Retail representative vs sales representative

The differences between retail representatives and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, 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 representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Retail representative vs sales representative overview

	Retail Representative	Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$31,790	$56,591
Hourly rate	$15.28	$27.21
Growth rate	-	4%
Number of jobs	402,132	205,456
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	41	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a retail representative do?

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.

What does a sales representative do?

Sales representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.

Retail representative vs sales representative salary

Retail representatives and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Retail Representative	Sales Representative
Average salary	$31,790	$56,591
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $38,000	Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between retail representative and sales representative education

There are a few differences between a retail representative and a sales representative in terms of educational background:

	Retail Representative	Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Retail representative vs sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between retail representatives' and sales representatives' demographics:

	Retail Representative	Sales Representative
Average age	41	47
Gender ratio	Male, 43.6% Female, 56.4%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between retail representative and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Retail representative example responsibilities.

Manage Nintendo's promotional programs; secure and maintain point-of-purchase displays that alert customers to brand availability.
Execute the proper POS in accounts, particularly with products on sale.
Befriend category managers and backroom personnel to positively impact on OSA, POS placement, and other sell-in tactics.
Educate consumers about products and services and troubleshoot any existing customer concerns relate to service or equipment.
Collaborate with board members to prepare PowerPoint presentations and other written reports and present concepts to management.

Sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage prospective leads and existing accounts through a CRM platform to accurately forecast revenue and develop long-term business partnerships.
Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
Search for procurement contracts, attend trade shows, design flyers, postcards, etc.
Utilize POS sales software to maintain monetary sales information produce reports for organizational review.
Develop and maintain business relationships with businesses and policyholders using establish methods such as customer relationship management CRM.
Handle administrative and sales duties as Jr.

Retail representative vs sales representative skills

Common retail representative skills

Flexibility, 36%
Store Management, 36%
Certification Programs, 11%
PET, 7%
Customer Service, 2%
Product Knowledge, 1%

Common sales representative skills

Sales Process, 9%
Product Knowledge, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
CRM, 6%
Business Development, 6%
Sales REP, 5%

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Retail Representative
Retail Representative vs Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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