What Is Merchandising?

When market relations were getting better, I worked at that moment in trade. And I had to face the concept of merchandising for the first time.

A girl was hired, whose position was called a merchandiser. And what is it? Yes, it seems like this person should “put things in order” on the trading floor. And that there is no one else to put things in order there? After all, there are still such positions as the administrator of the trading floor, and there are heads of trading sections and departments, etc.

Merchandising: promotion and sale of goods

Why do we need a merchandiser? Why do we need what he does? What is merchandising? Let’s try to figure it out.

Trade, as a type of economic activity, originates from ancient times. Naturally, over many centuries, the process of carrying out trade transactions has changed.

Scientific and technological progress, which covered absolutely all activities, did not leave aside the trade sphere. If earlier it took weeks and months to deliver goods, now this process has accelerated thousands of times thanks to the development of sea and air routes and the result of transport services.

Now in the first place is the rapid promotion and sale of goods. In the face of severe competition, retail outlets are forced to focus on advertising the product being sold.

It is not for nothing that the slogan “advertising is the engine of progress” was invented. Indeed, the “psychological attack” on the population in advertising is bearing fruit: the more “promoted” the brand, the more expensive it is and is in great demand among buyers.

Today, advertising slogans accompany people everywhere: on the street, on television, radio, on the Internet. Moreover, various methods and tricks are used to present advertising material, famous people are involved, and exciting videos are shot. Everything is done to attract a buyer to a specific product type and raise the sales rating.

This process has already turned into a whole science taught in prestigious educational institutions. In addition to training in advertising basics, today it is proposed to take a course in merchandising.

What is merchandising

Merchandising is a modern, recent concept derived from the English word merchandising, which means “sales promotion.” In this way,

Merchandising implies a set of certain activities that enhance the sale of goods and services.

Often buyers pay attention to the fact that goods are arranged on supermarket shelves in a particular order, such as by price increase (from left to right), or by type of goods, or “brand” rating, etc.

Good product placement is the essence of merchandising.

An evident principle of displaying goods directly affects the level of sales and aims to increase it. For example, first of all, convenience for the buyer should be taken into account (everything can be bought in one store) so that he wants to purchase goods here.

There are many tricks and tricks aimed at stimulating sales, and all this is taught in the study of merchandising.

About the employment of a merchandiser

Nowadays, merchandising is one of the main tools of the trade. Online vacancies are full of job advertisements for merchandisers. Perhaps this word scares someone, but special knowledge is not required when applying for a job.

Moreover, most enterprises offer to take their internal training course in this specialty. This is certainly a good approach, as you can also acquire knowledge of corporate standards and gain invaluable experience in retail outlets.

In addition, such internal training allows you to attract more candidates who want to get a job as a merchandiser. Many successful leaders at one time went through the school of merchandising, and many started with merchandising and then moved up the career ladder.

Merchandising allows an employee to get to know a product, a brand, their consumers better and learn how to increase sales volumes. And it is these qualities that allow conscientious merchandisers to grow within the company or move to another job with a promotion in the future.