Who is a merchandiser and what does he do. Merchandiser - who is it? A person who knows everything about correct trading

This profession appeared relatively recently. If you ask a random passerby on the street what merchandisers do, he is unlikely to be able to give a clear answer.

Even the very name of this specialty has not yet taken root in the Russian language: the original English word merchandising is pronounced either through "e" (merchandising), then through "a" (merchandising).

What is this job?

Representatives of the profession we are interested in work in firms engaged in sales (mainly retail). The sphere of interests of the merchandiser is the organization and promotion of sales of products.

Merchandiser responsible for:

the completeness of the assortment available to customers;
timely delivery of goods;
decoration of the hall as a whole and specific counters/showcases in particular;
proper appearance employees and their appropriate behavior;
keeping racks and shelves in good condition;
price regulation.

He travels daily or weekly to the company's outlets and gives local workers - administrators, salesmen - up-to-date instructions.

The more points, the more trips: merchandisers of large chains that sell food products have to visit 6-7 addresses a day. As a rule, the employee drives his own car, without using the services of a driver.

Who can become a merchandiser?

The profession is ideal for people who have graduated from secondary and higher educational institutions with a degree in management". Also allowed economic Education . An important additional skill for the applicant is the ability to use basic set office computer programs.

Other requirements for a candidate for a position are determined by the nature of the goods being sold.

A merchandiser who wants to get a job in a grocery supermarket will need to issue a sanitary book and undergo regular medical examinations. A specialist of similar qualifications entering the store household appliances, you need to have a good physical form He must be willing to lift weights frequently.

Pros and cons of the profession

For obvious reasons, the specialty is extremely attractive as the first step for a career in retail.

However, there are also "buts".

First, it's a hectic job. Imagine: you spend all day on your feet, you are constantly required to be extremely attentive ....

Secondly, broad powers imply a high degree responsibility. It is the merchandiser who runs the risk of being extreme if a buyer reports to the store management about expired sour cream or soiled upholstery of upholstered furniture.

Some believe that a merchandiser is a loader who delivers products to the trading floor. Others are sure that this job has a lot in common with the position of a merchandiser. In fact, this term implies a multidisciplinary specialist, on whom the comfort of customers and the level of sales of a particular organization directly depend. The direction is suitable for energetic and ambitious people who are set up for career growth in the field of trade. For employment, it is not necessary to have a higher education, it is enough to know what qualities the applicant should have and what he will have to do.

Who is a merchandiser

Merchandisers are employees of outlets responsible for the passive promotion of the offered product.

The start of the development of the direction in Russia came at the end of the 20th century. Specially trained people started in a special way display the goods on the shelves, attracting the attention of consumers. Today, the direction principles are used not only by hypermarkets or fine boutiques, but also by very small economy class stores.

Classification of employees in the field of merchandising:

a stationary merchandiser works in one place, while being responsible for a specific store, its section or certain brands (one or more);
a mobile merchandiser during the working day moves between different outlets, performing the necessary manipulations on each of them;
The mixed specialist combines the characteristics of the two main types.

A merchandiser is not just a loader or a merchandiser who monitors the filling of the assortment on the shelves. This is a person on whom the level of sales of the outlet and the attitude of customers to it largely depend.

Merchandising is a dynamic science. It does not stand still and requires a quick response to changing trends.

Employee's area of work

From the outside, it seems that the duties of a merchandiser are limited to unloading goods onto empty counters. Many are sure that any loader would have coped with this, and there is nothing complicated about it. In practice, a specialist of this profile has much more functions, tasks and goals. The quality of an employee's work directly affects the sales performance of a particular outlet.

Basic duties of a merchandiser:

laying out products according to a specific scheme developed by marketers;
assessment of the inventory of specific items, tracking and timely replenishment of balances;
registration of counters and other parts of the store with promotional products;
conducting promotions or helping to organize them;
training sellers in the specifics of promoting the entire product or individual brands;
assessment of product quality, checking the integrity of the packaging, expiration dates;
often a merchandiser really works as a loader, bringing products from a warehouse;
preparation of sales reports.

Large companies additionally include an assessment of the work of direct competitors in the job responsibilities of an employee. This means tracking their price dynamics, the appearance of new products, holding promotions and other important events from the marketing point of view. Everything that a merchandiser does is aimed at increasing sales and increasing consumer interest in certain brands.

Requirements for applicants

Passive product promotion is not for everyone. A person in this position is forced to work hard physically and at the same time pay attention to the list important nuances. The ability to multi-task is a basic requirement for job applicants.

Another merchandiser must have the following qualities:

activity, vigor, physical endurance;
the ability to communicate with a variety of people;
presentable appearance;
openness and willingness to answer questions related to products;
stress tolerance;
readiness for business trips and trips within the city or its region;
desire to learn in order to improve the quality of work;
in some cases it is required to have sanitary book or personal vehicle.

Depending on what merchandisers do in the workplace, the job seeker may need computer skills and modern gadgets. Often, companies adhere to strict age limits when recruiting employees and give preference to young people. In some cases, a prerequisite for considering a resume is the presence higher education in the field of marketing, advertising or trade.

Pros and cons of the specialty

Often young people go to merchandisers in order to earn money during the holidays or gain experience in the field of trade. They call the main advantages of the direction that it usually does not require higher education, and the schedule is provided with a floating or free one.

The profession of a merchandiser has many more advantages:

experience is usually not required, and many companies even specifically recruit very young employees in order to train them from scratch, and not retrain them;
there is no need to constantly sit in the office or in the warehouse;
mobile version of work implies dynamics and a constant change of scenery;
with the correct organization of the working day, the merchandiser receives more than the loader or seller with less physical exertion;
career prospects;

Such an employee is usually devoted to himself, he very rarely has to communicate directly with customers. For employees of passive sales, trainings are often organized at the expense of the company, which allows them to raise their level of qualification and learn something new.

Disadvantages of the specialty:

most of the day is spent on your feet, and in the case of a mobile type of work without a car, you have to walk a lot in any weather;
transportation of heavy goods from the warehouse and its display lead to serious physical activity;
when working in a dirty warehouse, one has to breathe dust, displaying dairy products requires staying near the refrigerator, contact with household chemicals creates a risk of developing dermatitis;
blurry definition official duties employee and misunderstanding of his place in the hierarchy of store employees provokes conflicts;

All of the listed shortcomings of the direction are relative and with the right approach to organizing the day they can really be avoided. The main thing is to initially study the nuances job description and ask the manager questions of interest, so that later there is no misunderstanding.

Where to study as a merchandiser?

There are no universities that prepare directly for the profession of a merchandiser yet. Organizations are happy to hire high school graduates and students if they meet the basic requirements. There are companies that give preference to applicants who know what the basics of marketing are.

Employee salary and career prospects

The salary level of a merchandiser is affected by the features of his schedule, the degree of workload, the list of duties, the availability of a car, and the mobility of an employee. A novice specialist receives 10 - 15 thousand rubles, subject to a floating schedule and part-time work. To increase the level of wages, it is recommended to get a job in 2-3 companies at once, which is not prohibited. Work experience, passing specialized courses, acquiring useful skills stimulate profit growth. It is not uncommon for a mobile merchandiser to stick to a free schedule and at the same time earn 50-70 thousand rubles.

Over time, the merchandising officer may move to the company's central office and continue to work in the marketing department. Specialists assigned to the store become product managers, supervisors, and even occupy leadership positions. The position of a merchandiser gives equally good chances for a career in the field of trade or commerce.

Merchandiser (merchandiser) (English merchandiser - merchant) - a merchandiser or assistant merchandiser, a person representing a trading company in retail chains (most often super- and hypermarkets). Responsible for the display of goods, installation of related necessary equipment(refrigerators, additional showcases, pallets of promotions), places POS materials. The main task is to control the availability of the entire range of the company on the shelves of the store and its location in the most favorable places for buying.

History of the profession

Planning and sales promotion, that is, the direct functions of a merchandiser, stood out in a separate position only about 20 years ago. Then the companies tried to come up with new moves in order to survive and gain a foothold in the market, stimulate the buyer and not get lost among the competitors. And so the position of a merchandiser appeared, which makes the goods more noticeable and more attractive to the buyer.

What exactly does a merchandiser do?

The main task of a merchandiser is to attract the attention of buyers to goods with the help of:

design of trading floors;
advantageous location of products on store shelves;
ensuring the constant availability of goods for sale.

The merchandiser is engaged in advertising support for goods at the point of sale. To do this, he visits several stores at least once a week and in a special document describes the sales situation for this product: demand, prices set by competitors for similar products, etc.

