How To Become A Footwear Sales Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a footwear sales associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Joseph Hancock

Footwear sales associates help customers find the right pair of shoes that match both their needs and style while also fitting comfortably. They greet customers, find out what they are looking for, and do their best to deliver the right fit.

As a footwear sales associate, you will have to rely on your charm and sales talent. Customers will be looking to you for suggestions and advice as well as your honest opinion. Besides tending to customers' needs, it will be on you to restock shelves and keep the space clean. Watching out for shoplifters is also on your to-do-list.

Outstanding communication skills are the number one feature your employer will be looking for in a candidate. You will need to be neat and organized, know how to use the computer, but most importantly, of course, know how to seal those shoe deals.

What's a day at work look like for a footwear sales associate?

Joseph Hancock

Research Professor, Program Director, Former Retail Operations Manager, Drexel University, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

New graduates will need to be self-disciplined and self-motivated. No one is going to hold your hand and tell you "get to work" or you will soon be looking for a new job. The new world may be one where you don't go to an office, but instead work right from home, scheduling appointments and doing your own calendar. My last years working for Target in a regional field position taught me that no one was going to motivate me each day, I had to motivate myself. Also, it can be lonely working from home as a new graduate, so find outside interests and ways to make friends. I am from the old fashion ideologies that getting a hobby is extremely important, and that hobby is not going to the gym or watching television. It includes something that enriches your life to be a better person in society.

ScoreFootwear Sales AssociateUS Average

Salary

1.9

Avg. Salary $24,305

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

7.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 6.43%

Black or African American 11.50%

Hispanic or Latino 20.74%

Unknown 5.39%

White 55.28%

Gender

female 37.85%

male 62.15%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.5

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.5

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a footwear sales associate

Explore footwear sales associate education requirements

Most common footwear sales associate degrees

Bachelor's

41.0 %

High School Diploma

33.7 %

Associate

15.8 %

Start to develop specific footwear sales associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Cash Handling	27.78%
Apparel	26.66%
Customer Engagement	25.12%
Merchandise Presentation	14.75%
Customer Service	1.51%

Complete relevant footwear sales associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New footwear sales associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a footwear sales associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real footwear sales associate resumes.

Research footwear sales associate duties and responsibilities

Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Complete purchases with cash, credit and debit payment methods while operating a POS system.
Administer suggestions in the process of footwear and equipment organization and placement.
Maintain inventory and organization of warehouse, implement plan-o-grams, clean, organize, and maintain athletics department.

Prepare your footwear sales associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your footwear sales associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a footwear sales associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable footwear sales associate resume templates

Build a professional footwear sales associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your footwear sales associate resume.

Apply for footwear sales associate jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a footwear sales associate job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do footwear sales associates rate their job?

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Footwear sales associate reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2021

Pros

I like mostly that I work with team oriented people. Some people that care and will help and that help others whether it's work related or not. That have good employee morale amongst each other not necessarily management but amongst each other.