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The differences between customer sales associates and customer service retail associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a customer sales associate has an average salary of $37,024, which is higher than the $30,002 average annual salary of a customer service retail associate.
The top three skills for a customer sales associate include sales floor, customer satisfaction and customer service. The most important skills for a customer service retail associate are POS, customer service, and customer orders.
| Customer Sales Associate | Customer Service Retail Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $37,024 | $30,002 |
| Hourly rate | $17.80 | $14.42 |
| Growth rate | -4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 415,981 | 580,336 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
A customer sales associate specializes in handling and communicating with customers to secure sales in a retail store. Their primary responsibilities revolve around greeting clients, responding to inquiries, providing assistance, and even offering suggestions when necessary. Aside from ensuring customer satisfaction, it is also their responsibility to maintain the cleanliness and order on the sales floor by re-stocking shelves and arranging them to look presentable. Furthermore, a customer sales associate must coordinate with other sales floor members and report to a manager or supervisor.
A customer service retail associate is responsible for providing the highest customer service for the store's customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and recommending them goods and services that would fit their needs. Customer service retail associates support the marketing campaigns and promotional strategies of the store by offering and demonstrating products to the customers, as well as arranging stock displays, and monitoring the adequacy of inventories. They also escalate high-level complaints to management for immediate resolution and assist with product replacement and issuing refunds as needed.
Customer sales associates and customer service retail associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Sales Associate | Customer Service Retail Associate | |
| Average salary | $37,024 | $30,002 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $23,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | Odenton, MD | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Washington |
| Best paying company | Johnson Controls | Tractor Supply |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer sales associate and a customer service retail associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Sales Associate | Customer Service Retail Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer sales associates' and customer service retail associates' demographics:
| Customer Sales Associate | Customer Service Retail Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4% | Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 7.0% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 21.7% Asian, 6.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |