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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for In-Store Marketer

💰 $ - $

MarketingRetailField MarketingShopper Marketing

🎯 Role Definition

An In-Store Marketer is responsible for planning, executing, and measuring retail activations and merchandising programs that drive product consideration and purchase at the point of sale. This role blends field execution with strategic shopper marketing: building retailer relationships, ensuring planogram and POS compliance, executing product launches and promotional events, training store staff, and using store-level insights and sales metrics to optimize merchandising, promotions, and conversion. The In-Store Marketer is the frontline brand ambassador within retail environments and a key contributor to category growth, shopper experience, and trade promotion ROI.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Retail Merchandiser / Merchandiser Representative
  • Brand Ambassador / Promotional Representative
  • Marketing Coordinator or Junior Field Marketing Associate

Advancement To:

  • Field Marketing Manager / Trade Marketing Manager
  • Retail Marketing Manager / Shopper Marketing Manager
  • Regional Sales Manager or National Account Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Category Manager
  • Visual Merchandising Manager
  • Retail Operations or Store Development roles

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop and execute store-level marketing plans and retail activation programs that align with brand objectives, seasonal strategies, and retailer promotional calendars to drive incremental sales and market share.
  • Manage end-to-end execution of in-store promotional campaigns, including POS displays, shelf signage, sampling, demonstrations, and temporary fixtures to maximize product visibility and shopper conversion.
  • Conduct regular store visits and retail audits to verify planogram compliance, shelf availability, pricing accuracy, promotional setup adherence, and competitive positioning; document findings and escalate issues to store management and internal stakeholders.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with retail buyers, store managers, and store operations teams to secure placement, negotiate promotional space, coordinate installation, and ensure execution of brand programs.
  • Install and maintain point-of-sale materials, dumps, endcaps, and secondary displays according to planogram specifications and retailer guidelines, ensuring build quality and merchandising standards.
  • Plan and coordinate product launches and in-store events, including staffing, logistics, sampling schedules, staffing briefings, and post-event reporting to measure lift and ROI.
  • Train and coach store associates and temporary brand ambassadors on product features, selling points, promotional messaging, and shelf merchandising standards to improve sell-through and shopper engagement.
  • Monitor daily/weekly store sales, inventory levels, and out-of-stocks; collaborate with replenishment and supply chain teams to mitigate stock gaps and prioritize high-performing SKUs.
  • Execute mystery shops and compliance audits; compile retailer-specific reports with photographic evidence, compliance scores, and prioritized corrective actions for store and regional leadership.
  • Create and deliver concise, data-driven post-activation reports and scorecards summarizing execution quality, sales impact, shopper behavior insights, and recommended next steps for continuous improvement.
  • Coordinate logistics for display and POS material shipments, returns, and asset tracking; maintain accurate inventories of merchandising materials and manage vendor relationships for build/install services.
  • Use shopper insights, category data, and competitive intelligence (Nielsen, IRI, POS data) to recommend promotional mechanics, pricing strategies, and in-store merchandising changes that increase conversion and basket size.
  • Execute route plans efficiently across assigned stores, balancing high-priority accounts and key growth opportunities while maintaining daily/weekly activity logs and expense records.
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams—sales, trade marketing, supply chain, creative, and e-commerce—to ensure omnichannel consistency and to leverage digital-to-store activations (retail media, QR codes, in-store mobile experiences).
  • Implement trade promotion plans and monitor promotional performance against KPIs (sell-through, lift, ROI); recommend on-the-fly campaign optimizations to maximize effectiveness.
  • Manage local retail budgets and spend tracker for in-store activities, ensuring cost-effective execution and accurate reporting of promotional investments.
  • Identify and execute shopper engagement tactics (sampling, tastings, live demos, contests) that educate shoppers, collect leads, and generate immediate purchase intent.
  • Lead marketplace-level merchandising resets and seasonal transitions—coordinating timelines, labor, and merchandising resources to minimize disruption and maximize presentation quality.
  • Capture in-store digital assets (photos, short video) for marketing and training use; maintain organized asset libraries and ensure timely distribution to creative and regional teams.
  • Address and resolve retailer escalations related to merchandising, damaged POS, stockouts, or compliance issues by communicating with operations and vendor teams and tracking remediation.
  • Deliver weekly and monthly execution summaries and KPIs to area managers and brand leadership; use A/B ideas and test-and-learn experiments to improve store-level conversion.
  • Advocate for the customer in all retail interactions: gather direct shopper feedback, identify pain points in the in-store experience, and translate findings into actionable merchandising and product recommendations.

