What does a retail sales supervisor do?
Retail sales supervisors are professionals who are responsible for supervising retail staff members to sell products and services to customers in a retail store environment. These supervisors must develop marketing strategies such as creating mailers, launching online advertising campaigns, and promoting in-store sales to help the store achieve profit and keep selling merchandise regularly. They must hire and train new sales associates to ensure that they are performing their job duties well. Retail sales supervisors must also monitor their stock inventory to ensure that popular items are being restocked on shelves.
Retail sales supervisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real retail sales supervisor resumes:
- Manage the day-to-day operation of tourist boutique merchandising and selling jewelry, souvenirs and eclectic artwork.
- Maintain store's cleanliness and health and safety measures.
- Manage the day-to-day operation of tourist boutique merchandising and selling jewelry, souvenirs and eclectic artwork.
- Demonstrate strong leadership, communication and supervisory skills by providing coaching and feedback to maximize individual and store performance.
Retail sales supervisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Retail Sales Supervisors are proficient in Sales Floor, Store Operations, and Store Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Math skills, and Persistence.
We break down the percentage of Retail Sales Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Sales Floor, 21%
Assisted customers in finding correct products for their needs and resolved any issues that arose on the sales floor.
- Store Operations, 20%
Oversee store operations including identification of new store locations and facilitation of opening new locations.
- Store Management, 10%
Build and cultivate relationships with in-store management and personnel.
- Customer Satisfaction, 9%
Fostered a robust sustainable network of knowledgeable industry auto mechanics to solidify customer satisfaction and trust.
- Sales Associates, 9%
Maintained a detailed store demo log; reviewed, identified and resolved daily inventory discrepancies alongside sales associates.
- Sales Targets, 7%
Created daily sales goals and provided action plan to ensure projected sales target are met or exceeded.
Common skills that a retail sales supervisor uses to do their job include "sales floor," "store operations," and "store management." You can find details on the most important retail sales supervisor responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a retail sales supervisor to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "a friendly and outgoing personality is important for these workers because the job requires almost constant interaction with people." Additionally, a retail sales supervisor resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "provided outstanding work ethics; interpersonal relation, leadership, decision making, stress management, and customer focus. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform retail sales supervisor duties is math skills. Retail sales supervisors responsibilities require that "retail sales workers must have the ability to calculate price totals, discounts, and change owed to customers." Retail sales supervisors also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "monitor sales statistics to determine sales quota, inventory requirements and monitor customer preferences. "
Persistence. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of retail sales supervisors is persistence. This skill is critical to many everyday retail sales supervisor duties, as "a large number of attempted sales may not be successful, so sales workers should not be discouraged easily." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "combined patience, determination and persistence to achieve highest total sales volume in the department for 1992. "
Selling skills. For certain retail sales supervisor responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "selling skills." The day-to-day duties of a retail sales supervisor rely on this skill, as "retail sales workers must be persuasive when interacting with customers." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what retail sales supervisors do: "initiated sales techniques to maximize sales using professional skills developed over the years. "
Customer-service skills. Another crucial skill for a retail sales supervisor to carry out their responsibilities is "customer-service skills." A big part of what retail sales supervisors relies on this skill, since "retail sales workers must be responsive to the wants and needs of customers." How this skill relates to retail sales supervisor duties can be seen in an example from a retail sales supervisor resume snippet: "trained other associates on sales techniques, and assisted representatives with closing customer sales. "
The three companies that hire the most retail sales supervisors are:
- Staples713 retail sales supervisors jobs
- Harbor Freight Tools235 retail sales supervisors jobs
- Cracker Barrel76 retail sales supervisors jobs
Compare different retail sales supervisors
Retail sales supervisor vs. Assistant manager retail
An assistant retail manager is responsible for monitoring daily store operations, managing and delegating staff's tasks, and ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of the store's facilities. Assistant retail managers supervise the adequacy of the store's inventory, create purchase requests, and inspect store displays. They also assist customers with their inquiries and concerns, resolve complaints, and process item replacements and refunds as needed. An assistant retail manager must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in maintaining the overall store performance to reach sales goals and objectives.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, retail sales supervisor responsibilities require skills like "store management," "sales targets," "direct reports," and "origination." Meanwhile a typical assistant manager retail has skills in areas such as "retail management," "grass," "retail operations," and "payroll." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Assistant managers retail really shine in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $32,998. Comparatively, retail sales supervisors tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $35,392.assistant managers retail tend to reach similar levels of education than retail sales supervisors. In fact, assistant managers retail are 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Retail sales supervisor vs. Sales lead/sales associate
Sales lead and sales associates are two different sales positions in the retail industry. A sales lead is in charge of supervising the sales department. Sales leads perform administrative duties like recruiting and training staff, monitoring inventories, and maintaining sales performance. On the other hand, sales associates guide potential customers to acquire the products or services that fit their needs. The associates notify clients of sales promotions then present to them the product or service. Employees for these positions are looking for candidates with relevant experience in sales and related degrees like marketing and sales.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real retail sales supervisor resumes. While retail sales supervisor responsibilities can utilize skills like "sales targets," "direct reports," "origination," and "data analysis," sales lead/sales associates use skills like "sales transactions," "front end," "stock merchandise," and "pet."
Sales lead/sales associates earn a lower average salary than retail sales supervisors. But sales lead/sales associates earn the highest pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $30,271. Additionally, retail sales supervisors earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $35,392 annually.In general, sales lead/sales associates achieve similar levels of education than retail sales supervisors. They're 3.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Retail sales supervisor vs. Sales coach
The sales coaches observe and come up with better strategies and plan to solve training needs. A sales coach is an expert in sales and hence helps companies to develop and train sales members in the best trends and possible strategies to ensure success. Their duties and responsibilities include analyzing sales processes and their effectiveness and closely monitoring sales representatives for errors.
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 supervisor resumes include skills like "store operations," "store management," "customer satisfaction," and "origination," whereas a sales coach is more likely to list skills in "crm," "call monitoring," "digital marketing," and "sales performance. "
When it comes to education, sales coaches tend to earn similar degree levels compared to retail sales supervisors. In fact, they're 2.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Retail sales supervisor vs. Sales leader
A Sales Leader's responsibility is more than just leading. Most of the tasks involve monitoring the progress of sales, creating strategies to attain financial gains, managing the workforce, and as well as suggesting and enforcing particular options that would be beneficial for the sales and the company. All while making sure that all actions adhere to the policies and standards of the company. Above all, a Sale's Leader must have the passion and determination to drive a team towards the company's goal.
Types of retail sales supervisor
Updated January 8, 2025