After the analysis, the merchandiser prepares a proposal for a more profitable promotion of goods. Such an offer may include:

replacement of similar products;
alternative distribution of retail space;
increase (reduction) in the quantity of goods for a particular store.

Merchandiser responsibilities may also include:

drawing up orders for the supply of goods;
adjustment of retail prices for goods;
maintaining the presentation of the packaging;
maintaining the image of the trade mark (brand);
organization of various promotions.

Requirements for a merchandiser

Requirements are formed depending on the field of activity. Usually, there are no special requirements for the candidate, since it is assumed that the newcomer will be trained in the process of working in the company.

The main requirements for a merchandiser are as follows:

Age from 18 years old.
PC knowledge at the user level.
Citizenship of the Russian Federation (sometimes employers allow citizenship of Belarus).
Registration of a sanitary book, if you have to work with food.
Readiness for physical activity, if you have to work with overall and heavy goods.

If it is planned to visit several outlets, companies charge the ability to drive a car as a merchandiser and look for candidates with personal transport, since it is simply unrealistic to visit 6-8 stores a day in public and do the necessary work there. In addition, a merchandiser often delivers goods to retail outlets in his car.

Merchandiser salary

The salary depends on the region, employment (full or partial) and the company. The average salary is about 30,000 rubles, but it happens that wage merchandiser is 8000-15000 rubles with part-time employment. As a rule, such an employee works in 2-3 companies. Also, what salary a merchandiser has will depend on the availability of a car, education and additional skills - in this case, it can be 35,000-70,000 rubles.

Demand for the profession

Representatives of the profession of a merchandiser are quite in demand in the labor market. Despite the fact that universities graduate a large number of specialists in this field, many companies and many enterprises require qualified merchandisers.

What kind of education is needed?

Primary professional education(PTU, PU, PL). As the results of the survey show, it is not at all necessary to receive special education in a university or college to become a merchandiser… Merchandisers undergo the necessary training directly when applying for a job or at the workplace during probationary period. To work as a merchandiser, you only need a desire, a satisfactory state of health and the presence of personal qualities recommended for this profession.

Features of career growth

The profession of a merchandiser is characterized by career growth. He may rise through the ranks in the marketing department or become a sales manager. In most cases, merchandisers start their careers as a senior merchandiser. Next step career ladder This is the position of Supervisor. In a few years, the supervisor may grow to be a sales representative of the company in the area. The highest level is the head of the sales representative office international company in any country or group of countries. Career growth a merchandiser can also achieve in advertising and marketing.

What should a merchandiser know?

Merchandiser must know:

the basics of organizing work to generate demand and increase sales;
the current legislation responsible for commercial activities;
basics of management and marketing, types of advertising and methods of organizing advertising activities;
principles of organization of retail space and sales, psychology of buyers, methods for evaluating the effectiveness of placing goods on racks;
the main qualitative and consumer properties of the goods sold;
product prices, fundamentals of a market economy, sociology of psychology, ethics of business communication.

In addition to the required knowledge, the merchandiser must have such skills as diligence, observation, creative thinking, communication skills, persuasiveness, self-confidence. In many cases, these character traits can outweigh work experience and become decisive for the employer.

What does a merchandiser do in a supermarket?

Supermarket and hypermarket are the most popular and promising sales formats in retail (retail). It is in self-service stores, according to various sites that advertise open vacancies and job searches, that merchandisers are most often required.

Everything is logical, since it is in such trading conditions that the work of a merchandiser (subject to high-quality performance) is one of the key guarantees for increasing sales and promoting specific products on the market.

For comparison: in smaller retail outlets that do not involve self-service (small shops, kiosks, pavilions), the method of displaying goods does not really matter. This is due to the fact that the main goal of observing a certain laying technology is psychological impact on the buyer (location of more expensive goods at the level of the visitor's eyes, ensuring the effect of the presence of an assortment, etc.), and with a different sales format, the costs of merchandiser services, as a rule, do not have an economic justification.

What is the job of a merchandiser in an online store?

Often, on specialized sites, you can find ads about the availability of an open vacancy for a merchandiser in an online store. Arises legitimate question: if a merchandiser is a specialist serving the retail zone, how can he be useful in the field of distance selling?