Secondary Functions

  • Support cross-functional trade and shopper marketing projects, including test programs, pilot activations, and immersive brand experiences that require in-store execution expertise.
  • Maintain and update merchandising standard operating procedures (SOPs), onboarding guides, and store visit checklists to standardize execution quality across territories.
  • Assist in vendor selection and management for build/install services, local experiential agencies, and merchandising crews; evaluate vendor performance and cost-effectiveness.
  • Participate in creative briefs for POS development by providing frontline insights on what drives shopper attention and what retail assets are operationally feasible.
  • Help maintain CRM or field execution platforms (retail execution software) by logging activities, uploading photos, and tagging store-level outcomes for centralized reporting.
  • Contribute to territory planning by suggesting store prioritization, call cadence, and budget allocation based on sales potential, foot traffic, and historical performance.
  • Support digital-to-store initiatives such as click-and-collect displays, in-store pickup signage, and integrating retail media buys with physical POS to deliver a seamless shopper journey.
  • Provide ad-hoc competitive scans and local market trend reports that inform regional promotional strategies and assortment decisions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Retail merchandising and planogram compliance expertise with demonstrated ability to execute and audit fixture builds, shelf layouts, and display standards.
  • Trade promotion execution and analysis—ability to track promotional performance, calculate lift and ROI, and recommend optimization actions.
  • Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel for sales tracking, analysis, pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and basic dashboarding for weekly reporting.
  • Experience with retail execution and field-force automation tools (e.g., Repsly, GoSpotCheck, Trax, Salesforce Field Service, Planorama) for logging visits and photo evidence.
  • Familiarity with POS systems, SKU-level sales reporting, and data sources (Nielsen, IRI, retailer POS) to interpret sell-through and category dynamics.
  • Knowledge of shopper marketing principles, visual merchandising, and experiential tactics that drive conversion and dwell time.
  • Basic project management skills including task sequencing, vendor coordination, timeline management, and budget tracking.
  • Experience with merchandising asset lifecycle management—tracking POS inventory, shipping, installation, and returns.
  • Ability to create concise, presentation-quality summaries using PowerPoint or Google Slides to communicate results to commercial teams and retailers.
  • Basic photography and mobile asset capture skills; comfortable generating clean, retail-ready images and short video clips for reporting and creative use.
  • Familiarity with CRM or task management tools (Salesforce, Asana, Monday.com) for cross-functional collaboration and activity logging.
  • Knowledge of local labor laws, retail safety standards, and store access policies to ensure compliant and safe executions.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for training store teams, negotiating with retail partners, and preparing executive summaries.
  • Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management capabilities to influence buyers, store managers, and cross-functional colleagues.
  • Results-oriented and data-driven mindset: able to turn store observations and sales data into prioritized, measurable action plans.
  • High attention to detail and quality orientation when auditing displays, pricing, and promotional setups.
  • Problem-solving aptitude and ability to act autonomously in the field when addressing execution challenges or escalations.
  • Time management and route-planning discipline to maximize productivity across multiple store visits and competing priorities.
  • Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced retail environments with changing schedules, promotions, and retailer requirements.
  • Coaching and training skills to upskill store teams and brand ambassadors for consistent in-store messaging.
  • Collaborative team player who partners effectively with sales, marketing, supply chain, and creative stakeholders.
  • Professionalism and brand stewardship: represent the company and brand positively in-store and at retailer meetings.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Marketing, Business Administration, Retail Management, Communications, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Retail Management, Business, or Shopper Marketing; certifications in retail merchandising, project management (PMP/CAPM) or field marketing courses a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Marketing
  • Business Administration
  • Retail Management
  • Communications
  • Supply Chain / Logistics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of progressive experience in retail merchandising, field/activation marketing, or in-store execution roles.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of experience executing shopper marketing programs, managing retail activations, or working directly with national/regional retailers; prior experience with POS installation, planogram execution, and promotional measurement preferred.
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