Apparel associate vs sales associate

The differences between apparel associates and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales associate has an average salary of $32,167, which is higher than the $24,005 average annual salary of an apparel associate.

The top three skills for an apparel associate include sales floor, customer service and POS. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.

Apparel associate vs sales associate overview

	Apparel Associate	Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$24,005	$32,167
Hourly rate	$11.54	$15.46
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	230,762	579,849
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	-	-

Apparel associate vs sales associate salary

Apparel associates and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Apparel Associate	Sales Associate
Average salary	$24,005	$32,167
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $32,000	Between $21,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Barclays
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between apparel associate and sales associate education

There are a few differences between an apparel associate and a sales associate in terms of educational background:

	Apparel Associate	Sales Associate
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Apparel associate vs sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between apparel associates' and sales associates' demographics:

	Apparel Associate	Sales Associate
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 16.4% Female, 83.6%	Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between apparel associate and sales associate duties and responsibilities

Apparel associate example responsibilities.

Accomplish upselling goals to contribute to company's success.
Respond to POS backup calls when appropriate and solicit credit to interest parties
Cashier at POS, bag items carefully, give customers change and receipt.
Conduct personal shopping for clients in need of shoes, apparel, and accessories.
Collect and process payments including accurate maintenance of sales register and jewelry inventory following close of daily business.
Work phones, fitting room, fold clothes, etc for Softlines in walmart.

Sales associate example responsibilities.

Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Gain experience with credit cards, mathematics, as well as customer service.
Utilize forklift, order picker reach truck, electric ladder, or roll ladders to transfer merchandise to the sales floor.
Create Facebook page for Ohco Import/Export division.
Increase sales by upselling products and follow up sales calls.
Assist customers with the purchase of the perfect piece of jewelry

Apparel associate vs sales associate skills

Common apparel associate skills

Sales Floor, 36%
Customer Service, 26%
POS, 21%
Product Knowledge, 5%
Inventory Control, 1%
Upselling, 1%

Common sales associate skills

Customer Service, 15%
Sales Floor, 13%
Cash Handling, 9%
Retail Sales, 9%
Loss Prevention, 7%
Basic Math, 5%

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Apparel Associate
Apparel Associate vs Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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