Retail sales representative vs sales representative

The differences between retail sales 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 $37,907 average annual salary of a retail sales representative.

The top three skills for a retail sales representative include retail sales, retail store and POS. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Retail sales representative vs sales representative overview

	Retail Sales Representative	Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$37,907	$56,591
Hourly rate	$18.22	$27.21
Growth rate	-	4%
Number of jobs	391,763	205,456
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	41	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a retail sales representative do?

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.

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 sales representative vs sales representative salary

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

	Retail Sales Representative	Sales Representative
Average salary	$37,907	$56,591
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $50,000	Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	Portland, ME	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Maine	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Pella	Google
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Pharmaceutical

Differences between retail sales representative and sales representative education

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

	Retail Sales Representative	Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Retail sales representative vs sales representative demographics

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

	Retail Sales Representative	Sales Representative
Average age	41	47
Gender ratio	Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
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, 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 sales representative and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Retail sales representative example responsibilities.

Track leads, manage business opportunity, and initiate sales promotions using Siebel CRM.
Achieve quarterly and yearly bonus goals by controlling business expenses and effectively managing payroll costs.
Train new RSC members on sales techniques.
Complete daily office visit entries through CRM.
Conduct WebEx & PowerPoint presentations over the phone.
Used passion for technology and resourcefulness to generate sales.

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 sales representative vs sales representative skills

Common retail sales representative skills

Retail Sales, 30%
Retail Store, 17%
POS, 12%
Store Management, 7%
Customer Relationships, 4%
Broadband, 3%

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 Sales Representative
Retail Sales Representative vs Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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