If you’re a college student interested in retail, you might envision merchandising as creating displays in your favorite store, or choosing which products make it onto the shelves.

And yes, that’s one part of the picture! But merchandising is much bigger than that.

Behind every product is a connected process: understanding what customers want, managing inventory, developing new features, working with vendors, analyzing costs, and making sure everything comes together at the right time. 

That means there’s no one straight line to building a merchandising career. In fact, there might be several different job titles that can help you gain the experience you need.

At Kohl’s, internships and trainee opportunities are intentionally designed with that idea in mind. Kohl’s aim is to introduce college students to every aspect of the merchandising process—from analysis to production to sourcing.  While their titles and responsibilities differ, each role connects to the same goal: bringing the right products to customers, and supporting the business decisions behind them.

Here are three Kohl’s merchandising career paths that are worth a closer look—even if they don’t come with the traditional “buyer” title.

1. Merchandise Analyst: where products, data, and business strategy meet

Kohl’s Merchandise Analyst Intern and Trainee roles are designed to build a broad foundation in merchandising and planning. Rather than focusing on just one piece of the business, the role brings together product analysis, inventory execution, and operational support. It’s a chance to learn how merchandising and planning work together to drive overall business performance.

How will you make an impact?

What’s a day in the life of a Merchandising Analyst intern look like? Your responsibilities might include:

• Analyzing sales, inventory, and business trends to support future decisions
• Learning how merchandising and planning strategies influence product performance and customer experience
• Tracking purchase orders, inventory flow, and vendor coordination
• Exploring competitive shopping, trends, pricing, and marketing

For trainees, the role also includes more hands-on responsibility with inventory planning, forecasting, store assortment building, and digital product readiness.

Who’s a great fit?

Don’t let the title scare you! Of course, merchandising students would be a great fit for this role. But if you’re studying business, retail management, supply chain, or marketing, this opportunity might appeal to you as well. Strong analytical, communication, and collaboration skills are just as important as a general interest in retail.

Apply to become a Kohl’s Merchandise Analyst Intern or Trainee

2. Production: the business behind bringing products to life

At Kohl’s, Production Interns help translate product ideas into something customers can actually buy. They support the development, sourcing, and execution of private and exclusive label brands, gaining exposure to the entire production process—including costing, sample management, and more.

How will you make an impact?

As a production intern, you’ll be a crucial member of the team. You’ll make a daily impact by: 

• Supporting quality reviews, product reviews, and vendor communication
• Tracking sample status and color submissions with overseas partners
• Maintaining information in Kohl’s style management system
• Creating reference libraries for teams such as marketing and fabric

In other words, you’re not simply watching a product get made. You’re learning how different teams, timelines, details, and decisions come together to make that happen.

Who’s a great fit?

In addition to merchandising students, Production can be a particularly interesting path for folks studying supply chain, consulting, business, or retail management.

It’s also worth considering if you’re interested in product development but don’t necessarily see yourself as a designer. Production offers you a different angle: by participating in the execution, coordination, quality, and business decisions that bring products to market.

Apply to become a Kohl’s Production Intern

3. Sourcing: where retail meets global business

Kohl’s Sourcing Interns and Trainees support the organization’s sourcing strategy by researching and analyzing information that affects the supply chain. Your work might involve vendor onboarding and communication, tracking performance metrics, and building strategies around costing and reporting.

The best part? Kohl’s offers several titles under the sourcing umbrella, including Analytics, Materials, and Factory Direct—each with a slightly different emphasis. That means you can cater your job search to the roles that are most interesting to you.

How will you make an impact?

Your day-to-day might look a little different depending on which sourcing track you take. Kohl’s Sourcing Interns might expect to work on projects like:

• Analyzing large datasets to identify trends
• Exploring spend and costing data
• Organizing new and existing fabrics within the fabric library
• Onboarding new vendors and monitoring performance
• Build reporting and communication with internal and external partners

Who’s a great fit?

A sourcing internship is a great idea for merchandising majors who are looking for ways to expand their experience. But they’re also worth a look if you’re studying finance, statistics, business, consulting or supply chain management. 

Especially if you’ve ever thought, “I like business strategy, but I want to work on something tangible,” sourcing is one way to connect your interests to the products customers use every day. 

Apply to become a Kohl’s Sourcing Intern or Trainee

What to expect from a Kohl’s internship

Kohl’s internships are designed to combine real work with meaningful support and development. You’ll spend 10 weeks at Kohl’s company headquarters in Wisconsin, with housing and transportation provided. Interns are generally in the office Monday through Thursday, with flexible Fridays and occasional in-person events. 

Across these roles, you’ll contribute to real projects, work alongside other interns, and learn from company leaders. You’ll also receive support from a dedicated coach or manager, and gain exposure to other parts of the organization outside of merchandising. 

And of course, there will be time for fun! Whether it’s exploring Milwaukee with fellow interns at a Brewer’s game or walking along the Lake Michigan lakefront paths, you’re sure to have an exciting summer.

The bottom line: look beyond the job title

Merchandising is a connected business. That means your first role doesn’t have to define your entire career. In fact, movement across roles is common at Kohl’s—and the skills you build in one area can strengthen your resume and open doors to new opportunities over time. 

So if you’re searching for merchandising internships, don’t limit yourself to roles that have “buying” in the title. And if you’re not studying merchandising, you might still have applicable skills that would work well in a retail environment!

You never know…your merchandising career might just start somewhere you didn’t expect. And it might just lead you to opportunities you’d never even considered.

Explore Kohl’s internship opportunities