What does a retail sales associate/cashier do?

A 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. They also check inventories, request supplies as needed, and organize product displays on the appropriate shelves. A sales clerk must have strong verbal communication skills to manage customer concerns and excellent time-management skills to perform tasks within the fast-paced work environment.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a retail sales associate/cashier are more likely to require skills like "basic math," "math," "cash handling," and "credit card payments." On the other hand, a job as a sales clerk requires skills like "professional selling," "customer orders," "exceptional guest," and "engraving." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

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.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that retail sales associate/cashier responsibilities requires skills like "basic math," "math," "retail sales," and "cash handling." But a cashier associate might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "safety hazards," "front end," "store management," and "shipping receiving."

A 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. Their duties also include attending to a customer's inquiry about a product, processing the replacement of defective items, managing customer complaints, generating daily sales reports, monitoring supplies and inventories, ensuring enough cash for each register, and keeping all the register areas clean and organized. A head cashier should maintain exceptional customer service at all times to provide the best services and experience for the customers.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from retail sales associate/cashier resumes include skills like "basic math," "math," "retail sales," and "sales transactions," whereas a head cashier is more likely to list skills in "store operations," "help support," "cleanliness," and "good communication. "

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.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between retail sales associate/cashiers and retail clerks, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a retail sales associate/cashier might have more use for skills like "cash handling," "credit card payments," "store sales," and "product selection." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of retail clerks require skills like "groceries," "customer satisfaction," "ladders," and "punctuality. "