This is a full-time onsite role based in the location(s) posted and is performed from the designated work location five days per week. No relocation is offered.
The Visual Merchandising Planning Lead is responsible for developing and executing product placement strategies across retail environments to maximize sales, improve product visibility, and create an engaging customer experience.
This position partners closely with Product Owners, Product Buyers, Retail Marketing, Visual Merchandising Communications, and floor-planning teams to translate product priorities, launches, and promotional strategies into comprehensive merchandising plans. The role uses planogram tools, prototypical floor plans, and store-cluster strategies to create placements that accommodate different store formats, fixtures, wall categories, and store-specific characteristics.
The Visual Merchandising Planning Lead also evaluates merchandising performance, identifies opportunities for improvement, and recommends data-informed adjustments that support sales performance and an effective retail experience.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Planning and Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Meet regularly with Product Owners and Product Buyers to understand product priorities, upcoming launches, assortment decisions, and business objectives.
- Partner with Retail Marketing stakeholders to incorporate promotional strategies and campaign priorities into merchandising plans.
- Gather and synthesize product, marketing, operational, and store information to develop placement strategies aligned with specific business goals.
- Build strong working relationships across Product, Buying, Retail Marketing, Visual Merchandising Communications, and store-planning teams.
- Present placement recommendations, supporting rationale, and potential business impact to key stakeholders.
Planogram and Placement Development
- Design detailed product placements using planogram software to optimize product visibility, accessibility, customer navigation, and selling opportunities.
- Partner with the Visual Merchandising Floor Planner to develop and maintain prototypical floor plans and store clusters.
- Translate product priorities into clear, prescriptive merchandising plans for different store formats and fixture configurations.
- Adapt cluster-level planograms to address the unique needs of store types, wall categories, available fixtures, and location-specific characteristics.
- Balance strategic product priorities with physical-space limitations and store-operating requirements.
Execution and Implementation
- Communicate clear placement plans and requirements to the Visual Merchandising Communications team to support the development of field-facing materials.
- Ensure planograms and related merchandising standards are implemented accurately and consistently across the retail portfolio.
- Collaborate with the Visual Merchandising Floor Planner to resolve fixture limitations, space constraints, and store-specific implementation challenges.
- Support teams with planogram interpretation and placement questions during launches, resets, and promotional transitions.
- Identify execution risks early and coordinate solutions with the appropriate cross-functional partners.
Performance Analysis and Optimization
- Review available sales and merchandising performance information to assess the effectiveness of product placements.
- Identify trends, performance gaps, and opportunities to improve product visibility, customer engagement, and sales.
- Recommend placement adjustments based on performance insights, business priorities, and store-cluster needs.
- Report findings and recommendations to stakeholders to support data-driven merchandising decisions.
- As SKU-level performance tools become available, incorporate product-level data into merchandising evaluations and optimization strategies.
Process and Capability Improvement
- Stay current on visual merchandising trends, retail-planning technologies, planogram capabilities, and industry best practices.
- Recommend enhancements to planogram processes, tools, templates, and working practices.
- Identify opportunities to improve the speed, accuracy, scalability, and consistency of merchandising planning.
- Help establish repeatable planning standards that can be effectively applied across multiple store clusters and formats.
Required Qualifications
- Five or more years of experience in visual merchandising, retail space planning, category merchandising, assortment planning, store design, retail operations, or a related discipline.
- Experience developing planograms or product-placement strategies for multiple retail locations, store formats, or fixture types.
- Working knowledge of planogram or space-planning applications such as Blue Yonder Space Planning, NielsenIQ Spaceman, RELEX Space and Assortment, or comparable tools.
- Demonstrated ability to translate product, marketing, and sales priorities into clear and executable merchandising plans.
- Experience using sales, product, or store-performance data to identify trends and recommend improvements.
- Strong project-management skills with the ability to manage multiple launches, resets, or merchandising initiatives simultaneously.
- Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills.
- Ability to partner effectively with stakeholders across Product, Buying, Marketing, Communications, Store Planning, and Retail Operations.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in merchandising, marketing, business, retail management, design, analytics, or a related field.
- Experience supporting a large, multi-format retail store network.
- Knowledge of store clustering, fixture capacity, adjacency planning, assortment localization, and retail-space optimization.
- Experience supporting new product launches, promotional campaigns, seasonal transitions, or store resets.
- Familiarity with SKU-level sales analysis, retail performance dashboards, or business-intelligence tools such as Microsoft Power BI.
- Experience creating scalable merchandising standards and field-execution materials.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strategic merchandising and space-planning expertise
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Customer-focused decision-making
- Cross-functional influence and relationship management
- Attention to detail and commitment to execution accuracy
- Ability to balance business priorities with physical store constraints
- Comfort working in a fast-paced retail environment with changing priorities
- Ability to communicate complex placement strategies in a clear, practical, and prescriptive manner
Measures of Success
Success in this role includes:
- Product placements that are effectively tailored to individual store clusters and formats.
- Consistent and accurate implementation of planograms across retail locations.
- Placement adjustments, guided by data, that boost sales and enhance the customer experience.
- Strong partnerships with Product Owners, Product Buyers, Retail Marketing, Visual Merchandising Communications, and floor-planning teams.
- More efficient, effective, and scalable planogram processes, tools, and templates.
Job Contribution: An experienced professional, recognized as an expert, creatively resolving complex issues with broad and in-depth knowledge. Leads significant projects with strategic autonomy, influencing executive decisions. Mentors less experienced staff, implements long-term plans impacting the organization, and frequently collaborates with senior leadership. Supervisor: No
Education/Experience: Bachelor’s degree (BS/BA) desired. 5+ years of related experience. Certification is required in some areas.
Our Lead Retail Store Designer jobs earn between $106,100.00 - $178,200.00 USD Annual. Not to mention all the other amazing rewards that working at AT&T offers. Individual starting salary within this range may depend on geography, experience, expertise, and education/training.
Joining our team comes with amazing perks and benefits:
- Medical/Dental/Vision coverage
- 401(k) plan
- Tuition reimbursement program
- Paid Time Off and Holidays (based on date of hire, at least 23 days of vacation each year and 9 company-designated holidays)
- Paid Parental Leave
- Paid Caregiver Leave
- Additional sick leave beyond what state and local law require may be available but is unprotected
- Adoption Reimbursement
- Disability Benefits (short term and long term)
- Life and Accidental Death Insurance
- Supplemental benefit programs: critical illness/accident hospital indemnity/group legal
- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
- Extensive employee wellness programs
- Employee discounts up to 50% off on eligible AT&T mobility plans and accessories, AT&T internet (and fiber where available) and AT&T phone
Weekly Hours:
40
Time Type:
Regular
Location:
Atlanta, Georgia, Dallas, Texas
Salary Range:
$106,100.00 - $178,200.00
