Stocker Job Description and Future Outlook

If you’re looking to work as a stock clerk, start your search with a good stocker job description to learn what a typical stocker job entails. Stock clerks typically work behind the scenes to stock up the shelves with merchandise in a retail establishment.

Stockers don’t just fill up shelves with merchandise. They organize and categorize merchandise based on the company’s specifications.

Dedicated stockers typically work with bigger facilities such as departmental stores, supermarkets, and hardware stores. In such places, a stocker has to constantly monitor inventory reports from current sales data to restock merchandise.

Frequently, stockers may also check-in and manage deliveries as per company specifications. Once the merchandise is delivered, a stocker ensures that it is properly categorized for immediate storage in the warehouse or placement on the store shelves.

The stocker job offers relatively solid job security and many stockers work more than 10 years in the job before moving on to mid and top managerial positions in retail.

Typical Stocker Job Description

First off, working as a stocker requires a minimum level of physical fitness above average. You’re going to spend the bigger part of your working hours on your feet, carrying weights of at least 50 pounds. Frequently, you’ll need to stoop, bend, and even climb a ladder up to heights of 20 feet. If you have issues with your back or have problems climbing ladders, this job is probably not suited to you.

Restocking shelves is typically scheduled during off-hours – early morning, late evening or overnight. In bigger retail establishments, stockers work shifts so this job is perfect if you want flexibility in scheduling.

Typical stocker duties include:

• Manage inventory. In this case, a stocker utilizes an inventory management system to balance purchase orders and deliveries.
• Organize, stock, and restock merchandise. Organizing items entails marking them with the correct bar codes and stock numbers, among other identifiers.
• Identify missing products in a delivered batch and then make arrangements with suppliers to make replacements.
• Ensure that every order is properly packaged with the right product and quantity.
• Liaising with suppliers and vendors.

How Much Does a Stocker Earn?

As per 2016 data from the U.S Bureau of Labor and Statistics, stock clerks earned a median annual wage of $26,670 and a mean hourly wage of $12.82. Stock clerks in warehouses and storage facilities tend to earn above average while departmental stores pay the least hourly wages at an average of $9.2 per hour. Actual wages are largely dependent on industry.

States with the highest wages for stock clerks include Washington, District of Columbia, Alaska, Oregon, and Wyoming.

How Do You Become a Stock Clerk?

A stocker job doesn’t require an advanced degree but a high school diploma goes a long way. Almost all employers provide short-term onsite training, usually to grasp company-specific. Numeracy skills and some computer knowledge are also desirable especially if you want to scale up the job hierarchy faster.

This job offers many growth opportunities but working in a large establishment boosts your chances greatly. Large establishments have multiple departments in a single location, which presents lots of managerial opportunities.

When you progress from a stock clerk position, you’re typically going to work as an operations manager, inventory manager, or shift supervisor. From then on, you’ll climb up to retail manager position and then progress to regional retail manager.

What’s the Future Outlook for Stockists?

Data from the U.S Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts that employment rate for stockists, store clerks and stockers will grow steadily over the next few years up to 2025. Job growth for the period between 2016 and 2016 stands between 5% and 9%.

The biggest growth will be in stores and retail clerk positions. California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois employ the biggest number of stockers.

The best part of the stocker job is that it offers good job security.

In Summary

Not many people can work as a stocker. The job requires physical fitness and a good grasp of clerical work, along with the willingness to work unfriendly shifts. Evidently, wages for stock clerks are not the best but the job offers good security, not to mention the multitude of growth opportunities.

Before you start perusing stocker job descriptions, equip yourself with the necessary skills and achieve some level of physical fitness.