If you’ve ever been in a retail or grocery store and asked for help from a “stocker,” you may have been told something along the lines of “I don’t work here.” How is this possible? Because that “stocker” was more than likely a merchandiser.
- Inbox Dollars - Get paid to check your email. $5 bonus just for signing up!
- Survey Junkie - The #1 survey site that doesn't suck. Short surveys, high payouts, simply the best.
- Nielsen - Download their app and get paid $50!
What is a store merchandiser?
A merchandiser is an independent contractor who is paid to stock shelves with merchandise, remove discontinued/expired products, scan inventory, create displays, adjust prices, and take before and after photos of the merchandise. The merchandiser does not work for the store or outlet when performing these tasks. Rather, she works directly with the company/ies and manufacturers supplying the products to that store or outlet.
A merchandiser performs some of the duties of a mystery shopper, including reporting on the condition of the store and its displays, interacting with store managers, observing store staff and their behaviors, etc. However, because the merchandiser is also helping to market the goods by arranging, tracking, and discarding them, he makes a higher hourly wage than the average mystery shopper. Typically, a novice merchandiser will make $9.50/hour, while an experienced merchandiser can command as much as $20/hour.
Many retailers and companies hire merchandisers via agencies. These agencies work with a number of such clients and assign merchandisers to them on an ‘as needed’ basis. Merchandisers can work a few hours a week if they are assigned to just one or two clients; alternately, they might put in a 40+ hour workweek if they take on a roster of clients, and especially around the holidays.
When it comes to finding merchandiser jobs online, it helps to have some background in sales, advertising, and/or marketing. Even having past mystery shopping experience is a plus when applying for merchandiser jobs. However, if you have no experience in this arena, don’t worry: Some agencies will take on newbies and train them to become merchandisers in the space of a few months.
In most cases, your work hours as a merchandiser are fairly flexible, allowing you to choose when you can show up and complete your assigned tasks. Many companies only require that you work a given day or weekend.
So, where can you go to find merchandiser jobs? The following companies offer a regular batch of such jobs in different stores and industries.
A & A Merchandising
This Canada-based company offers merchandising and other jobs, complete with their hourly rates, via its website. Merchandiser jobs start at $17-$20 (CAD)/hour and range from 3-4 hours/week to full-time.
At Your Service Marketing
This company offers merchandising representative jobs in select states. You can fill out an application online, after which matching jobs will be emailed to you.
Creative Channel Services
This retail marketing agency has been in business since 1995 and offers a number of merchandising positions via its
online portal. Pay rates start at $17/hour.
Crossmark
This company hires merchandisers for area retailers and pays $12-$15/hour. There are plenty of jobs available through this company, both in the USA and Canada.
Franklin Retail Solutions
Founded in 1998, this company offers projects with area stores and retailers in the fitness, sports, outdoor, and health industries. Merchandisers are paid from $12-$19/hour. To start viewing jobs, you need to fill out an online application.
Merchandise Management Company (MMC)
This agency has been posting merchandising work since 1979 and offers many merchandiser jobs through its member job board. Before being able to peruse the listings, you will need to fill out an online application. After that, you’ll become a member of the site and login to find jobs available to you.
Mondelez International
The agency, as its name suggests operates on an international level and offers merchandising jobs all over the world. The site’s handy job selector lets you pick which types of jobs, and in which regions, you’d like to peruse.
Mosaic
This company offers rows of location-dependent merchandiser jobs in fields such as cosmetics, retail, groceries, etc. The jobs vary from a single gig to 40 hours/week. You can also sign up to receive the company’s regular daily job alerts.
Resource Plus
Resource Plus works with Fortune 50 clients in a number of retail categories, including home improvement, office supply, groceries, hospitality, and major department stores.
No joke. Here are the fastest ways to make easy money online. Click here to see how.
Wolf Retail Solutions
This agency has been in business since 2011 and offers merchandiser jobs with a variety of retailers. You can apply for the positions via the site’s application portal. Wolf merchandisers earn $10-$15/hour.
How to increase your odds of being a successful merchandiser
As noted above, you can increase your chances of being hired as a merchandiser if you’ve had experience in marketing or sales, or even if you’ve been a mystery shopper in the past. Other ways you can increase your chances of success include reading up on marketing tactics and the latest ad practices.
Also, keeping an eye on your retail or manufacturing competitors is useful for when you’re called upon to set up or enhance a store display, arrange products, or reduce inventory. As your time and success with a given company increases, you can eventually expect additional work and bumps in pay.