Based on the name of the profession, then nothing. In these cases, the employer simply substitutes concepts, announcing the search for a merchandiser, although in fact he needs a marketer. The duties of these specialists are generally similar - at least in terms of strategic interests.

Therefore, having a desire to get a job as a merchandiser and studying the relevant offers, you need to pay attention to the sales format declared by the employer.

Merchandiser Supervisor: Tasks and Responsibilities

The profession of a supervisor to the uninitiated seems even more exotic than a merchandiser. But in fact, they are most directly related to each other, since the supervisor is none other than the head of the merchandisers.

The work of a merchandising supervisor (the correct title of the position is “merchandising supervisor”) is predominantly analytical in nature. His task is to collect data on the dynamics of sales growth in outlets controlled by him. The responsibility for the transfer of such information lies with the merchandisers serving these points.

However, despite the fact that the supervisor is a supervisor, the rights to hire, fire or impose disciplinary action on his subordinates, he usually does not have. Its functions are limited to the systematization of the information received and the transfer of the results of the analyzes to senior management with conclusions and recommendations for the further organization of work to promote sales.

Sometimes, the development of a planogram is added to the duties of supervisors - a scheme for laying out goods on store shelves. But this rarely happens and generally contradicts the essence of the position: such actions require a professional approach and fall within the competence of marketing specialists.

Mobile and stationary merchandiser - what's the difference?

Based on the methods of performing duties, the content of the job description and the place of work of merchandisers, they can be divided into two categories:

mobile merchandiser;
stationary merchandiser.

The differences between them are obvious and follow from the very title of the position. So, mobile merchandiser(aka calling) is not assigned to a specific outlet. His responsibilities include sequential visits to various stores of the network to alternately perform the work functionality in each of them.

Stationary merchandiser, in contrast, serves only one store on a permanent basis. Of course, it is possible to move an employee from one outlet to another, but this will also be permanent.

There is another type of merchandisers that combines the features of both categories - universal. He is characterized by a flexible work schedule, which provides for the performance of the functions of both a mobile and a stationary employee, depending on the task.

Communication tools in merchandising

The key merchandising tools are:

store design (both external and internal);
store planning (more precisely, planning customer traffic flows):
advertising and other tools at the point of sale;
color blocking;
merchandise ranges:
comprehensive measures.

The importance of communication merchandising is that it helps to establish contact with the visitor. The atmosphere of the store, the psychological attitude and qualifications of the staff, the ability to communicate unobtrusively - all this determines the success of communication with the buyer.

Many studies show that 65-70% of purchasing decisions are made by visitors directly in the store. This means that the lion's share of the profits of the retail trade is brought by impulse, i.e. unplanned purchases. When making such purchases, buyers are guided not by reason and logic, but by feelings and emotions. It was these factors that formed the basis of the concept of communication merchandising.

In any communications that merchandising operates, it is possible to single out the image and information components.

What is visual merchandising?

Visual merchandising is the activities that retailers carry out to organize the retail space and present the product in such a way as to maximize sales.

Visual merchandising is not only about eye-catching storefronts. It includes a lot more! Store layout and product display, lighting and music, advertising and navigation elements, color solutions trading floor. All this together, if it is organized correctly and harmoniously, creates that unique and friendly atmosphere in the retail outlet, which helps to increase sales.

Visual merchandising is the rules and laws that are applicable and work for any store, regardless of what goods it sells, food, clothing and footwear, medicines or stationery. If you have a retail outlet and you have opened the doors of the store and are waiting for customers, then you are already doing Visual Merchandising and the only question is how effectively.

The practice of visual merchandising requires creativity, inspiration, logic and organization. It's a mix of science and art. When a retail space acquires “visual meaning”, it begins to attract the attention of customers and make them want to enter the store, familiarize themselves with the assortment and, most importantly, make a purchase! This is what Visual Merchandising can do for a store.

What are visual merchandisers responsible for?

Organization of the trading space. Using their knowledge and experience, attention to detail and imagination, they make the product “pleasing to the eye” and the visitors have a desire to buy it!
Graphic arts. Graphics and large posters create an additional emotional background for the product, also performing a navigational and informative function.
Display of goods. To effectively present a product, a visual merchandising specialist works in conjunction with a retailer specialist (buyer, category manager, etc.). This is necessary to understand the strategy and target audience of the retail outlet.
Lighting. Proper lighting play big role in the visual perception of the product by the buyer. Adjusting the level and type of lighting is also part of the visual merchandiser's arsenal.
Shop equipment. The visual merchandiser, in cooperation with the designer, helps to select or develop retail equipment that the best way will be suitable for a certain product.
Shop floor design. The visual merchandiser is always involved in the process of creating a new or updating an existing store. Collaborating at this stage with an interior designer and project manager for opening a store. It keeps the focus of interests of both the retailer and the customers.
Price tags and POS materials. The visual merchandiser works closely with the marketing department to ensure that the right place convey the marketing message to customers on the sales floor.

