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Associate store manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Timothy Edwards,

Bruce Heiman Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical associate store manager skills. We ranked the top skills for associate store managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.6% of associate store manager resumes contained sales floor as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an associate store manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 associate store manager skills for your resume and career

1. Sales Floor

The sales floor is the area in a company or a business that is specified for retail activities or is designated as the selling area of the shop. A car showroom can be considered a sales floor, as it has cars in its display which are to be sold. A sales floor is generally crowded with sales assistants who are there to help you out while you can search and check out the products. Generally a sales floor has free access to the public and they can observe, view and get information about the product that is being sold.

Here's how associate store managers use sales floor:

Received and verified shipment, as well as processed the stock, and merchandised the product out on the sales floor.
Maintain all visual merchandising standards, directives, promotions, and overall cleanliness and organization of the sales floor and stockroom.

2. Product Knowledge

Product knowledge is the skill of having better information and knowledge about the product you are selling. Product knowledge is essential for the employees of the companies so they can communicate and inform the customers about the product. Having great product knowledge is essential for a better sales pitch and to give the customer a better and complete idea of the product that will influence him to buy the product eventually.

Here's how associate store managers use product knowledge:

Demonstrated advanced product knowledge and built quality customer relationships that resulted in friendly and professional interaction.
Trained new hires in policies, protocols, and product knowledge; implemented seasonal and promotion-specific training programs throughout the year.

3. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how associate store managers use customer service:

Improved customer service and maintained employee productivity and commitment to quality by encouraging involvement in process improvements and implementing applicable suggestions.
Ensured all customers received excellent customer service by going above and beyond in exceeding customer service expectations.

4. Store Operations

Here's how associate store managers use store operations:

Managed every aspect of store operations to achieve company objectives and reflect brand messaging.
Managed store operations and marketing logistics without prior training or experience.

5. Drive Sales

Here's how associate store managers use drive sales:

Implemented merchandising directives to drive sales while maintaining product margin and presentation integrity.
Developed and lead high performance teams to drive sales through coaching and developing of company given initiatives (selling guidelines).

6. Human Resources

Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Here's how associate store managers use human resources:

Provided guidance and sound judgment to executive team ensuring appropriate management of human resources policies and procedures.
Handled human resources (HR) issues including staff training, merit reviews, new hire and terminations.

7. Retail Sales

Retail sales are the method to track consumer demand for finished goods by assessing the purchases of durable and non-durable products over a definite period. Data on retail sales is accumulated monthly by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Here's how associate store managers use retail sales:

Retail sales in all departments, including but not limited to gardening, wall coverings and floor coverings.
Assist in managing a self-storage facility, retail sales, cashier, maintenance.

8. Loss Prevention

The steps taken by a business to prevent theft is called loss prevention. There are multiple methods for loss prevention for example usage of automated cash handling, secure physical location, product security staff buy-in, and attentive customer service.

Here's how associate store managers use loss prevention:

Manage store profitability and loss prevention, inventory, security and multiple specialty businesses that have individual requirements and demands.
Developed sales team in operational and loss prevention areas resulting in achievement of company specified inventory goal.

9. Cleanliness

Here's how associate store managers use cleanliness:

Maintained store organization, appearance and cleanliness.
Maintain the standards of the store to increase customer sales as well as to maintain the cleanliness of the store.

10. Store Associates

Here's how associate store managers use store associates:

Modeled personalized service in every customer interaction and set service expectations for store associates.
Supervised annual store fiscal/unit inventory count directing 25 store associates.

11. Inventory Management

Here's how associate store managers use inventory management:

Monitor assets through accurate inventory management procedures and maintain budget expenses through profit and loss reporting.
Manage controllable expenses for store through effective scheduling, supply ordering and inventory management.

12. Store Standards

Here's how associate store managers use store standards:

Trained as many as three new associates at a time to learn proper store standards and protocols.
Maintain store standards * Cash handling * Merchandise presentation * Execute other duties as assigned

13. POS

POS is an abbreviation of "Point of Sale" which is the time and place where a customer completes a transaction. It can either be a physical shop that consists of POS terminals or a virtual shop. A POS system helps simplify the retail functions and track important sales data.

Here's how associate store managers use pos:

Supervised the management of the POS system and approved all cash wrap management, cash auditing, and tip reporting.
Coordinated team members during the design and implementation of a customized POS system.

14. Cash Handling

Here's how associate store managers use cash handling:

Maintained store budget and payroll, balanced daily cash flow reporting, and ensured compliance with corporate cash handling procedures.
Managed all store revenue including all cash handling, daily deposits and store expense control.

15. Visual Presentation

Here's how associate store managers use visual presentation:

Conducted interviews and facilitated selling strategies classes around visual presentation and customer experience standards.
Managed various functions including merchandising, visual presentation, financial goal setting and reporting.

What skills help Associate Store Managers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on associate store manager resumes?

Dr. Timothy Edwards

Professor, Interim Director, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Writing and research skills. Analytical and critical thinking skills. Technical skills such as web design, graphic design, audio and video production skills. Employers are interested in potential employees knowledge, intelligence and skills.

What soft skills should all associate store managers possess?

Bruce Heiman Ph.D.

Professor of International Business, San Francisco State University

-Languages beyond English (fluency in written and oral)

-Ability to work collegially in a diverse cultural setting

-Ability to identify good problems on which to work in a competent manner

-Ability/flexibility to interact/work productively with people who have serious constraints on their time owing to other work or personal commitments/issues

-Some of my answers to Q1 above would also apply here

What hard/technical skills are most important for associate store managers?

Bruce Heiman Ph.D.

Professor of International Business, San Francisco State University

-Analytical skills (ability to gather data, clean it, analyze it, write-up results and present on what the meaning of the analysis suggests for action (the last one is most important--"what does it really mean?"

-Some experience and skills with coding in any language (at the moment, Python or C++ are preferred, though Ruby on Rails is also good)

-Deep spreadsheet skills (pivot tables and macros, as examples).

-Relational database skills, including programming (e.g., MySQL)

-Data mining

-AI/Machine Learning experience

What associate store manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Steve Wages Ph.D.

Director, Cloverdale Center for Youth and Family, Faulkner University

I recommend they use this time to fill in the gaps, no pun intended, in their program of studies by expanding their knowledge base. All educational programs have gaps in the training, content areas which are not addressed adequately. For example, my counseling program was highly regarded, yet I had little to no content related to aging studies, parenting, or personal finances, etc. Further, the content of counseling programs is problem-centered or remedial, conceptually focused on tertiary prevention.

Consequently, graduates are not exposed to a large body of research and literature related to human development, individual wellness, and family strengths which would greatly inform and enhance their assessment and intervention strategies employed in counseling. I believe the more we can do to strengthen our understanding of healthy individual and family wellness, the better equipped we will be to address unhealthy relationships and family dynamics. Put another way, being well grounded in primary and secondary prevention will further equip the pastoral counselor's efforts at intervention. Again, use this time to acquire relevant knowledge and content that most counseling programs do not address extensively.

What type of skills will young associate store managers need?

Dr. Barbara Davis

William J. Atkins Dean, Centenary College of Louisiana

Analysis - Graduates will need to analyze situations, identify the best choices, and seek solutions with the highest benefit to the organization.

Creativity - Graduates will need to possess critical and creative thinking skills.

Flexibility - Graduates must remain flexible to succeed in a highly changing environment.

What technical skills for an associate store manager stand out to employers?

Kerem Cakirer Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer, Indiana University Bloomington

The labor market is not so different than any market with demand and supply. The demand from employers will shift towards more technical (software, coding, computer language programming) and analytical (problem solving on your own) skills than social skills overall. Being capable of writing or/and understanding computer languages will be a must have skill in the very near future. Communication skills over online platforms or social media platforms will play a huge role when employers are making a hiring decision. The data supports that businesses are using more online platforms than ever. I am projecting that there won't be any business travels or on-site client meetings in the near future. Exceling in different types of software, and being able to learn a new one easily, will become more important than people skills in businesses. Employers will seek for candidates, who are capable of achieving tasks in a more off-site (outside the office) environment through a deadline, and who can utilize multiple different softwares at their hand to solve business problems. As far as how the hiring process would go, we might see employers using artificial intelligence to make hiring decisions over some online platform soon. Essentially, this means that the candidates will be assessed with a more quantitative measure than ever. An evaluation measure by the AI, which will take soft and digital skills more into account.My final words are: The pandemic is still a burden to the humankind but the world will prevail. This year could be the inception of a new era in terms of how businesses run.

Do you want to know more?

List of associate store manager skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an associate store manager resume and required skills for an associate store manager to have include:

Sales Floor
Product Knowledge
Customer Service
Store Operations
Drive Sales
Human Resources
Retail Sales
Loss Prevention
Cleanliness
Store Associates
Inventory Management
Store Standards
POS
Cash Handling
Visual Presentation
Cash Control

Retail Store
Sales Plan
Customer Complaints
Payroll Management
Inventory Control
Visual Standards
Store Sales
Performance Reviews
Repeat Business
Bank Deposits
Maintaining Payroll
Customer Inquiries
UPT
Sales Results
Merchandise Presentation
Sales Reports

Customer Relations
Sales Volume
Sales Techniques
Store Appearance
Conference Calls
Cash Drawers
Customer Issues
KPIs
Financial Reports
Store Locations
Direct Reports
Performance Evaluations
Product Placement
Financial Transactions
Groceries
Store Inventory

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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