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How to hire a retail sales associate/cashier

Retail sales associate/cashier hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring retail sales associate/cashiers in the United States:

  • There are a total of 2,705,624 retail sales associate/cashiers in the US, and there are currently 463,864 job openings in this field.
  • The median cost to hire a retail sales associate/cashier is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per retail sales associate/cashier on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Effingham, IL, has the highest demand for retail sales associate/cashiers, with 4 job openings.

How to hire a retail sales associate/cashier, step by step

To hire a retail sales associate/cashier, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a retail sales associate/cashier, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step retail sales associate/cashier hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a retail sales associate/cashier job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new retail sales associate/cashier
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a retail sales associate/cashier do?

A cashier is responsible for ensuring all the products and goods sold are well recorded and paid for as well as answering customer inquiries and recommending products. They also help the other sales team when needed and process payment for all goods bought. Their duties and responsibilities include processing payments, ensuring all goods bought are accurately scanned and recorded, and bagging purchases.

Learn more about the specifics of what a retail sales associate/cashier does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    The retail sales associate/cashier hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    Hiring the perfect retail sales associate/cashier also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

    This list shows salaries for various types of retail sales associate/cashiers.

    Type of Retail Sales Associate/CashierDescriptionHourly rate
    Retail Sales Associate/CashierRetail sales workers include both those who sell retail merchandise, such as clothing, furniture, and automobiles, (called retail salespersons) and those who sell spare and replacement parts and equipment, especially car parts (called parts salespersons). Both types of workers help customers find the products they want and process customers’ payments.$9-15
    Sales ClerkA sales clerk is responsible for assisting customers in purchasing products, responding to customer inquiries, and providing product recommendations. Sales clerks require excellent customer service and communication skills to offer the best services to the customers and maintain good customer feedback for the business... Show more$7-18
    Head CashierA head cashier is responsible for handling customer's payments efficiently and accurately. Head cashiers assist their colleagues in operating cashier's equipment and customer transactions... Show more$12-17
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Customer Service
    • Basic Math
    • Math
    • Sales Floor
    • Retail Sales
    • Cash Handling
    • Product Knowledge
    • Bank Deposits
    • POS
    • Loss Prevention
    • Customer Transactions
    • Credit Card Payments
    • Customer Complaints
    • Inventory Control
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
    • Process transactions through POS terminals accepting cash, checks, credit cards, and giving change.
    • Commend for exceeding food safety guidelines and ensuring the highest quality product through meticulous store cleanliness.
    • Improve customer solicitation pitch to increase Kohl's credit card application solicitations.
    More retail sales associate/cashier duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your retail sales associate/cashier job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A retail sales associate/cashier can vary based on:

    • Location. For example, retail sales associate/cashiers' average salary in ohio is 41% less than in hawaii.
    • Seniority. Entry-level retail sales associate/cashiers 38% less than senior-level retail sales associate/cashiers.
    • Certifications. A retail sales associate/cashier with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a retail sales associate/cashier's salary.

    Average retail sales associate/cashier salary

    $12.48hourly

    $25,961 yearly

    Entry-level retail sales associate/cashier salary
    $20,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 15, 2025

    Average retail sales associate/cashier salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1California$32,424$16
    2Colorado$29,029$14
    3Louisiana$26,451$13
    4Pennsylvania$24,964$12
    5Illinois$24,922$12
    6Texas$24,397$12
    7Maryland$23,984$12
    8Florida$22,342$11
    9Oklahoma$20,971$10
    10Ohio$19,275$9

    Average retail sales associate/cashier salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1The TJX Companies$28,733$13.813,566
    2HUDSON COMPANIES$25,560$12.2911
    3Ace Hardware$24,617$11.84937
    4Paradies Lagardère$24,121$11.6052
    5Licking/Knox Goodwill Industries, Inc.$23,602$11.3523
  4. Writing a retail sales associate/cashier job description

    A job description for a retail sales associate/cashier role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a retail sales associate/cashier job description:

    Retail sales associate/cashier job description example

    Responsible for delivering a highly satisfied customer experience demonstrated by engaging and interacting with all customers, embodying customer experience principals and philosophy, and maintaining a clean and organized store environment. Adheres to all operational, merchandise, and loss prevention standards. May be cross-trained to work in multiple areas of the store in order to support the needs of the business.
    Responsibilities:
    Role models established customer experience practices with internal and external customers
    Supports and embodies a positive store culture through honesty, integrity, and respect
    Accurately rings customer purchases/returns and counts change back to customer according to established operating procedures
    Promotes credit and loyalty programs during customer interactions
    Maintains and upholds merchandising philosophy and follows established merchandising procedures and standards
    Accurately processes and prepares merchandise for the sales floor following company procedures and standards
    Initiates and participates in store recovery as needed throughout the day
    Maintains all organizational, cleanliness, and recovery standards for the sales floor and participates in the maintenance/cleanliness of the entire store
    Provides and accepts ongoing recognition and constructive feedback
    Adheres to all labor laws, policies, and procedures
    Supports and participates in store shrink reduction goals and programs
    Participates in safety awareness and maintenance of a risk-free environment
    Performs other duties as assigned
    Requirements:
    Possesses excellent customer service skills
    Able to work a flexible schedule to support business needs
    Possesses strong organizational skills with attention to detail
    Capable of handling multiple tasks at one time
    Able to respond appropriately to changes in direction or unexpected situations
    Possesses strong communication skills
    Capable of lifting heavy objects with or without reasonable accommodation
    Works effectively with peers and supervisors to accomplish tasks
    Retail customer experience preferred
    Hourly Rate: Starting at $15.00
    Actual starting pay is determined by a number of factors, including relevant skills, qualifications, and experience. Daytime availability needed.

    Benefits: Benefits offered to all Associates include: Associate discount; Employee Assistance Program (EAP); smoking cessation support; paid sick time; bereavement leave; child care discounts; pet insurance; credit union; cell phone discounts; and referral bonuses. In addition, Associates who meet certain service or hours requirements are eligible for the following benefits: 401(k); medical; dental; vision; health savings account; health care flexible spending account; life insurance; short and long term disability coverage; AD&D; paid parental leave; paid holidays/vacation time/personal days; group auto/home/renters insurance discounts; scholarship program; and adoption assistance. Management Associates are also eligible to participate in an annual incentive program
  5. Post your job

    There are a few common ways to find retail sales associate/cashiers for your business:

    • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
    • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
    • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
    To find retail sales associate/cashier candidates, you can consider the following options:
    • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
    • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
    • Post your job on free job posting websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit retail sales associate/cashiers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new retail sales associate/cashier

    Once you've selected the best retail sales associate/cashier candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

    It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

    To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a retail sales associate/cashier?

There are different types of costs for hiring retail sales associate/cashiers. One-time cost per hire for the recruitment process. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, onboarding, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider all of these costs when evaluating hiring a new retail sales associate/cashier employee.

Retail sales associate/cashiers earn a median yearly salary is $25,961 a year in the US. However, if you're looking to find retail sales associate/cashiers for hire on a contract or per-project basis, hourly rates typically range between $9 and $15.

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