This section of the forum is pretty devoid of posts so I thought I would stir it up a bit.

This year I decided to phase out most of my MS work as I just got tired of the driving and trying to route so many assorted jobs into a coherent and cost effective day. I worked my way back into the merchandising world that I used to be so familiar with (I also worked directly as a manufacturers rep for a number of companies).

As of a week ago I now work for 9 different companies, doing basically the same type of jobs. Merchandising, resetting fixtures /shelves, and "surge" work (one time tasks in a retailer, like product returns).
I am very happy with how it has all worked out - I actually had 10 companies for a short period but dropped one of them.

It takes a lot of coordination and careful scheduling to keep it all running smoothly and can get hectic when too many companies have big jobs all in the same week. I only call on stores within a 15 mile radius (with once a month visits to some further ones) so it makes it a lot easier to get a lot of locations done in one day.

It still isn't full time hours, but that is ok with me as I am an online retailer too juggling two venues and orders most days of the week.

No rest for the wicked ...

I am just wondering about the rest of you out there, who do you work for and how many do you juggle at one time?

I've tried my hand at merchandising a little bit for Focus Servicing, putting out movies in grocery stores. So far it's not rocking my world like mystery shopping does. It's also easier to pull teeth out of a rooster than to get my payment out of those people. So far it's not doing it for me.

Cettie - That is a shame. Thanks for mentioning it so anyone thinking of working for them will be aware.

Here are a few companies I work for that have regular (some are only 1-2x a month) work in some of the major chains such as Target, Kohls, Menards and Walmart. These companies are reliable, well run and pay on time with a 2 week payment schedule.

Driveline
RMS
Retail Assistance
Revenue Creations
Marian Heath (cards in Menards, Sullivans Grocery and some independents)

PS - I also merchandise movies for two of these companies in Dollar General, HyVee grocery and Menards.

I only do occasional work and I only do work where I can be an IC. I currently contract with Castforce.

@Cettie wrote:

I've tried my hand at merchandising a little bit for Focus Servicing, putting out movies in grocery stores. So far it's not rocking my world like mystery shopping does. It's also easier to pull teeth out of a rooster than to get my payment out of those people. So far it's not doing it for me.

This is too funny. I have worked for these folks a while now. I got a reply that my email to them sent August 31 at 4:59 PM was read October 19 at 3:30 PM. Really!??LOL!!~

I work for Lawrence, RMS, Strategic Retail, CPM, Spar and at holiday time for Kelner.

Do these pay fairly good?
I currently merchandise full time for a soda/pop company and I'm getting to old to throw 12 packs for 8-10 hours a day.

The work ranges from $10 - 15 an hour with $10-11 being the standard. I work for a few that pay 12 and 13 and some reimbursements for printing and drive time that adds to the total.

It takes a lot of juggling to fill even a 20 hour week sometimes, I currently work for 9 different companies and never work more than 30 hours total. Some parts of the year are super busy with resets and you get more time. The merchandisers who do resets usually get full time hours. If you are fit enough to be slinging soda cases you would be fine doing resets as they are somewhat labor intensive but not heavy labor (for the most part it is middle aged women doing this work).

Put your resume out there on a couple of the job sites like The Retail Recruiter and Retail Jobs North America (formerly NARMS) and you will get a couple of offers a week.

@sstazz wrote:

Do these pay fairly good?
I currently merchandise full time for a soda/pop company and I'm getting to old to throw 12 packs for 8-10 hours a day.

Boutique - can you provide websites for those companies you work for? I would love to shop Target, Kohls, Walmart and Menards but I Googled for their websites and came up empty.

Thanks for the info. I'm headed there now

That company I did the merchandising work for also says it will pay $12 an hour for ONE hour spent at the store, if you go over at all you are supposed to call headquarters to get permission to go longer, but normally they say no. Bottom line is it's like a mystery shop with a flat $12 fee, no mileage and as hard to get payment from as some MS companies who take a few months to get around to it. Fast going into my 10-foot pole category.

My recommendation for anyone wanting to break into merchandising is to sign up for all the smaller companies you can, get to know the other merchandisers in the area and let it be known that you are looking for something more permanent and reliable.

Start searching at indeed.com for merchandising jobs with your zip code you will be amazed what will pop up - they pull postings from all over.

Boutique - I have been there before with working 8-10 companies at a time. What helped me is to get a white board that has a built in calendar feature and I use a different colored marker for each company. Makes it a lot easier to keep track of not only where you are going but who you are working for.

I am a shelf stylist extraordinaire. I keep plenty busy working for 3 companies weekly and 1 monthly with assignments at 7 pet stores. Weekly are MCG, Revenue Creations, Wolfe. Monthly: TPFS - which just merged with Acosta last week. I also do a few on request with a few companies when they have special or seasonal projects. I am waiting to do a weekly 20 mile/7 store check up route for a grocery chain as soon as all of them get their piece of equipment. Most of my hours come in at $15 with a few at $11 and $12.

soo7mile is right about the white board. I keep a calendar to make my route by area. I make daily lists by store and check off assignments as I go. Working for several companies can be daunting when you get 15 projects on your board weekly for 2 or 3 companies. Being organized is key. Knowing which you can push off to a slower week or day helps too.

