Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between associate retailers and commissioned sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a commissioned sales associate has an average salary of $36,949, which is higher than the $28,763 average annual salary of an associate retailer.
The top three skills for an associate retailer include ladders, sales floor and loss prevention. The most important skills for a commissioned sales associate are excellent organizational, customer service, and customer relationships.
| Associate Retailer | Commissioned Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $28,763 | $36,949 |
| Hourly rate | $13.83 | $17.76 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 474,522 | 377,430 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An Associate Retailer is responsible for keeping the sales area up to standard and assisting customers while inside the store's premises. Most of the tasks revolve around keeping items on shelves clean and well-organized, greeting and offering assistance to customers, responding to inquiries and locating products, and even providing suggestions or recommendations when necessary and in adherence to the store's policies and regulations. In other stores and retail outlets, the Associate Retailer may also process payments and returns while still putting importance to customer satisfaction.
Commissioned sales associates are professionals who conduct sale transactions that can generate additional compensation by increasing selling operations. These associates are must collaborate successfully with fellow associates in regard to sales and commission distribution. They must provide excellent customer service so that they can establish long term relationships with customers and ensure high satisfaction. Commissioned sales associates must also assist the department managers with visual merchandising to arrange racks so that they can place and stock new merchandise.
Associate retailers and commissioned sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Associate Retailer | Commissioned Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $28,763 | $36,949 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $35,000 | Between $23,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Newton, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Mars | Jacobs Engineering Group |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an associate retailer and a commissioned sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Associate Retailer | Commissioned Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between associate retailers' and commissioned sales associates' demographics:
| Associate Retailer | Commissioned Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.1% Female, 64.9% | Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |