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between strategic planners' and merchandising managers' demographics:
| Strategic Planner | Merchandising Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.9% Female, 37.1% | Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 Percentage | 10% | 10% |