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The differences between customer associates and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a customer associate has an average salary of $32,989, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a customer associate include sales floor, product knowledge and customer service. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Customer Associate | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $32,989 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $15.86 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | -4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 191,027 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
A customer associate is responsible for providing the best customer service by assisting the customers with their inquiries and concerns, as well as resolving their complaints, processing replacements, and issuing refunds as needed. Customer associates also sell products and services to the customers, demonstrating product features, and identifying business opportunities to drive more revenues and profits for the business. They must have excellent communication and organizational skills to process orders and payments timely and accurately.
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.
Customer associates and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Associate | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $32,989 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $51,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Udemy | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a customer associate and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Associate | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer associates' and sales associates' demographics:
| Customer Associate | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 6.9% White, 54.9% 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% |