General merchandise clerk vs sales clerk

The differences between general merchandise clerks and sales clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a general merchandise clerk has an average salary of $34,415, which is higher than the $25,739 average annual salary of a sales clerk.

The top three skills for a general merchandise clerk include product knowledge, product displays and customer service. The most important skills for a sales clerk are customer service, stock shelves, and sales floor.

General merchandise clerk vs sales clerk overview

	General Merchandise Clerk	Sales Clerk
Yearly salary	$34,415	$25,739
Hourly rate	$16.55	$12.37
Growth rate	1%	-
Number of jobs	137,799	372,651
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	38	41
Years of experience	-	-

What does a general merchandise clerk do?

This individual works in the GM section of a store. They interact with customers and assist them as they purchase merchandise. In this role, they are expected to place all special orders and to take stock of all products annually. Other responsibilities of this position include developing merchandise plans and ensuring they are compliant with quality standards. They may also have to evaluate merchandise and ensure credit payments are accurate.

What does a sales clerk do?

A sales clerk is responsible for assisting customers in purchasing products, responding to customer inquiries, and providing product recommendations. Sales clerks require excellent customer service and communication skills to offer the best services to the customers and maintain good customer feedback for the business. They also check inventories, request supplies as needed, and organize product displays on the appropriate shelves. A sales clerk must have strong verbal communication skills to manage customer concerns and excellent time-management skills to perform tasks within the fast-paced work environment.

General merchandise clerk vs sales clerk salary

General merchandise clerks and sales clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Merchandise Clerk	Sales Clerk
Average salary	$34,415	$25,739
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $16,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Hawaii Pacific Health
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between general merchandise clerk and sales clerk education

There are a few differences between a general merchandise clerk and a sales clerk in terms of educational background:

	General Merchandise Clerk	Sales Clerk
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

General merchandise clerk vs sales clerk demographics

Here are the differences between general merchandise clerks' and sales clerks' demographics:

	General Merchandise Clerk	Sales Clerk
Average age	38	41
Gender ratio	Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8%	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.0% Asian, 5.9% White, 56.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 6.8% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between general merchandise clerk and sales clerk duties and responsibilities

General merchandise clerk example responsibilities.

Provide great customer service while effectively bagging groceries.
Collect all carts from outside help cashiers bag groceries for customers and sometimes help the customers take groceries to their car.
Execute grain futures orders for special accounts that require extraordinary attention to detail as well as personalized service.
Work in almost every department in the Kroger store.

Sales clerk example responsibilities.

Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Process monetary transactions POS system.
Follow POS procedures daily and complete appropriate paperwork.
Prepare quality food products, process accurate register transactions, maintain general appearance and cleanliness of store premises.
Improve customer solicitation pitch to increase Kohl's credit card application solicitations.

General merchandise clerk vs sales clerk skills

Common general merchandise clerk skills

Product Knowledge, 44%
Product Displays, 20%
Customer Service, 9%
Stock Shelves, 6%
Sales Floor, 3%
Math, 3%

Common sales clerk skills

Customer Service, 26%
Stock Shelves, 9%
Sales Floor, 8%
Retail Sales, 6%
Product Knowledge, 5%
POS, 5%

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General Merchandise Clerk
General Merchandise Clerk vs Sales Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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