Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between visual merchandising managers and merchandise leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a visual merchandising manager and a merchandise lead. Additionally, a visual merchandising manager has an average salary of $97,250, which is higher than the $35,572 average annual salary of a merchandise lead.
The top three skills for a visual merchandising manager include customer service, POS and store operations. The most important skills for a merchandise lead are sales floor, customer service, and customer satisfaction.
| Visual Merchandising Manager | Merchandise Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $97,250 | $35,572 |
| Hourly rate | $46.75 | $17.10 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 23,486 | 72,605 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A visual merchandising manager is responsible for facilitating the arrangement of visual displays to attract customers to purchase the products. Visual merchandising managers monitor the sales performance of the store and develop effective merchandise strategies to boost revenues and increase profitability. They also assist in creating promotional events and discount offers, as well as designing the store's layout during special occasions. A visual merchandising manager must have excellent leadership and communication skills, especially on guiding the staff's performance and implementing techniques to maximize productivity.
A merchandise lead is responsible for strategizing merchandise methods to reach sales performance targets. Merchandise leads assist the consumers in choosing the best products according to their needs and budget limitations. They evaluate the current market trends to generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profitability by negotiating with trusted suppliers and vendors. A merchandise lead must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in helping with marketing and promotional campaigns to attract consumers' interests and meet public demands.
Visual merchandising managers and merchandise leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Visual Merchandising Manager | Merchandise Lead | |
| Average salary | $97,250 | $35,572 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $139,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bridgeport, CT | Green Bay, WI |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Meta | PepsiCo |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Retail |
There are a few differences between a visual merchandising manager and a merchandise lead in terms of educational background:
| Visual Merchandising Manager | Merchandise Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Specialized Sales And Merchandising | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi |
Here are the differences between visual merchandising managers' and merchandise leads' demographics:
| Visual Merchandising Manager | Merchandise Lead | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.7% Female, 68.3% | Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |