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Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers

US occupation · SOC 27-1026

Job titles people report: Decorator, Display Associate, Display Decorator, Display Specialist, In-Store Marketing Associate, Merchandiser, Visual Merchandiser (VM), Visual Merchandising Specialist

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$39,390
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$35,130 – $47,220
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
165,220
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+2.7%
Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
Openings a year (projected)
17,200
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
High school diploma or equivalent
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Plan and erect commercial displays, such as those in windows and interiors of retail stores and at trade exhibitions.

Main tasks

  • Plan commercial displays to entice and appeal to customers.
  • Arrange properties, furniture, merchandise, backdrops, or other accessories, as shown in prepared sketches.
  • Change or rotate window displays, interior display areas, or signage to reflect changes in inventory or promotion.
  • Place prices or descriptive signs on backdrops, fixtures, merchandise, or floor.
  • Consult with store managers, buyers, sales associates, housekeeping staff, or engineering staff to determine appropriate placement of displays or products.
  • Maintain props, products, or mannequins, inspecting them for imperfections, doing touch-ups, cleaning up after customers, or applying preservative coatings as necessary.
  • Develop ideas or plans for merchandise displays or window decorations.
  • Assemble or set up displays, furniture, or products in store space, using colors, lights, pictures, or other accessories to display the product.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
High school diploma or equivalent
Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training
O*NET Job Zone 3
Medium preparation
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Business

  • Fashion Modeling

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Business at the Major step.

Where many students take business

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk