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Beauty advisor vs sales associate

The differences between beauty advisors and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a beauty advisor has an average salary of $35,298, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.

The top three skills for a beauty advisor include product knowledge, make-up and basic math. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.

Beauty advisor vs sales associate overview

Beauty AdvisorSales Associate
Yearly salary$35,298$32,167
Hourly rate$16.97$15.46
Growth rate--
Number of jobs322,132579,849
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age4141
Years of experience--

What does a beauty advisor do?

A beauty advisor's role is to represent a brand by engaging with customers and recommending cosmetic or skincare products in pursuit of securing sales. They must have extensive knowledge of the company's products and current trends, ability in applying make-up, and customer service skills as most of the duties will focus on demonstrating and responding to inquiries. Usually assigned at malls or department stores, a beauty advisor must also take charge of monitoring inventory, maintaining designated areas presentable, processing payments, and even devising strategies on reaching sales targets.

What does a sales associate do?

Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.

Beauty advisor vs sales associate salary

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

Beauty AdvisorSales Associate
Average salary$35,298$32,167
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $44,000Between $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 beauty advisor and sales associate education

There are a few differences between a beauty advisor and a sales associate in terms of educational background:

Beauty AdvisorSales Associate
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Beauty advisor vs sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between beauty advisors' and sales associates' demographics:

Beauty AdvisorSales Associate
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 7.2% Female, 92.8%Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 23.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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 Percentage7%7%

Differences between beauty advisor and sales associate duties and responsibilities

Beauty advisor example responsibilities.

  • Assist customers in choosing fragrance, hair, and beauty products using information learned for this purpose.
  • Register experience checking out customers, able to do mental math when need.
  • Start off as a seasonal sales associate in the men and women fragrance department.
  • Provide exceptional and professional customer service for the luxury brand of Chanel in skincare and cosmetics.
  • Perform makeovers on clients, maintain appearance of store by cleaning and stocking, used POS system and cash register
  • Assist the counter manager in whatever tasks need, inventory, stock management, POS skills, special store events.
  • Show more

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
  • Show more

Beauty advisor vs sales associate skills

Common beauty advisor skills
  • Product Knowledge, 26%
  • Make-Up, 12%
  • Basic Math, 10%
  • Beauty Products, 7%
  • Cleanliness, 7%
  • Math, 6%
Common sales associate skills
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Sales Floor, 13%
  • Cash Handling, 9%
  • Retail Sales, 9%
  • Loss Prevention, 7%
  • Basic Math, 5%