Retail Merchandising a Job with Flexibility

Retail Merchandisers complete a variety of different jobs in stores. Those stores range from Dollar stores, department stores, grocery stores , drug stores to Doctor's offices . From installing shelving to stocking products and everything in between.

One company may have you installing a greeting card rack. Which would consist of putting up shelves or setting up a display and screwing it together. Next would be labeling the rack with numbered labels and then stocking shelves with the greeting cards. Once you are done you would simply show the manager your completed work and have them sign it, and you are now done that store. At the end of the day you would report your work to the merchandising company. Either by phone, Internet or fax depending on the procedure of that company. You will always have a planogram to explain how to put displays together. Sometimes you need to supply your own screwdriver or drill, other merchandising companies supply them for you.

Another day you could be removing recalled items from the shelves, counting inventory, placing new pricing labels or resetting shelves. Resetting is when you remove all the items from specific shelves and set them back on the shelves according to the new plan. There may be items that you have to count and bundle together in a tote/crate because they are not on the new plan. There may also be new items that you have put on the shelves.

Every merchandising company is different when if comes to hourly pay,in store time,attire, paperwork ,mileage and id badges. There are companies that pay you per hour. Which could range anywhere from $7 - $16 per hour depending on the type of job and the company itself. There are other stores that pay you a flat fee . Many companies have you print your own paperwork , while a few mail the paperwork to you. Many Merchandising companies send you an id badge to wear while you are working. There are also companies that pay you for your travel time from store to store. Some require a uniform while most simply require business casual attire.

Depending on the type of work you are doing you could be in a store anywhere from thirty minutes for a simple audit . Or eight to ten hours for a reset or installation. Merchandising jobs can go over the time that you were quoted by your company.In those cases some require you to call while in store to request more time. Other company will simply have you report the overtime on your paper work. Some Merchandising companies require you to call them when you arrive and once again when you complete the job. Calling is usually not required if you are employed by the company unless you are completing a new store installation.

If you are trying to find a merchandising job the best place to look is narms . Narms is a site where you post your experience and schedulers for merchandising companies will call you when they have an opening. Narms will also email you when they have an opening that matches your qualifications.

There are many merchandising companies that are constantly looking for new merchandisers to hire either as independent contractors or as employees. Some companies only hire you part -time while others offer full-time merchandising employment with benefits.

Merchandising is a good job for people who like to work independently ,are good with people,and wants to set their own hours.There are times when you have to deal with both difficult managers and customers. Managers don't always want the job you are hired to Merchandise done. When that happens there is often a box you check on your paperwork that says Manager refused. It's rare though that something like that happens. Merchandiser will have customers that get angry with them for not opening up a new line in the store when there is a long line. Some customers don't understand that you don't work in the store,even while you are wearing your company's ID badge. I simply tell them that I work for a different company and point out a store employee to them.

If you are doing weekly assignments with a company you can usually complete the assignment anytime the store is open. There are times when a Merchandising company will require you to be at store at a specific time sometimes early around 7 am. That is mostly only the case when you are going to be in the store all day, about eight hours.

There are times when companies call you and they need teams of merchandisers to complete a job. This is great if you have a spouse or friend that also does merchandising. Working with a team is a great way to get started in Merchandising. You will gain experience and better understanding on how to complete the job. Other team members will often help and give you tips they have learned along the way. Teams vary in size from 2-8 people based on the type of Merchandising your team will complete.

When you first start out Merchandising you may find is difficult to complete a reset alone,for example a cosmetic reset. It is a good idea to start with something simply like an audit. Cosmetics are one of the most difficult resets because of the small items and the fact that they look very similar. Lip pencils and Lipsticks often have the same color packaging so you have look at each one to make sure you place them in the right slot. To make it easier for yourself get a shopping cart or two. After removing the products from the shelves it's a good idea to organize the items in the cart based on similar items. It makes it easier and faster for you when you have to restock the shelves.You will be able find the items faster for customers that want to purchase something you removed from the shelves.

New merchandisers often get frustrated when completing a large job when the work doesn't go according to the plan.They may think they are doing sometime the wrong way or that they are not cut for this type of work. What we learn as merchandisers from experience is that very often the job doesn't go exactly the way it is stated on your paperwork. Sometime the store shelves are not the right size and you have to wait for them to get the right size in.
There are also times when screws don't go all the way in , or a rack won't line up where you have connect them. Racks can get bend a little in shipping may need to be straightened out.

There are companies that require their new merchandisers to have one or two years experience. If you don't have experience don't worry because there are quite a few that will hire you with no experience as long as you are good with following the directions on your paperwork.

For full-time merchandising work your best bet is to apply for as many companies as you can find. Since very often companies will have sporadic work for you . For merchandisers who are employees you usually get paid every 1-2 weeks. While independent contractors may have to wait 3-4 depending on the company.