Sorry I have been absent from the board and missed these replies to my original post.

I agree about needing to be super organized, even then I occasionally mix up who I am working for and wear the wrong badge (not that anybody notices)

. I have recently tried using a grid (in addition to my daily/weekly calendar journal) to keep track of the mishmash of companies and assignments. Companies listed down one side and the stores down the other then an X where they intersect. I often work for multiple companies in the same store on the same week so at least this is a visual cue that I have X number of jobs in each store.

Kristie - Here are a few links for you. Tell them Boutique sent you.

www.rmservicing.com

www.revenuecreations.com.

Lawrence Merchandising - [www.lmsvc.com]

www.Drivelineretail.com

Convergence Marketing - www.Matchmg.com

And these two are jobs working directly for the manufacturer in Target, Menards and 5 Below stores.

www.viabella.com

Kalan - [www.kalanreporting.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2015 07:02AM by Boutique.

My main merchandising job is with American Greetings where I service 14 stores, including Target and dollar stores. In the past and for occasional work, I have worked for RMS, Castforce, and a couple others I can't remember now.

I like your posting. I am new to forums and appreciate useful info like yours. I have worked for Castforce, Crossmark, RMS, Premium Retail, Advantage, Trendsource and some others I can't recall as they were fleeting experiences. I like doing merchandising work but still have so much to learn and some of the work is hard for me physically but I still do it.

My main bread and butter if you would is Premium Retail they have me doing 13 stores a week regularly, and are always giving me extra jobs here and there.

I did rejoin up with Market Force recently, and am disappointed with them. I've seen them running around for 10 years+ now, and the rates haven't gone up one cent.

Hi all! I've personally tried a ton of merchandising/auditing/survey apps, but my favorite has been Survey.com. I really enjoyed interacting with the people in the company and eventually landed a job here. But I thought I could help out (by sharing my own experience) anyone that's also interested in making some money on the side, or even full-time.

I work for Trendsource and Market Force CFA. I just recently downloaded the Survey.com app and am looking forward to working with them as soon as my vehicle gets out of the shop. Thanks for letting me know they're a good company @SurveySaays.

Kat256,

if you are doing merchandising for Market Force CFA you are being seriously underpaid. Please check with some of the companies listed above so you can get a decent wage for your hard work.

Ok lets do it this way
Past worked for
Retail solutions- Great company Sprouts stores only so grocery resets only-really good money but 5am start time

Marian Health-Not enough work in my area

Advantage Sales- Demo were not my cup of tea

Crossmark-Again Demo not my thing, but tried again year later

G2 Merchandising- Great company Bass pro projects mainly just not enough to keep

American Greetings-Demands a little to much in perfection for greeting cards

SPAR-My jobs were always in the rough neighborhoods, but a fair amount of work

MCG- I hated having to quit this one as I did love it, but i plan on getting back in

Match Converge-Hard Labor doing cosmetic resets

Driveline- Did not pay enough for what was asked

New America Market- Coupons and signs in Kroger and etc (blinkie machines)- Great company and always paid but only just above minimum wage

Actionlink- Great company I just didn't agree with my territory manager

CURRENT EMPLOYERS

Premium Retail AMAZING Company and worth every minute I spend doing there work. I love my RMM and all my reps in the region.

ThirdChannel- They have projects some short and some on going. Really good pay and free merchandise

Looked at the Third Channel website.....looks like they hire only "Millennials"-aged folk to work for them....I'm a bit older than that....a Baby Boomer, actually!

Actually I am 34 years old it just depends on the project.

anjisemail - Thanks for posting such a comprehensive list !

I checked out a few of those and put in applications just for the heck of it.

I have to agree with you that companies like Driveline and Match Converge (Convergence Marketing) try and squeeze a lot out of you for the lowest pay. I have been doing all day resets back to back recently and I specified when I was hired that I didn't want to do resets (other than cosmetics, I actually like those ... go figure). I know it is generally short season for resets ( 1 month in spring / fall) so I am going along with it just for the extra boost in pay, but they are killing me.

Marian Heath now aka Viabella is a good company, pay is fair and the work is not strenuous. If you have a Menards in your area they probably carry the Viabella cards.

Anybody else work for RMS ? I really recommend them, decent pay and good communication about executing your projects. For the most part they don't bug you as long as you get your reports turned in on time.

Thank you @kalfini. I'm reading and taking notes on the thread now. I appreciate your advice. I also appreciate the company name tips. Will do my research for sure.

Can someone fully explain to me what merchandising entails? I have been trying to read the posts but it is still a little fuzzy :-)

Short version: You go to your assigned store, find your product, clean and fill your shelves, check for proper pricing and signage, along with build/kill displays as needed.

What experience do you have to have? I have been doing mystery shopping for a while but my full time job is as a teacher. I am looking to stay at home next year though.