Today, every second person knows who a merchandiser is. Now you will get acquainted with what are the duties of a merchandiser, and also learn the features of such a popular profession. After all, no matter what newspaper you open with ads, various companies require merchandisers. After graduating from various educational institutions, young people are happy to take on this job.

Merchandiser Responsibilities

The duties of a merchandiser include: correct display of goods on store shelves, in refrigerators, depending on the products being promoted, sticking posters and dummies, branded price tags. The work is not dusty, however, not in every store the distributors will be delighted with your desire to stick a poster near them front door. That is why a person who works as a merchandiser should be as sociable as possible. Ability to persuade and deal with objections.

A merchandiser can visit retail outlets (shops, supermarkets, stalls, etc.) both independently and together with a sales representative. It depends on the decision of the upper management. By the way, it also happens that the duties of a merchandiser may include the duties of a sales representative. In short, these are all the features of the merchandiser profession. Responsibilities, as you can see, are not the most difficult. However, in practice one may encounter various difficulties. Most often, this is a lack of understanding of the authorities of the real state of affairs in retail outlets, as well as the unwillingness of sellers to cooperate with the merchandiser.

Merchandiser's working day

Most often, a merchandiser's working day begins with a morning meeting. Next comes the exit to the area, and visits to retail outlets, one after another. There can be a different number of them (from 15 or even up to 40), depending on the company in which you work. The day ends with an evening meeting where the merchandiser can once again see the displeased faces of management.

Everyone who worked as a merchandiser will tell you that you should not link your fate with this profession forever. Nevertheless, it is possible to work as a merchandiser for several months. Or, alternatively, you can work in this field and think about what field of activity to go into later, and what to connect your life with.

This profession came to Russia not so long ago, a little over ten years ago. Stimulation, sales planning - this is how "merchandising" is translated from English. The definition of this concept, respectively, can be revealed as planning the correct promotion of goods in the right quantity and at the right time at the right price. This is the essence of this direction. This means that the main task of a specialist in this field is to present the goods to the buyer as correct and necessary.

Answering the question “merchandiser - who is it”, it must be said that the employee is selling the corresponding product using

Well organized activities. It includes competent advertising, self-serving layout and much more. He must also understand how to remove the balance in the warehouse, and calculate it in such a way that there are no interruptions and overstocking. To be successful, he must be aware of temporary and seasonal fluctuations in demand and closely monitor expiration dates. In the event that the store has a visual merchandiser, then he must have information about where there are hot zones, “golden” shelves. He should also be able to calculate customer flows and how exactly customers move around the store.

Answering the question “who is a merchandiser”, it must be said that he is a psychologist and a competent communicator.

Because for the successful implementation of activities, he needs self-confidence, as well as knowledge about the product and the company.

Currently, this profession is mastered by young people who are just beginning to comprehend the psychology of sales. This position allows you to get an excellent experience of interaction with trade representatives, to see all the nuances of the business "from the inside". People who quickly understood the answer to the question “who is the merchandiser” quickly move up the career ladder and occupy more significant positions in the trade organization.

So, the main task of this specialist is to increase the level of sales. His working day consists of constant traveling around shopping facilities. The merchandiser deals with the specific merchandiser who oversees adherence to concepts, hosts POS materials, and monitors their usage.

In addition, he must maintain the image of his organization in a positive tone, ensure the favorable location of products and track their availability in sales. To properly adjust prices, the specialist constantly monitors competitors and provides advice to sellers about the size

Merchandiser - who is it? The requirements for candidates are directly related to the creation and maintenance of the company's image. Therefore, when selecting candidates for this position, the director pays attention to presentable appearance, communication skills, age, and higher education. Preference is given most often to people who have a diploma in trade or economics educational institution. In most cases, work experience does not play a significant role in the selection of candidates. But the age range is often limited to 30 years.