Hourly sales staff vs sales associate

The differences between hourly sales staff and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an hourly sales staff has an average salary of $35,089, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.

The top three skills for an hourly sales staff include customer service, POS and sales floor. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.

Hourly sales staff vs sales associate overview

	Hourly Sales Staff	Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$35,089	$32,167
Hourly rate	$16.87	$15.46
Growth rate	4%	-
Number of jobs	352,379	579,849
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	47	41
Years of experience	4	-

Hourly sales staff vs sales associate salary

Hourly sales staff and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Hourly Sales Staff	Sales Associate
Average salary	$35,089	$32,167
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $56,000	Between $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 hourly sales staff and sales associate education

There are a few differences between an hourly sales staff and a sales associate in terms of educational background:

	Hourly Sales Staff	Sales Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	-

Hourly sales staff vs sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between hourly sales staff' and sales associates' demographics:

	Hourly Sales Staff	Sales Associate
Average age	47	41
Gender ratio	Male, 53.8% Female, 46.2%	Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	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	6%	7%

Differences between hourly sales staff and sales associate duties and responsibilities

Hourly sales staff example responsibilities.

Manage accounts and create invoices via QuickBooks.
Gain experience with inventory, cash handling, and POS register use.
Provide direct counter sales to customers, transaction handling via touchscreen POS cash register, and daily housekeeping.
Assist installers with a variety of HVAC systems, making sure the installation is conducted in compliance with local regulations.
Communicate directly with customers to establish long-term relationships and sell HVAC controls solutions base on specific customer needs.
Work with upper management to secure Medicare approval for durable medical equipment provider status to skil nursing facilities and hospitals

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

Hourly sales staff vs sales associate skills

Common hourly sales staff skills

Customer Service, 48%
POS, 9%
Sales Floor, 6%
Product Knowledge, 5%
Customer Relations, 5%
Product Selection, 3%

Common sales associate skills

Customer Service, 15%
Sales Floor, 13%
Cash Handling, 9%
Retail Sales, 9%
Loss Prevention, 7%
Basic Math, 5%

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Hourly Sales Staff
Hourly Sales Staff vs Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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