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The differences between retail sales representatives and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a retail sales representative has an average salary of $37,907, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a retail sales representative include retail sales, retail store and POS. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Retail Sales Representative | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $37,907 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $18.22 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 391,763 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A retail salesperson's responsibility is to sell products and provide necessary information to the consumers to convince them of availing items. Retail salesperson's duties include coordinating with promotional programs, recommending strategies to increase sales, answering customer's inquiries, and escalating any concerns to the management that might affect the company's sales performance. A retail salesperson must have excellent communication skills to build a good rapport with the customers and assist them with their needs. A retail salesperson also helps with inventories and documenting a customer's suggestion for service improvement.
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 sales representatives and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Sales Representative | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $37,907 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $50,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, ME | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Maine | New York |
| Best paying company | Pella | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a retail sales representative and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Retail Sales Representative | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between retail sales representatives' and sales associates' demographics:
| Retail Sales Representative | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 6.9% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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% |