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The differences between retail clerks and cashiers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a retail clerk has an average salary of $30,046, which is higher than the $28,144 average annual salary of a cashier.
The top three skills for a retail clerk include stock shelves, groceries and retail sales. The most important skills for a cashier are front end, cash handling, and basic math.
| Retail Clerk | Cashier | |
| Yearly salary | $30,046 | $28,144 |
| Hourly rate | $14.45 | $13.53 |
| Growth rate | - | -10% |
| Number of jobs | 470,355 | 456,110 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 45% |
| Average age | 41 | 34 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A retail clerk is responsible for selling goods and services to the customers, recommending products based on their needs, and responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the product. Retail clerks assist with the store's marketing strategies, organize product displays, monitor inventories, endorse promotional discounts, and help customers on their checkout payments. A retail clerk must have excellent communication and customer service skills to handle customers' requests and ensure their highest satisfaction.
A cashier is one of the most visible positions in the retail industry. Cashiers are the last direct point of contact with customers and play a key role in service, retail, and wholesale establishments. They leave a long-lasting impression, which helps encourage the customers to go back. The most common tasks for cashiers are to scan items, conduct price checks, and collect payments. They may deal with a great amount of money on a daily basis, so this position requires them to be honest, reliable, and trustworthy employees. They also need to have great skills in customer service as they may handle customer complaints from time to time, assist in answering questions, and process refunds or exchanges.
Retail clerks and cashiers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Clerk | Cashier | |
| Average salary | $30,046 | $28,144 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $38,000 | Between $21,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Bellevue Jr/Sr High School | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Retail |
There are a few differences between a retail clerk and a cashier in terms of educational background:
| Retail Clerk | Cashier | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between retail clerks' and cashiers' demographics:
| Retail Clerk | Cashier | |
| Average age | 41 | 34 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% | Male, 27.1% Female, 72.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 6.6% White, 57.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |