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The differences between retail representatives and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales associate has an average salary of $32,167, which is higher than the $31,790 average annual salary of a retail representative.
The top three skills for a retail representative include flexibility, store management and certification programs. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Retail Representative | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $31,790 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $15.28 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 402,132 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A retail representative is in charge of assisting customers with their shopping needs in retail stores, ensuring customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities include greeting customers and identifying their needs, answering inquiries, locating products, offering promotions and recommendations, and conducting demonstrations when possible. There are also instances where they must process payments or refunds. Furthermore, as a retail representative, it is essential to arrange products on shelves to make it look attractive to customers, all while maintaining the cleanliness of the sales floor.
Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.
Retail representatives and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Representative | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $31,790 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $38,000 | 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 |
There are a few differences between a retail representative and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Retail Representative | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between retail representatives' and sales associates' demographics:
| Retail Representative | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.6% Female, 56.4% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 6.8% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 | 7% | 7% |