What does a Stocker do?
The Stocker moves merchandise from shipping crates to an inventory room before stocking shelves. They make sure merchandise is neatly displayed on shelves and point-of-sale areas. Once retail products are on display, they create and hang price tags. The Stocker will unpack products and mark them with in-store identification codes. They also restock empty shelves and help customers to place shipment orders.
Stockers do maintain product inventory and order products from manufacturers directly. When not offering product support to customers in store or at display centres, Stockers maintain and track sales performance.
Stocker skills and qualifications
Stocker’s needs a friendly, courteous attitude and a detailed attention to their work environment. A successful Stocker will have various prerequisite skills and qualifications that typically include:
- Customer correspondence, knowing what consumers have ordered and where to find it
- Product descriptions, using an inventory’s layout to suggest waiting times or resource requirements
- In-depth application of stocking and safety procedures
- Time management, multitasking and inventory organisation
- FIFO and LIFO accounting
- Product labeling, categorizing products by type, weight, condition and dimensions
Stocker experience requirements
A Stocker, or Merchandiser, is an entry-level position.
Applicants for this job need at least one year of experience working in a merchandising role in a retail store. A background in sales or marketing is useful. Consider applicants with at least six months experience working in a grocery, retail or commissary environment. Candidates with customer service experience and a courteous attitude can be a great benefit. If hiring for a Supervisor role, make sure the applicants have at least three years of experience in a related position.
Stocker education and training requirements
Stockers don’t need formal training or higher education when first starting out. However, they will need several weeks of on-the-job training. Most employers look for applicants with at least a high school diploma and a willingness to learn. Stockers who wish to get into Managerial Roles need at least a bachelor’s degree in business, finance or human resource management.
Stocker salary expectations
According to Indeed, the average salary for a Stocker in the UK is £22,211 per year depending on their experience, job location and company size. Typical tenures last for one year.
Job description samples for similar positions
If you are interested in hiring for another role other than that of the Stocker, here are some relevant job descriptions that you can use as your samples: