What does a retail cashier do?

A retail cashier is an employee who scans products and processes cash payments between the retail store and its customers. Retail cashiers must provide excellent customer service that can include greeting customers, directing customer inquiries to the appropriate party, and informing customers about the services available. They often train new cashiers or retail workers and assist in the maintenance of storefront and retail displays. Retail cashiers also assist in counting money and perform audits of cash intake or cash drawers.
Retail cashier responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real retail cashier resumes:
- Manage jewelry stock and inventory balances accurately.
- Display knowledge concerning cash, checks, EBT, WIC, debit and credit card transactions.
- Assist customers in getting groceries to cars and everyday transactions, such as cashiering and maintenance.
- Follow procedures handling cash, checks, coupons, gift certificates, food stamps and WIC vouchers.
- Install sound systems, steering systems, port-holes, hatches, swim decks, ladders, and windshields.
- Perform POS transactions as a front-end operations cashier, as well as credit card and extend product services enrollment.
- Maintain appearance of store and complete all POS opening and closing procedures, including counting contents of the cash register.
- Cashier and help customers with groceries
- Maintain cleanliness in decorating and serving food in compliance with hygienic regulations/standards.
- Commend for exceeding food safety guidelines and ensuring the highest quality product through meticulous store cleanliness.
- Strengthen the Walmart brand by interacting positively and professionally with a highly diverse customer base.
Retail cashier skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Retail Cashiers are proficient in Customer Service, Cleanliness, and Front End. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Dexterity, and Near vision.
We break down the percentage of Retail Cashiers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 21%
Provide excellent customer service by greeting customers, addressing concerns and providing in-store personal shopping services.
- Cleanliness, 19%
Provided customer service Checked inventory Unloaded and stocked trucks, Maintained overall organization and cleanliness of store.
- Front End, 11%
Maintained housekeeping duties around front end of registers, restocked shelves when required as well as merchandise put backs and returns.
- Math, 8%
Performed basic math computations, such as addition subtraction, and division.
- Basic Math, 6%
Applied basic mathematical skills, operated cash registers, processed credit/gift card transactions.
- Retail Sales, 5%
Retail sales representative for adult novelties
"customer service," "cleanliness," and "front end" are among the most common skills that retail cashiers use at work. You can find even more retail cashier responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a retail cashier to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what retail cashiers do because "cashiers must pay attention to customers’ questions and explain pricing." Additionally, a retail cashier resume shows how retail cashiers use communication skills: "applied advanced communication skills to solve customer complaints and create a positive service experience. "
Dexterity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling retail cashier duties is dexterity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "cashiers use their hands to operate registers and scan purchases." According to a retail cashier resume, here's how retail cashiers can utilize dexterity in their job responsibilities: "cash handling product knowledge heavy lifting customer service maintaining store sales helping with hardware/software on their computers. "
Near vision. This is an important skill for retail cashiers to perform their duties. For an example of how retail cashier responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "cashiers need to see well enough to scan items and process transactions accurately." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a retail cashier: "stocked and organized products near cash registers. ".
Patience. retail cashier responsibilities often require "patience." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "cashiers must be able to remain calm when interacting with customers." This resume example shows what retail cashiers do with patience on a typical day: "handled all customer complaints with understanding and patience. "
Physical stamina. Another common skill required for retail cashier responsibilities is "physical stamina." This skill comes up in the duties of retail cashiers all the time, as "cashiers stand for long periods." An excerpt from a real retail cashier resume shows how this skill is central to what a retail cashier does: "performed retail sales audits and reconciled transactions to the physical inventory to confirm shrinkage rates resulting in improved loss controls. "
Customer-service skills. Another skill commonly found on retail cashier job descriptions is "customer-service skills." It can come up quite often in retail cashier duties, since "cashiers must be courteous and friendly when helping customers." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day retail cashier responsibilities: "keep clientele informed by notifying them of preferred customer sales and future merchandise of potential interest. "
The three companies that hire the most retail cashiers are:
- Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores1,052 retail cashiers jobs
- DICK'S Sporting Goods955 retail cashiers jobs
- Nordstrom466 retail cashiers jobs
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Retail cashier vs. Customer service associate/cashier
A customer service associate/cashier is responsible for processing payments for the customers' orders. The customer service associate/cashier inspects the items, ensuring that the pricing and quantity from scanning are accurate. They also check for possible item defects and offer replacements, process payment refunds as needed, issue receipts to keep proof of payment, respond to customer's inquiries about a product, market promotional offers, and operate cash registers. A customer service associate/cashier must have excellent customer service skills and communication skills to boost customer satisfaction and increase sales goals.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a retail cashier are more likely to require skills like "cleanliness," "retail sales," "stock merchandise," and "excellent guest." On the other hand, a job as a customer service associate/cashier requires skills like "service desk," "loss prevention," "bill payments," and "financial transactions." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Customer service associate/cashiers tend to reach similar levels of education than retail cashiers. In fact, customer service associate/cashiers are 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Retail cashier vs. Cashier/merchandiser
A cashier associate is responsible for greeting customers and processing their purchases, ensuring speed and accuracy. There are also instances when a cashier associate must offer special promotions or products, replace goods when there are defects, and obtain necessary codes when the product fails to register. Although a cashier associate handles the cash register and cash flow most of the time, they can also have tasks related to maintaining the sales floor's cleanliness. Furthermore, should there be any urgent issues, it is crucial to immediately reach out to a manager or supervisor.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, retail cashier responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "math," "basic math," "retail sales," and "cash handling." Meanwhile, a cashier/merchandiser has duties that require skills in areas such as "store shelves," "loss prevention," "planograms," and "pallet jack." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Cashiers/merchandiser earn similar levels of education than retail cashiers in general. They're 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Retail cashier vs. Cashier associate
A sales associate and cashier is an employee who takes on the dual role of helping customers with their product inquiries and facilitating the purchase of the customer. As a sales associate, the employee must be familiar with the different products offered by the company and should be able to direct customers to the product that best suits their needs. As a cashier, the employee must be familiar with the cash register and the system that the company uses to manage sales and facilitate payment. He/She or she must be able to work the equipment needed for a smooth checkout process.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, retail cashiers are more likely to have skills like "cleanliness," "math," "basic math," and "retail sales." But a cashier associate is more likely to have skills like "safety hazards," "store management," "shipping receiving," and "ladders."
When it comes to education, cashiers associate tend to earn similar degree levels compared to retail cashiers. In fact, they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Retail cashier vs. Sales associate and cashier
Even though a few skill sets overlap between retail cashiers and sales associate and cashiers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a retail cashier might have more use for skills like "cleanliness," "math," "retail sales," and "cash handling." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of sales associate and cashiers require skills like "sales associates," "mathematics," "loss prevention," and "groceries. "
Sales associate and cashiers enjoy the best pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $27,492. For comparison, retail cashiers earn the highest salary in the hospitality industry.In general, sales associate and cashiers hold similar degree levels compared to retail cashiers. Sales associate and cashiers are 0.1% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of retail cashier
Updated January 8, 2025











